Marco DeJesus allegedly attempted a home-invasion burglary in mid-afternoon Thursday in Palm Coast. He did not figure on the homeowner–a young mother–pulling a gun on him, chasing him off and getting pictures of his vehicle and tag. Not 100 minutes later, he was stopped and arrested in Daytona Beach.
Just before 3 p.m. Thursday there was a knock at the Seward Trail house in Palm Coast. Sarah Ross’s two young children were in the living room, playing video games. They told their mother of the knock. She looked through the peephole. The man standing there was a stranger, and he was acting “sketchy,” she would later tell deputies. She told her children to go to her bedroom and lock the door.
Ross also noticed a red or maroon SUV van backed into the driveway, which she thought was extremely odd. The man then walked around the house to the back. She hid in the hallway, but could still see the man looking into a window, surveying her house.
Before long, the man, who was armed with a crowbar, had pried his way through a rear sliding-glass door and walked into the house.
But by then Ross had armed herself with a semi-automatic gun she keeps in the house. She came up behind him, pointed the gun at him and ordered him out of the house.
The man, likely startled, said nothing. He ran out the back door, back into the SUV and fled. But Ross didn’t stop there: she was able to take pictures of the fleeing suspect, obtaining a tag number and a description of the vehicle—a 2007 Mitsubishi Endeavor LS SUV.
The call to 911 came at 2:57 p.m. as Ross described the suspect as a white male wearing red and black gloves, baggy pants, short brown hair. The tag number and the image were plenty of information for the cops to pick up the case from there and start the chase of a vehicle that returned an owner registered in Lakeland, west of Orlando, though police weren’t sure if the tag matched the vehicle ownership.
The vehicle was spotted heading south. Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies followed it at a distance (the details of the chase have been censored from a 911 dispatch report, to protect, the sheriff’s office says, investigative methods), eventually involving units of the Daytona Beach Police Department, Holly Hill Police Department and Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies, including a K-9 unit.
At 4:36 p.m., just about 100 minutes after the break-in on Seward Trail, the cops had two individuals in custody. They were stopped eastbound on George Engram Boulevard near Martin Luther King Boulevard, about a block north from the campus of Bethune-Cookman University.
Only one of the suspects has been identified so far: Marco DeJesus, 32, who was last arrested in Volusia on more than a dozen charges, all of them related to theft and dealing in stolen property. He was booked on $25,500 bond on charges of burglary of an occupied dwelling and criminal mischief.
Worried Grammy says
Good for the young Mom being aware and cautious. It could have ended badly..Just shows her 2nd amendment rights were put to good use, proud of her.
Mary Lynn Crosby says
Good for her!!!
Geezer says
Congrats to Sarah Ross!
Knowsalittle says
He’s lucky she showed restraint. I would have shot the SOB.
Patricia Corcoran says
Im so sorry coverey you cant be on the streets. Drugs are driving you to do evel things i forgave you and your sister for your suffering marco is my son hav you and i pray for your reent seen him in a year. Im glad you and your children are safe i didnt raise him this was hes on drugs and needs mental help rehab isnt going to help i know god will watch over you your sister and you destroyed my life put me in jail. God PLEASE help my marco
G... says
Sarah, make America great again.
Nightwatchman says
If someone prys their way in my house and enters they won’t run, they’ll be shot dead! This could have ended with no arrest…..lucky lady with terrorized kids unfortunately.
Realist says
She should have shot the scumbag dead.
Nancy N. says
Worried Grammy….if she had made her presence in the house obvious BEFORE this guy broke in, the weapon wouldn’t have been necessary. Why the hell did she hide and wait for him to break in instead of chasing him off before it got that far?
Sounds to me like this woman risked her own safety and that of her children so she could catch the guy in the act and be a hero.
Rick says
She is such a pro by the way she handled herself and protecting her children. These lowlifes are more than lucky they encountered someone who maintained the composure that prevented the loss of lives. If this is their first gun pointed experience it’s time to quit while ahead. Otherwise, we all know what needs to happen and put an end to their choice of career. Yes to the right to bear and protecting you and yours. Sarah, you are awesome. Thank you for standing your ground and refusing to be victimized. ATVH. 😊
ScotchRox says
[quote]Before long, the man, who was armed with a crowbar, had pried his way through a rear sliding-glass door and walked into the house[/quote]
She should have shot him at that point…
End of story.
