Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Two would-be burglars encountered an armed homeowner in Ogden. Now one man is in jail and police are looking for another. It happened this morning around 9:15 at Steven Cross' home near 200 East 19th Street.
The homeowner said someone tried to break into his house a month ago and, this time, he was ready. Cross said, "I just got done making myself some pancakes after work when I heard someone trying to break in my back door."
Inside the house, Cross could see a shadow through the weather strip. He said, "I wanted to scare him off, so I went down and pushed the door shut so he know someone was there, and he didn't care."
Cross tried to get a better look at the man and peeked out a side window. "I saw footprints, and it was all snow this morning," Cross said. "There were no footprints, and I'm like, ‘There's footprints. I know someone's back there.'"
Cross made eye contact with the man and that made him nervous. He said, "[He] stared me down like it was no big deal, so I went and got my gun."
Cross opened his front door, his 9 mm handgun hidden behind the door. Cross said, "He was already at his car, ready to leave, and I was like, ‘Can I help you?' Like, ‘What are you doing at my house,' basically. I don't know if he got nervous or whatever, and he fired a shot at me."
The bullet went over the house. Cross fired back, hitting the man's car as he drove off. "My tactic was just natural reaction, fire back to try to scare him, to get him out of the area, Cross said.
When Cross gave police a description, officers immediately recognized the man as Michael Shawn Toles. Police arrested Toles last week for wandering in the backyard of homes in Ogden's east bench.
Toles also was out on bail for auto theft in Weber County.
This morning, police found Toles at his house. Lt. Scott Sangberg, with the Ogden Police Department, said, "He probably ought to take up another way of living because he's not a very good criminal."
Cross, who's in the Air Force, moved into this house with his fiancée three months ago. There's an alarm system, but someone tried to break in last month, so he bought the gun. Cross said, "Never had to use it before. First shot fired at a Dodge Intrepid. [I] didn't really expect that."
Toles is in the Weber County Jail. Cross says a second man was parked in another car outside his house, possibly as a lookout. Police are still looking for him.
Police are investigating whether the homeowner was within his rights to shoot at the suspects. Sangberg said a person had a right to defend himself, but legally he or she didn't have a right to chase someone down a street while shooting.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
