Man Tied Up by Pair Frees Self, Shoots, Kills Robber

A Buena Park man who was tied up by robbers freed himself and fatally shot one of them with a sawed-off shotgun during a scuffle, Buena Park police said Monday.

Patrick C. Levai, 34, told police that although he was warned to remain still, he grabbed a sawed-off, 20-gauge shotgun from a closet and confronted one of two men who had robbed him and his wife Sunday night, Officer Terry Branum said.

During the scuffle the intruder, Patrick Ragen Barkenhagen, 28, of Tustin, was shot once in the head.

Police found Barkenhagen’s body on the front porch of Levai’s home in the 8200 block of Poinsettia Street.

It was the second time in two weeks that an Orange County resident fatally shot an intruder. Last week, a Garden Grove man shot and killed a suspected burglar, who was unarmed, after he heard a noise inside his home.

Police referred their investigation to the Orange County district attorney’s office to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against the Garden Grove man, whose identity was not released. A decision is pending, a Garden Grove police spokesman said Monday.

The Buena Park incident occurred while Levai was watching television with his wife at about 10:50 p.m. Sunday, Branum said.

The couple told police they answered a knock on the door and were confronted by two men wearing ski masks and carrying guns. The couple were pushed to the floor and tied with tape while the men searched the house.

Stolen were $1,450 in cash and several guns from Levai’s extensive collection, Branum said. The stolen weapons included an M-1 carbine, an AK-47 rifle, two 9-millimeter pistols, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle.

Before the two men left they warned the couple not to telephone police or do anything for at least five minutes, Branum said.

A short time later, Levai, a maintenance mechanic in Brea, told police he freed himself just as one of the intruders returned. The robbers fired no shots and no one else was injured. Police have taken custody of the sawed-off shotgun, which is an illegal weapon, Branum said.

The investigation is continuing.