Imperial Beach

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a robbery suspect Wednesday after the man allegedly waved a gun at four witnesses who were chasing him, a Sheriff’s Department spokesmen said.

Some Imperial Beach residents who arrived home at 10:15 a.m. discovered a man in their house and chased him down 9th Street but stopped after the robber turned around and pointed a .22-caliber automatic pistol at them, Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Stafford said.

Other neighbors joined in a two-block chase of the robber but stopped because the robber started waving his gun, Stafford said. “This is the worst kind of burglary there is. I’m surprised someone didn’t get shot,” he said.

The robber disappeared behind a house on 8th Street and ducked inside a utility shed, where he changed from camouflage trousers and black T-shirt to a pair of jeans, Stafford said. The thief apparently had grabbed the jeans from a clothesline during the chase.

The sheriff’s tactical unit arrived around noon, set up roadblocks and started patrolling the area, Sgt. Kurt Fettu said.

At 12:45 p.m., deputies arrested Larry Joseph Zimmerman, 20, in the backyard of a house next to the house with the utility shed, Fettu said. Zimmerman was reading a magazine as sheriff’s deputies approached him, Stafford said.

Deputies found a pistol, two ammunition clips and a change of clothing in the utility shed, Stafford said. Deputies discovered a third clip along the street.

Zimmerman was booked on two counts of robbery and two counts of displaying a weapon in a threatening manner, Fettu said. He is being held in County Jail on $5,000 bond, a jail spokeswoman said.