91-year-old WWII veteran refuses to help hide Visalia suspect who barges into home

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- After an hours-long search, Visalia Police rearrested 38-year-old Michael Garcia in Hanford on Monday afternoon.

Police say they responded to the area of Clinton and Divisadero on Sunday evening and saw Garcia in a physical confrontation with a woman in a car.

Garcia ran away.

"Officers pursued this individual through several residences, properties and eventually took him into custody with the assistance of a police K9," said Visalia Police Lt. Candido Alvarez.

Garcia was arrested in B.M. Calhoon's backyard. Calhoon is a 91-year-old World War II veteran. His wife was outside when Garcia kicked their side fence in.

"Then he jumped over the fence there, that corner, (and then) came down and saw cops so came back around," Calhoon said.

Garcia then entered the garage's side door and went inside their house. Calhoon thinks that lasted about a minute and a half, but he says he wasn't scared.

"I kept chasing him around, you know?" Calhoon said. "I told him, 'Get out, get out, get out,' and he said, "Hide me, hide me hide me.'"

They refused to hide him and, eventually, Calhoon opened the front door so police could come in.

"They were very nice men, the policemen were, just gracious," Calhoon said.

Garcia's arm was injured by the K9, so he was brought to Kaweah Delta Medical Center. Police say they made a decision to release him from custody when they learned he could be in the hospital for an extended period of time. But police say he walked out after undergoing surgery.

"In this particular case, I think with all certainty we can say that no one anticipated that this individual was going to walk away almost immediately after surgery," Alvarez said.

While police searched for Garcia Monday, Calhoon still wasn't scared. He made it clear that no criminals are welcome here. Now that's he's in custody again, Visalia Police said Garcia will be brought back to the hospital before being booked into the Tulare County Jail.

They said they will be reviewing policies and procedures to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future.