It was a dramatic end to a burglary in northwest Bakersfield. Three young men are under arrest after an alert neighbor tipped off authorities.
The woman saw the suspects take items from her neighbor's home and load them into a truck. She called authorities and provided a description, which led deputies to the suspects.
The burglary happened before noon at a home in the 1500 block of Opus One Drive, just off Heath Road.
Sheriff's deputies spotted the truck and stopped the driver in a nearby shopping center. But, he and the other suspects didn't get out right away.
"I was getting a pedicure," said Amy James. "I looked out the window and saw three or four police cars, with their guns drawn. I was absolutely petrified."
Deputies arrested 19-year-old Ruben Ortega, and 18-year-olds Armondo Arriaga and Nicholas Flores. Two other people in the truck ran away.
Burglary victim Kyle Mortensen, says the suspects must have been checking out his neighborhood.
"Obviously they were watching my wife leaving. She just barely went to the store and I was at work. they must have been casing our house," said Mortensen.
Mortensen says one item in the truck, a pink trunk, doesn't belong to his family. So, he assumes someone else's home was also hit.
Mortensen says he's thankful to get his stuff back and he plans to install an alarm to deter future break-ins.
