Armed 92-year-old homeowner scares off ax-wielding would-be burglar

A burglar in San Jacinto apparently picked the wrong house to break into Sunday Morning. He was confronted by a 92-year-old homeowner armed with a gun. According to San Jacinto police, the intruder tried to gain forced entry by smashing a door with an ax at a house in the 1400 block of Chase Street at about 11 a.m.

Joe Milspa said he heard the noise and approached the door with his handgun. That was when “he suddenly saw an exterior glass window of the home shatter, followed by the suspect attempting to crawl into his home through the window,” said Sgt. Craig McDonald of the San Jacinto Police Department.
Milspa, who is a World War II veteran and lives alone, immediately fired one round at the intruder. “I could have shot him right in the head between the eyes. But I didn’t want to do that. I would have been in trouble,” Milspa said.
The burglar was not hit. But he did take off running, leaving behind his ax and several other items, police said.
Milspa, who worked as a mechanic for the Los Angeles Police Department for 21 years, said he has had the gun for decades and still goes to the shooting range.

The burglar was described as 20 to 30 years old with a dark complexion.