A man on parole, Dechawn Wallace, 27, of Moreno Valley, was shot and wounded when a senior couple opened fire on him as he attempted to rob their home, according to police.
“The only way to stop them is to shoot them when they come in here,” said Jeff Sagmeister.
The incident happened this past Tuesday at the home of Jeff and Von Sagmeister, who are in their 70s. The burglar was hiding in the bathroom when… “I just opened the door and boom! That’s all it took, and he was on me right away,” Jeff Sagmeister said.
Jeff and the parolee struggled, prompting his wife, Von, to rush to their living room and get her gun… her husband eventually gained the upper hand in the situation.
“I shot him three or four times in the chest,” he said. Then, the suspect lunged toward Von Sagmeister, hitting her in the face.
“When he got into the hallway, he knocked me into the heater there, and then she blasted him with the 357,” Jeff Sagmeister said.
The intruder fled the home, police said. Officers responded and searched the area but were unable to locate the man.
Eventually, Dechawn was identified and tracked down. He has an extensive and violent criminal history. He was treated for multiple gunshot wounds, which were non-life-threatened, and arrested. Von Sagmeister has a large bruise on her face, while Jeff has bruises all over his body. But they’re alive.
“The only message I want to get out is to see everyone arm up man, I really would,” Jeff Sagmeister said.
“We would not be here speaking to you now if we had not had the protection,” Von Sagmeister said.
Hemet Police Chief Rob Webb blamed the state for laws that allowed Wallace to be on the street with his criminal history.
“This is a case of good people being victimized by a subject who the State of California failed to keep locked up,” Webb said. “It is totally unacceptable that decisions made at the state level continue to have a detrimental effect on our local communities.”
Eventually, Dechawn was identified and tracked down. He has an extensive and violent criminal history. He was treated for multiple gunshot wounds, which were non-life-threatened, and arrested. Von Sagmeister has a large bruise on her face, while Jeff has bruises all over his body. But they’re alive.
“The only message I want to get out is to see everyone arm up man, I really would,” Jeff Sagmeister said.
“We would not be here speaking to you now if we had not had the protection,” Von Sagmeister said.
Hemet Police Chief Rob Webb blamed the state for laws that allowed Wallace to be on the street with his criminal history.
“This is a case of good people being victimized by a subject who the State of California failed to keep locked up,” Webb said. “It is totally unacceptable that decisions made at the state level continue to have a detrimental effect on our local communities.”