Holly MatkinPatterson, CA – A female homeowner fatally shot a drunken intruder who attacked her husband while breaking into the couple’s house on Saturday night, according to police.
The incident occurred at a home located in the 500-block of Ashwood Lane at approximately 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 24, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) said in a press release on Sunday morning.
Investigators said the suspect, 22-year-old Angelo Santana, had become “heavily intoxicated” and attempted to force his way into a residence belonging to 50-year-old Yuhui Zheng and her 45-year-old husband, Yang Luan.
Luan attempted to stop the drunken intruder from making entry into the house, resulting in a “significant fight” at the front door, according to the SCSO.
As Santana attacked Luan – leaving him with numerous abrasions and scratches – Zheng ran to an upstairs bedroom and grabbed her revolver.
She then went back downstairs and fatally shot Santana, ending the attack, the SCSO said.
Deputies responded to the home after a woman called and reported that her female, Mandarin-speaking neighbor had just called her and told her she had “shot and killed an intruder,” according to the sheriff’s office.
They arrived to find Santana lying dead near the entryway of the couple’s home.
He was unarmed.
Deputies evacuated everyone from the residence and gathered statements from witnesses and the couple, who they described as fully cooperative.
They also located internal and external surveillance footage of the incident, the SCSO said.
Investigators concluded Zheng fired the weapon to defend her husband.
She happened to have purchased the gun just one day earlier.
“Investigators have made no arrests in this case, and their preliminary findings are this was an example of strictly self-defense,” the SCSO said.
Those familiar with Santana allegedly told detectives he “had a history of alcohol substance abuse” and that he had “regularly” shown up unannounced at other locations in the neighborhood trying to find his acquaintances and friends.
The findings of the ongoing investigation will be forwarded to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office which will “review the legality of the homicide,” the SCSO said.
