Arcadia homeowners fight off group of people during attempted home burglary

By Dean Fioresi

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    ARCADIA, California (KCAL/KCBS) — Police say that an Arcadia homeowner fought off a group of people attempting to establish residency in his house over the weekend.

They were sent to the 400 block of Walnut Avenue at around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday after receiving a call from a man who said that he could “see several people inside the residence who should not be there,” said a statement from the Arcadia Police Department.

Before officers could arrive, the suspects exited the home and a fight broke out between them and the homeowner.

At some point during the altercation the homeowner, allegedly fearing for his safety, discharged a firearm into the air, police said. This ended the fight.

Police arrested one of the suspects outside of the home, but by the time that they had arrived the three others had already driven away from the scene.

They were located and detained a short time later, the APD statement said.

The homeowner and suspects involved in the fight suffered minor injuries during the fight, but no one was struck by gunfire, police noted.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears the suspects had taken over the residence, and were attempting to establish residency,” police said.

All four suspects were arrested and charged with residential burglary and have since been identified as 32-year-old Los Angeles man Uried Benitez, 35-year-old Baldwin Park woman Stephanie Burwell, 29-year-old Los Angeles Woman Phyllis Cheong and 31-year-old Long Beach woman Marisa Williams.

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