MESA, Ariz. — It wasn't Santa Claus trying to get into the Vasquez family home this holiday season.
Remie and Stevee Vasquez live near Brown and Gilbert Roads in Mesa. They said just past midnight on Dec. 19, while everyone was sleeping, they heard some commotion.
"It was banging like it was fireworks," Remie Vasquez said
That's when her older brother went outside to check. Instead of fireworks, she said they saw a man with a crowbar and hammer standing next to her car.
“It's definitely a scary situation,” she said.
When her brother confronted the man about what he was doing at their house, she said the suspect took off. The Vasquez family followed right after him.
“I just took off running following him and my brother," Stevee Vasquez said.
“I had my Taser and I was running down,” Remie Vasquez said.
They cornered the suspect in a nearby cul-de-sac and called police. Remie Vasquez said she spoke with the suspect. She claims he told her that he was trying to get into her car. When she asked about his parents, he said that he was living in a group home.
A spokesperson for the Mesa Police Department said the suspect was a 16-year-old who was reported missing from a nearby group home about an hour before the attempted break-in. The hammer and crowbar found at the scene were taken from that group home.
“You can tell he was prying open these panels with a crowbar,” Remie Vasquez said while pointing out some of the damage left behind.
Her car's windshield severely damaged with two holes and broken glass on the hood and inside the car.
“I actually started crying because it caught me by surprise,” Remie Vasquez said.
“It's just not fair, especially around these holidays," Stevee Vasquez said.
The teenager was charged and taken to a juvenile detention center in Phoenix.
The incident has the Vasquez family shaken up. They have now installed security cameras on the house to feel safer.
"I also think of it as like a wake-up call to never let your guard down,” Remie Vasquez said.
Both Stevee and Remie Vasquez believe the group home where the teenager was living should be held accountable for the 16-year-old getting out and grabbing items that were reportedly used in this situation.
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