San Diego

A pair of would-be burglars picked the wrong house Thursday, police said.

Michael Joseph Garrido, 21, from the Scripps Miramar Ranch area, and Donald J. Burns, 21, of Rancho Penasquitos, were arrested Thursday after allegedly trying to burglarize a San Diego police sergeant’s house, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

San Diego Police Officer Kelly Shay called her husband, Sgt. Ray Shay, who works nights, and woke him up about 10:30 a.m., Robinson said. She heard the doorbell of their Las Penasquitos home ring in the background.

The ringing grew more insistent, at which point her husband said, “I won’t answer the door. Maybe he’ll go away, and I’ll go back to sleep.”

Then she heard loud pounding and said, “Honey, you should go check the door,” Robinson said.

Ray went to the front door and saw a man trying to break the door down, Robinson said. He went to the back room, and saw another man remove a screen from the dining-room window.

Ray called 911 and armed himself as the men fled in a red Ford Bronco, Robinson said. A police officer stopped the truck about half a block from the residence.