Resident defends himself against alleged burglar with large shears

Palo Alto police arrested a man who allegedly broke into a home late Sunday night and attacked a man using large hedge shears, the department said Tuesday.

Officers responded to an 11:45 p.m. report of a burglary in process in the 1100 block of Oregon Avenue, just off Oregon Expressway. They found the alleged burglar walking nearby and apprehended him at 11:50 p.m., according to a press release.

Police arrested the man, a 26-year-old Half Moon Bay resident, on suspicion of residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and being under the influence of narcotics.

The residents of the burglarized home received an alert from their motion sensor camera at their front door, according to police.

The suspected burglar used garden shears to break the glass in the front door and enter the home, occupied by a couple and their two children, according to police.

The 26-year-old allegedly swung the shears at a man who lived in the home but did not hit him. The victim grabbed the shears and struck the alleged burglar once in the shoulder before the suspect walked back out the front door.

Neither man was injured by the shears, but both were treated by paramedics for cuts from broken glass from the door.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the police’s free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

Editor’s note: Palo Alto Online’s policy is to withhold the names of those arrested for most crimes until the District Attorney has determined there is sufficient evidence to file charges in the case. Read our guidelines.