A San Luis Obispo resident had a tense encounter with an alleged intruder on Oct. 2 that almost ended in a fatality.
A young man who forced his way into a Ramona neighborhood home during the middle of the night found himself with the resident’s handgun “aimed at his forehead,” according to a written account of the incident shared with New Times.
Resident Glenn Simpson said that he, his wife, and two daughters were asleep in their Del Mar Court house at 2:30 a.m. when their dog started incessantly barking. Simpson, who’s a park ranger, retrieved his handgun and found a young man standing outside his front door.
“He looked confused,” Simpson said. “I assumed he was one of the four students who had just moved in next door so I lowered my weapon and had my wife calm the dog.”
When Simpson opened the door to talk to the man, he “became agitated” and “aggressively pushed on the door to force his way into our home.” The intruder apparently started yelling, “This is my house!”
Simpson then confronted the man with his gun. After warning him, “There’s a gun pointed at your head. You’re about to die. Back up,” the intruder, “started apologizing” and “ran.”
The couple called 911 and two police officers were dispatched to the scene. According to Simpson, the man was not arrested.
“[The police] determined that he was oriented and able to care for himself,” Simpson said. “I strongly disagree.”
The SLO Police Department declined to release a full police report to New Times, but a redacted version states the 911 call alleged that “a male tried to push his way into caller’s house.” The identity and age of the man were withheld.
Simpson said he’s sharing the account is to raise awareness about such incidents in SLO. He said a similar trespassing event in the neighborhood occurred in August that also didn’t result in an arrest. He called on city officials to do more to hold the people behind them accountable.
“What should have been, in my opinion, handled as a breaking and entering was handled as a drunk college kid,” he said.
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