Boy calls 911, sends would-be burglar scurrying

Davis police are heaping praise on a 12-year-old boy whose quick thinking scared off an intruder Monday morning at a Wildhorse home.

Lt. Paul Doroshov said the boy was home alone at the Caravaggio Drive house when, at about 8:45 a.m., a stranger came to the front door. When no one answered, the man — apparently believing no one was home — went to the back door and tried to force his way inside the house.

The boy locked himself inside a bathroom and called 911, providing dispatchers with a description of the would-be burglar, Doroshov said. Officers responded to the scene with emergency lights and sirens, and the man fled the scene before they arrived.

Police searched the home’s perimeter, Doroshov said, and discovered evidence that the man may have tried entering the home through a backyard window.

“The kid did an outstanding job,” Doroshov said. “Even though he was scared and nervous, he stayed on the phone with the dispatcher” and answered all the questions she asked.

Doroshov also credited the dispatcher for effectively communicating with the boy. She recently had performed some classroom presentations where she taught students how to use the 911 emergency system, he said.

Police are still seeking the suspect, described as a man around 30 years old who wore a black hooded sweatshirt during the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Davis Police Department at (530) 747-5400.

— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8048. Follow her on Twitter @laurenkeene