The Key West Citizen

Home Owner Helps Police Nab Intruder

Police, with the assistance of the home owner, apprehended an intruder at 606 Duval St. early today.

The police received a call at 1:41 a. m. that an armed man was in the residence threatening to shoot the owner.

Officers covered on the address and arrested Clarence E. Wegner, of the USS Barbero.

Andrew Rodriguez, owner of the home, told officers that Wegner had broken an 18" x 24" glass window with his fist and after he was unable to enter through the broken window went to a rear door where he entered by breaking the jalousies.

Wegner went to the upstairs bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez where Rodriguez fired a shot in the air to frighten him.

The intruder ran down the rear stairs into the back yard as Rodriguez pursued him. In the yard Wegner told Rodriguez that he had a gun and warned that he would shoot if Rodriguez came into the yard.

Rodriguez fired three more shots as police arrived.

Wegner was found to be unarmed when arrested.

As the officers were collecting the information on the case, they were informed that there was a man in the used car lot of Navarro, which is adjacent to the residence which had been entered.

Police searched the lot and found a man who identified himself as Marlin Johnston lying beneath an auto. Johnston told police that he had been with a "sailor" and that he remembered nothing after having taken drink.

Police believe that Johnston and Wegner were together before the first incident.