Burglary goes bad when would-be thief, homeowner trade shots in Ogden

OGDEN — Officers have arrested a man they say tried to break into a home and then traded shots with the homeowner in the middle of the street.

Ogden police said it happened about 9 a.m. Tuesday at a home on the 200 block of 29th Street when two men tried to break in.

"They were kicking in the door, and the man was inside with his family," Ogden Police Lt. Scott Sangberg said Tuesday. "He went to the door with his 9 mm (handgun). Then the guy realized that the place wasn't vacant and started to leave."

As he was leaving, police said one of the would-be burglars fired a gun at the homeowner.

"The owner took a shot at him," Sangberg said.

The homeowner gave police a description of the men and the green Dodge Intrepid they fled in. Police recognized it from an attempted burglary case they dealt with the week before and went to the suspect's home, where he was arrested.

The 31-year-old man was being booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of burglary. Detectives were still investigating the case, Sangberg said, including whether the homeowner would face any charges in the shooting.

— Ben Winslow