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Woman chases, confronts knife-wielding burglar

Posted at 9:22 PM, Sep 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-22 13:17:51-04

ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) -- A young woman says she chased an intruder from her Encinitas home. When she began the chase, she had no idea he was armed with a knife. 

Just before midnight Tuesday, Maria Medvedev was reading a book in her home in the Village Park neighborhood. She was startled by the sound of the side gate opening. Then, she saw and heard a shadowy figure race out of her yard.

Medvedev took off after him and found him hiding behind a truck in the street. She says he tried to convince her he was a neighbor, then took out of a knife and approached her.

"He flashed it and that's when I started screaming, 'Someone call the police. Someone call 9-1-1!'" she said. 
    
Surveillance video shows what happened next: the feet of a stranger, a Hispanic male in his 30s, running away.

In the video, he's seen getting into his truck, starting it up and driving off. Nearby is Medvedev, who managed to memorize the license plate, before reporting it to deputies.  

Back at the house, Medvedev found the unlocked patio door shoved open. She believes her barking dogs scared the burglar off.