Sanger homeowner defends property with gun

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Sanger man literally takes matters into his own hands by using his gun to detain a burglar until deputies arrive.

Video from the Fresno County Sheriff's Office helicopter shows the Sanger homeowner waving for Fresno County deputies with one hand. With the other, he points his gun at the man that just tried to steal things from inside his house.

The homeowner, who didn't want to identify himself on camera, says he was finishing some yard work Thursday night and went to go back inside. But his front security door was locked, which he knew he didn't do.

He looked through this window and saw 54-year-old Enrique Garza standing inside, about 10 feet away from him.

The homeowner had this gun in his pocket, so he pulled it out. "I pointed it right at him he saw it and I said freeze don't move," the man said. "But it was a shock for about three or four seconds I didn't know what he was going to do whether shoot me or stab me or whatever."

Garza didn't have any weapons on him. Deputies, along with Sanger police officers, arrested him for burglary, violating probation, and misdemeanor drug possession.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office says the homeowner was lucky to have a gun on him when he needed to use it. He's had a concealed carry weapon permit with the county for fifty years, and this is the first time he's pointed a gun at somebody. "If not for having a CCW, he probably wouldn't have his gun on him, it probably would have been locked in a safe, and he wouldn't have had access to it in order to hold this suspect accountable," said Fresno County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tony Botti.

The homeowner says he doesn't always carry his gun and is selective about where he brings it.

That won't change, and neither will his steadfast attitude of always being aware of his surroundings. "You have to learn to be careful in this world, because there's a lot of crazy people out there," he said. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office says before the San Bernardino attacks, it would take someone about a month to get their CCW.

Now, with the amount of requests, the waiting period is about ten months.