Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : MISCELLANY / NEWSMAKERS AND MILESTONES

When Ann Elie heard the knock on her door Tuesday afternoon, she “had a funny feeling something was wrong,” the 38 year-old Westminster resident said.

When she heard a bathroom window shatter moments later, and then saw someone pass by the window, she knew it.

Elie, a word-processor operator, went into the kitchen and dialed 911 on her new portable telephone--a gift just days earlier from her husband.

Elie whispered to the police dispatcher that she needed help, but the dispatcher could not hear her. So Elie crawled out to the garage, locked herself inside her car, and told the dispatcher what was happening--out of earshot of any intruders.

Westminster police, who arrived about two minutes after Elie’s call, arrested two men as they left the house. They had attempted to steal a television, a videocassette recorder, cash and jewelry, police said.

“The burglars never even knew she was in the garage,” Police Department spokesman Larry Woessner said. “She did an excellent job of catching crooks for us today.”