Burglar Collected, Then Calm All the Way to Lockup

A 74-year-old Hollywood woman thwarted a burglar Friday by giving him just what he asked for, police said.

Police responding to the woman’s telephone call found Roberto Macias, 19, unconscious on the floor of her bathroom after he swallowed a few too many Valium tablets while ransacking her house, Detective Serge Iyevski said.

The woman, who was not identified, told police that Macias broke into her home near the Hollywood Bowl while she was sleeping about 4:45 a.m. Friday. He grabbed a couple of kitchen knives, she told police, and threatened to rape and kill her as soon as he gathered her valuables.

He piled her valuables by the front door, then demanded to know if she had any pills, she told police. She gave him the tranquilizers from her bedside table. She could not tell how many he took, but it was apparently more than enough.

He continued to ransack the rooms, but was slowing down. In the bathroom, he finally grew drowsy, fell over and hit his head on the edge of the tub, knocking him out.

Macias was booked at Hollywood police station on suspicion of residential robbery.