Alert citizens help police catch thief. (The Goodness of America).

At around 8:20 a.m. on March 4th, 12-year-old Chris Ebbers was about to leave home to catch his school bus when the lanky Elk Grove, California, seventh-grader heard some strange noises from the attached garage. Before he could investigate, however, a man initially claiming to be a repairman entered the house. But when he asked young Ebbers if his dad had a safe, and ordered the boy to wait in the bathroom, Chris knew that the intruder planned to "steal stuff."

As the thief searched for valuables and began cleaning out a gun cabinet, Chris snuck out the front door and ran to the home of neighbor John Jenkins. Jenkins was working at his computer when Chris, whom Jenkins described as "cool and calm," knocked on the door and explained what was happening. After calling 911, Jenkins noticed the thief walking down the street with a duffel bag later found loaded with guns and other valuables. Jenkins jumped into his car and began trailing the man. Apparently aware that he was being followed, the thief eventually dropped the bag, fled through a park, and jumped several fences.

The Sacramento County sheriff's department provides police services for Elk Grove. When deputies arrived, they released a police dog that promptly tracked the suspect to a nearby subdivision where a deputy, peering over a back fence, spotted him holding a chrome-plated pistol. When the man began to run, he was ordered to halt but instead pointed his gun in the direction of the lawmen. At least one of the deputies opened fire, wounding him in the left arm. He ran into, and moments later out of, a nearby residence, jumped a few more fences, then briefly took a homeowner hostage before stealing his car. With deputies in hot pursuit, the fleeing suspect eventually became bogged down in mud on a dirt road. He attempted to run, but dropped his gun and surrendered when he found himself surrounded by armed officers.

He refused to give his name, but a fingerprint check identified him as Milton A. Bridges, 42. He had been released from prison in June after serving a two-year sentence for a drug-related offense. He faces more than two dozen charges, ranging from attempted murder, burglary, and robbery, to false imprisonment, assault, and assault on a peace officer. Cooperation between alert citizens and their local police made apprehending Bridges possible.