Chaos erupted in a quiet El Cerrito neighborhood Thursday afternoon when police nabbed a pair of Nevada bandits mid-burglary, authorities said. The El Cerrito Police Department, bolstered by fellow officers from Richmond and Kensington, swarmed a Tapscott Avenue home after a break-in triggered a lockdown at a nearby school.
Officers arriving at the 2000 block around 2:27 pm discovered clear signs of forced entry and, backed by eyewitness accounts, confirmed the suspects were still inside the property, the neighborhood was buzzing with cop cars, and residents' nerves were stretched tight like wires. Prospect Sierra School was promptly locked down as a preventive step, police later detailed in a statement.
The would-be thieves spied through a busted window and made a break for it out the back but were greeted by the long arm of the law and had no choice but to high-tail it back inside. Officers persistently demanded their surrender, to no avail. After what must have felt like eons for the rattled residents, law enforcement stormed the house and with the aid of a police K9, handcuffed the culprits.
The drama reached its peak as officers recovered a firearm from near the home's entrance. The male and female suspects were whisked off to the hospital before getting booked into County Jail, their bid for a clean getaway laying in shambles.
