Police arrested 42-year-old Randy Wayne Elliott several blocks away from the break-in. He is in the Madera County Jail and charged with two burglaries and assault with a deadly weapon.
The Madera Police Chief said the home is the second one Randy Elliott had broken into Thursday morning.
The house is mostly empty, but Madera police said Randy Elliott broke in, looking for anything he could steal.
Jonathan Carbajal and his fiancée are moving out of the home. He said she showed up to do repair work alone and found Elliott rummaging through the home.
"She said he was kinda shaky, like he was high on something," Carbajal said. "She said he started approaching her, reaching into his pocket trying to pull something out."
That's when she ran out the front door and called 911. Neighbors said at the same time Elliott hoped a back fence and tried to break into another home. This time, Elliott found someone who ran after him instead of away.
"During that foot pursuit, prior to the officers' arrival there, one of the pursuers got slashed by burglar," said Chief Kime.
Kime said Elliott was arrested on Sunset near Granada. He also said the neighbor's wounds were not life-threatening.
"We're glad that they injected themselves in the situation to give us a hand, so to speak. But, many times it may not be in their best interest to get too close." Neighbor Dennis Miller said chasing a burglar is a risk he'd take to protect his home. "Unfortunately, the police can't be everywhere. So comes a point in time that you've gotta protect yourself and your property," he said.
As for Carbajal, he is grateful for the people who stepped up for the safety of their neighborhood. "I'm glad that they did step up to that, I think this should happen in more neighborhoods."
Chief Kime told Action News burglaries are up since the start of the year. While he was unable to provide specific numbers in time for this report he said the burglaries are close to average when compared to previous years.
Police have made several other burglary arrests in recent weeks, that they say have helped solve nearly two dozen break-ins.
