Local News in Brief : Topanga Man Captures 2 Burglary Suspects
A Topanga man awakened by noise coming from his garage Saturday morning captured two apparent burglars after firing two shotgun blasts at them, police said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Roxanna Schuckman said that when police responded to reports of gunfire in the 2600 block of Santa Maria Road at 5:30 a.m., they found Jeffrey Hewitt, 29, holding two suspects at gunpoint.
Deputies said they arrested Scott L. Metzler, 22, and Wayne B. Buzzo, 29, both of Woodland Hills, on burglary charges.
Hewitt told police that he confronted the pair outside his garage. When they fled in an older model Plymouth, Hewitt fired a warning shot that caused the driver to lose control of the car. Schuckman said it “came to rest in a deep rut in the unpaved road.”
The pair started to run away, but Hewitt stopped them with another warning shot and “a few persuasive words,” Schuckman said.
The suspects were being held late Saturday at the Malibu Sheriff’s Station on bail of $7,500 each, deputies said.
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