New Gulf, Texas

From the Victoria Advocate of August 15, 2007

Wharton Co. homeowner helps nab burglary suspect

A burglary suspect backed out of the home he entered in the early morning after being confronted by its pistol-packing owner.

Arrested after the reported break-in on Monday morning was Oscar Daniel Navarro Garcia, 22, of Boling. He was being held at the Wharton County Jail on Tuesday after Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Jeanette Krenek set bail at $50,000 on a charge of burglary of habitation.

The incident was called in to the sheriff's office at 4:17 a.m. from the victim's home in the 1500 block of Burning Stone Drive in the New Gulf community, located in east Wharton County.

The victim, a 57-year-old woman, told deputies she woke up when someone rang her rear doorbell. After grabbing her .38-caliber revolver, she answered the door and found a man wearing blue jeans but no shirt at the door. Later investigation showed someone had cut through two screens to gain entry to her closed-in utility room.

"He told her that someone had hit her parked car and had driven off," Sheriff's Lt. Daniel Marek said. "When she unlocked the door, he stepped in and said, 'Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.' He appeared to be intoxicated. When she threatened him with the gun, he fled."

Sheriff's deputy Joe Ray Joines and Sgt. Jimmy Woods responded to the location and the victim identified Garcia as the intruder.