Two Concord men, 18 and 19, were arrested and a baby taken into custody on Oct. 1 when a botched burglary in Peacock Creek ended at police gunpoint after a short pursuit by Clayton Police Cpl. Richard Enea.

According to police, the victim was in his Inverness Way home about 4 p.m. when he heard noises outside. When he went to investigate, he found that the side door had been kicked in and there was a man in his garage. He confronted the burglar, who punched the homeowner and ran to a waiting car.

The homeowner flagged down a neighbor and the two followed the suspects, calling police along the way.

Enea was just leaving the police station when he got the call. He caught up to the suspects at Ygnacio Valley Road and followed them down Clayton Road to Bailey Road, where the suspects pulled over.

Enea held the men in the car at gunpoint until Sgt. Tim Marchut of Clayton PD and Hollie Sanson of the Concord K-9 unit arrived. As officers were handcuffing the men, the burglary suspect told them his baby was in the backseat. The child was turned over to Child Protective Services.

Also in the car were a number of items from an earlier residential burglary in Pleasant Hill. All stolen property was recovered.

The two men were arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree residential burglary, child endangerment and conspiracy. Bail was set at $270,000.

Enea credits the successful outcome to the victim’s quick thinking and cool head. “He did an excellent job of not wanting to be a victim,” Enea said. “He took matters into his own hands by calling police and keeping himself out of danger.”

In a statement to the press, Marchut praised Enea. “(He) did an amazing job during this investigation at each step. He did not take any shortcuts and it clearly paid off.”