Like a scene from "The Shining", Pasco Police officers arrested a man Wednesday morning who was allegedly trying to break through the door of an occupied house with an ax.
It started at about 3:56 AM with a report from a resident near Wernett/Road 34 that a stranger just walked into a woman's house, wanting to borrow her car. Officers say the woman was quite startled, and the man left on foot. Officers searched for the man, but did not immediately find him. The area is bordered by a vineyard and the eastbound lanes of I-182.
By 4:21 AM, however, in the new subdivision immediately east of the first house, on Famville just NW of Wernett/Road 32, someone got into an unlocked car in a driveway, armed themselves with a hatchet they found inside, and used the remote inside the car to open the garage door. The family was inside the house. The good news was that the door leading into the house from the garage was locked. The bad news was that it was an interior door, not very heavy-duty.
The alleged burglar began smacking on the door with the hatchet. The family woke up and called 911. Police were still in the area, looking for the stranger from the first call. Officers arrived in seconds, in time to hear the suspect inside the garage, smacking on the door. Canine Hapo was there, ready to help. The suspect surrendered without a fight.
Samuel T. Anderson from Corvallis, Montana was booked into Franklin County Jail on an investigative hold for Burglary First Degree. He is also being investigated for vehicle prowling, theft, and trespassing.
(story: KHQ.com; photos: Pasco Police Department)