Updated at 3:20 p.m. Feb. 20, 2018
A thief fired a gun at the owner of a truck he was stealing Tuesday in a neighborhood near Lake Murray — missing him — before fleeing in the vehicle along with an accomplice, authorities reported.
Alerted by his barking dog, the victim walked out of his home in the 7200 block of Baldrich Street in La Mesa shortly before 4 a.m. to see the two strangers inside his white 2001 Toyota Tacoma, according to police.
The resident confronted the pair, opened the driver’s-side door and tried to pull out the one behind the steering wheel, said police Lt. Chad Bell. During an ensuing struggle, the bandit pulled a gun, prompting the victim to back away.
The armed thief then fired a single shot and sped off to the north on Kiowa Street. The owner of the vehicle was unhurt.
Investigating officers later found a spent shell casing on the ground near where the truck — an extended-cab model with a toolbox covering the entire length of the bed — had been parked, the lieutenant said.
The victim described the thieves as Asian men in dark clothing, one about 5 feet 2 inches tall and thin, the other roughly 5 foot 8 and heavyset.
— City News Service