Fresno father discovers man coming through his daughter's bedroom window

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno father says he discovered a man halfway inside his daughter's bedroom window, trying to break into their home Wednesday morning around 6 o'clock. Then, he says, he fought him off with a broomstick.

Jose Hernandez is being held here on charges for burglary and threatening to kill his victim. Police say he confessed to the break-in in order to fund his addiction.

"He pried open this window, he took off the screen inside," said Fernando Pacheco, the homeowner's son. "It's still in there. The TV stand is right in the way so he couldn't really get through."

When Pacheco's father saw the man trying to break in he says half his body was in the window, with just his legs dangling outside. Pacheco's father then grabbed a broomstick. He said he struck the stranger several times in the back.

That's when Pacheco woke up. "At that point I didn't know what to do, I tried to be by my dad's side," he said.

In a frightening twist, police say Jose Hernandez grabbed another stick and fought back against his victim.

Pacheco says Hernandez repeatedly shouted 'stay back or I will kill you.' Eventually Hernandez just walked away, with Pacheco's father running after him.

Police arrested Hernandez about a half mile away. "He confessed to trying to break in," said Fresno Police Sergeant Mark Hudson. "He said he wasn't trying to do anything other than to steal something to feed his drug habit."

The family says Hernandez also said he was told they were out of town and didn't expect anyone to be home. They were gone Monday night and returned to find several things missing from their yard. They suspect Hernandez is behind it, too.

And even though Hernandez is locked up the family is still shaken up.

"Going to sleep thinking when is the next time they're going to try to break in," Pacheco said. "Am I going to be able to stop it, or what's going to happen? I'm just going to sleep scared."

Pacheco's dad said he went after Hernandez, despite the potential dangers, because he couldn't live with himself if his daughter had been attacked.

"He went after him and he could have gotten hurt," Pacheco said. "Luckily he didn't. But he's just an everyday man trying to protect his family at all costs."

The daughter never even knew anyone was trying to get into her room, until the commotion woke her up.

Police said Hernandez has a criminal history that includes theft.