Ukiah man confronts burglar

A suspected burglar was arrested Sunday after being confronted by a homeowner with a crowbar while allegedly stealing tires, the Ukiah Police Department reported.

According to the UPD, officers responded to the 600 block of Talmage Road shortly after 6 p.m. Feb. 27 when a man reported that another man armed with a knife and bolt cutters was burglarizing his property.

Officers located the suspect, reportedly carrying bolt cutters, near the intersection of Talmage Road and Babcock Lane. Due to the report of him being armed with a knife, the suspect, identified as Marco Fermin-garcia, 30, of Ukiah, was detained at gunpoint.

According to the victim, identified only as a 42-yearold man, he heard a noise coming from his garage and went to investigate because he “had been the victim of several burglaries over the past month. (So he) armed himself with a crowbar and exited his home, (then) observed the suspect exiting the garage with a set of his vehicle tires.”

The victim said he confronted the suspect and tried to detain him, but the suspect reportedly “taunted him by challenging the victim to strike him with the crowbar. The suspect was armed with a knife and a pair of bolt cutters and moved toward the victim. The victim retreated, but the suspect pursued him while swinging the bolt cutters at the victim. During this time the victim fell to the ground. It was unclear if his injuries were as a result of being struck with the bolt cutters, falling down or a combination of the two.”

The UPD also reviewed surveillance footage which reportedly “showed the suspect using the bolt cutters to cut the lock on the garage, entering the garage and removing the set of tires.”

A search of the suspect reportedly revealed “an open folding knife (and) a methamphetamine smoking pipe” in his pockets.

Fermin-garcia was then booked into Mendocino County Jail on suspicion of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of burglary tools and possession of drug paraphernalia.