Armed with a bat, man in his 70s chases accused burglar from home, California cops say

An accused intruder in a California home found something he didn’t expect — a man in his 70s wielding a baseball bat, police said.

The resident chased the 44-year-old man out of his Palo Alto home just before 7 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, city police said in a news release.

His wife, also in her 70s, called 911, police said. Nobody was injured in the incident and nothing was stolen from the home. The intruder had allegedly entered through an unlocked sliding glass door.

Police responding to the 911 call spotted the fleeing intruder entering a side yard but lost track of him, the release said.

At 7:31 a.m., another woman called 911 to report finding a stranger in her garage, police said. The man fled on a stolen bicycle, but police caught up to him a short time later.

Officers arrested Juan Bartolo Rios of Redwood City on suspicion of burglary, prowling and trespassing, police said.

Police ask that anyone with information on the incidents call 650-329-2413 or leave anonymous tips at paloalto@tipnow.org or 650-383-8984.

This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 8:21 AM with the headline "Armed with a bat, man in his 70s chases accused burglar from home, California cops say."