Roseville, California



From the Roseville Press-Tribune of March 24, 2004:

A would-be burglar was detained at gunpoint Thursday morning by an alert homeowner in the Woodcreek Oaks area, police say.



The homeowner was awakened after midnight, and heard the sound of a vehicle door slamming. Having forgotten to close his garage door, the resident looked out an upstairs window and spotted a man walking into his garage, and a white sport utility vehicle cruising in the cul-de-sac.



The resident then got his handgun and confronted the man, police say, inside his truck, noting that three garage door openers in his vehicle had been moved from the driver’s side visor to a seat in the truck. The resident ordered the suspect to lie down while dialing police on his cell phone.



Roseville Police took David Owen Cerniglia, 21, into custody without incident on suspicion of burglary. He is currently being held in the Placer County Jail on $25,000 bail. His listed address is Sacramento.



“I strongly encourage residents to keep their vehicles inside their locked garages at night if at all possible,” said Joel Neves, Roseville Police Chief. “If you must leave a vehicle parked outside at night, do not leave any valuable items or garage door openers inside the vehicle.”



The arrest comes after a series of burglaries in the west Roseville area, where police believe thieves break into vehicles parked outside of residences and use garage door openers to gain access to items.