Burglar found asleep in woman’s bed gets wake up call from SCSO K-9
UPDATED: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 1 p.m., With additional information from former victims.
ROUND MOUNTAIN — A man who was found sleeping in a woman’s bed when she and her children returned to their Round Mountain home got a rude awakening when he was taken into custody with assistance from a sheriff’s K-9 Monday afternoon, Sept. 23.
According to officials, the burglar had ransacked the homeowner’s residence on the 17000 block of Patterson Ranch Rd. before falling asleep in the homeowner’s bed.
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Deputies assigned to Shasta County Sheriff’s Burney Station were dispatched to the residence just after 2:30 p.m., after the homeowner called 911 to report a burglary in progress, Shasta County Sheriff’s Sgt. J. Gunsauls later reported. The woman told SHASCOM emergency dispatchers she had arrived at her home with her children when she discovered her house had been ransacked and found a man asleep on her bed in the master bedroom.
When deputies arrived they surrounded the residence and began calling to the man and ordering him to exit the residence.
Despite making several announcements and warnings to exit the home, the man – later identified as Christopher AbelJones, 26 – refused to obey the deputies’ orders to come out of the residence.
Christopher AbelJones was arrested after a homeowner found he had ransacked her home before falling asleep in her bed. He was taken into custody with help from a sheriff’s K-9. SCSO photo
“Christopher refused to comply with commands to exit the residence and with the assistance of K-9 Blitz deputies were able to locate Christopher inside the house and take him into custody,” Gunsauls explained.
“Christopher was transported to the hospital where he was treated for injuries he sustained during the struggle with Blitz,” the Sgt. continued; saying, “Blitz was not seriously injured during the apprehension.”
After being treated at the hospital, AbelJones was booked into Shasta County Jail on suspicion of burglary and resisting arrest/ obstructing a peace officer.
According to area residents, this was not the first time AbelJones was found breaking into other peoples’ homes, property, or vehicles.
James Mason, who resides in the Round Mountain area, said he has had to chase AbelJones from his property several times after finding the man squatting in an outbuilding on his property.
“Even after I kept catching him sleeping in my shed, the guy kept coming back,” Mason told SCNS after AbelJones’ most recent arrest.
“After the third or fourth time I had to chase him off with a shotgun,” Mason explained. “The guy just wouldn’t stay off my property and was always high as a kite.”
After hearing about Monday’s incident and arrest, another Round Mountain resident, Kristen Fisher, said on social media she caught AbelJones on her property several years ago.
“He tried to break in my trailer when we were sleeping and then in morning he was in my New Ford Focus sleeping,” Fisher explained; saying, “He needs some Help. Hope he gets it!!”
Neither the homeowner or her children were injured during the incident, which is still under investigation.
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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.