Irvine, California

From the Los Angeles Times of October 13, 2006

Parolee Is Held in Attempted Irvine Burglary, Shootout

A man once dubbed the "Mission Impossible Burglar" for slicing through the rooftops of high-tech businesses and using ropes to climb down and pilfer laptops and computer parts may have been at it again in Orange County, authorities said Thursday.

Steven J. Krueger, 42, is being held following an exchange of gunfire Tuesday with two security guards in the parking lot of an Irvine technology company where police say he had attempted a burglary.

Krueger, a parolee, surrendered Wednesday after a 90-minute standoff with police, who had located him in an unincorporated residential area near Covina.

The security guards, whose names were not released, said they observed a "suspicious individual" in the parking lot of the unidentified company in the 400 block of Goddard about 5:15 a.m., Irvine Police Department spokesman Lt. Rick Handfield said.

The guards said the man opened fire as they approached.

One guard returned fire as the suspect, alleged to be Krueger, jumped into a rented Dodge Caravan occupied by an unidentified male passenger.

The driver then accelerated toward the second guard, who shot at the car, Handfield said.

Items left at the scene led to Krueger's identification, he said.

The incident is under investigation and authorities are looking for the passenger.

Krueger, convicted in 1998 of burglaries, had recently been released from prison, Handfield said.