OCEANSIDE, Calif. - An Oceanside family is recovering from a terrifying ordeal after a wanted felon burst into their home Sunday afternoon.
The incident began around 4:30 p.m. when Oceanside police tried to pull over a driver on Barnes Street for a routine violation. The passenger of the car, identified as Michael Ruben Mejia, jumped out and took off running.
According to police, Mejia tried unsuccessfully to carjack a woman and break into a house, before finding an open side door at a home in the 1700 block of Dixie Street. A 22-year-old man was in the home alone, and his mom got a frantic phone call from her daughter.
"My daughter called me and said, 'Mum, the whole street is covered with police," said the woman, who did not want her identity revealed. "She said apparently there's like a convict running around and they haven't caught him."
She rushed home and found police with guns drawn at her front door.
"I said, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe he's on our street.' Little did I know, that he was actually in my house," said the woman.
The intruder forced her son into his bedroom.
"He said don't call anyone, don't call the police; he intimidated that he would hurt him if he did," said the woman.
When Mejia tried to hide under her son's bed, he ran out of the house.
"He was like, 'Mum, don't worry, I'm OK.' Because I was crying, because when you've got your son in with a felon, who knows," the woman said.
Officers got the family's two pugs out of the house before sending in their police dog. Moments later, they brought Mejia out on a stretcher.
Mejia is now out of the hospital and in a Vista jail facing a long list of felony charges.
In May, Mejia was a Crime Stoppers featured fugitive. At that time, he was wanted on three felony warrants for robbery, carrying a concealed dagger, resisting arrest and possession of stolen property. He also has a warrant for his arrest out of Riverside County.
Meanwhile, the family who ended up with Mejia in their home is still stunned.
"Because that kind of thing is so random. I never thought that would happen to us, and I've never felt unsafe here," the homeowner said.