Retiredlawenforcement says
NOW THATS WHAT I CALL GUN CONTROL !
Tired of it says
Should have shot the dirt bag.
David S says
Its a beautiful thing!!!!!
Jim says
Way to go Sarah!
Neptune says
This creep doesn’t know how lucky he is….I would NOT have hesitated to shoot him once he entered my home…….CREEPS BEWARE !!!!
Rick says
Really Nancy??? You must live your life as a full time contrarian. Had Sarah truly desired exposure, she would have shot him dead. Maybe she should have made her presence known so they could leave and end up in your house.
Agnese says
Great job Sarah, this is a stand your ground state!
Rick says
Drug addicts need help and so do all the friends and family members who are exposed to the lost soul. Folks, educate yourself on how to deal with the monster(s) in your life. Begin by removing them from your nucleus and send them on their way. They will steal your possessions and your soul. They will become regulars at pawn shops who know they are buying stolen goods. They steal from neighbors once they wiped you out. Get them locked up for anything that is unlawful. The more, the better. They are safer in jail than in the streets. They will either get the message or live their lives behind bars. Let them go down the bumpy road they have chosen. Don’t feed them, provide shelter, money. It’s the life they chose and the sooner you let them reach their wake up point, the quicker the addict wakes the hell up. They are a totally different being and will ruin your life if you don’t take the action of serving them with tough love. They will test you mentally and emotionally but you must not give in.
surfgod88 says
Great job Sarah. For those who are saying she should have shot him, why? That would be a very traumatic experience for her and the kids with possible emotional scarring. No one needs to go through that. Was handled well but could have been nipped in the bud by responding at the door with “police have been called” or “I am armed you better leave!”
I had a sketchy knock on my door late one night in Seminole Woods. Put family in locked bedroom as I stood near entrance while armed telling them they better leave or else. That was the end of that.
DaveT says
If the guy had broken in my home, he would have shot dead. This could have been worst , the woman even with the gun could have hesitated and the man could have harmed her and her children.
Bc. says
She should have put him out of his missory
The Geode says
FINALLY! Someone who don’t have the need to play “internet tough guy”. I get a laugh at these blowhards who are so tough playing Captain Hindsight. Never mind the trauma of killing someone or having to shoot someone in front of your kids. Nope. They would want you to believe they are “Yosemite Sam” and would go out “tootin’ and shootin”. LOL FOOLS!
Geezer says
Nancy N, and surfgod88 make very good points.
What is this desire to kill a person all about?
What surfgod88 did in response to the knock was exemplary
in that particular scenario.
DaveT says
Hey Geode, I don’t know about you but I served 18 years in the military had to kill a few to protect my fellow brothers and I was also a Deputy Sheriff in Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. I would have no problem in taking out a punk breaking into my home. If I felt my children were in danger, I’m not going to ask the guy a few questions as he has proven he is a treat against my family for breaking into our home. You on the other appears would invite him to stay for coffee and cookies.
woodchuck says
Hey Geode,the only trauma suffered would be on his part not mine.Keep the kids tucked away in another until they drag his ass away.What about the trauma of him breaking in or coming back?
Nancy N. says
Yeah Rick, exercising common sense does seem to make me a contrarian around these parts. Sadly.
As for your threat that this guy would end up at my house next…well, I already dealt with a similar situation a few weeks ago and I chased the people off, BEFORE THEY ENTERED MY HOUSE, and without using a firearm. Some young people were standing in front of the house checking it out and then entered my driveway pretending to pick up the paper at the end of the drive. They were obviously casing the house, unaware it was occupied. I didn’t wait until they entered the house! I stopped them in their tracks in the driveway by opening the blinds and glaring at them, making it clear they had been seen and were being watched. They hot footed it back down the street the direction where they had come from.
It would have been a ridiculously unnecessary risk to wait until they were inside my home to confront them, instead of derailing the situation before it escalated. What happened to common sense?
Rich Madger says
Should have chased him down with a frying pan and a gun!!!
Retiredlawenforcement says
I hope Flagler or Volusia County sheriffs offices are executing search warrants at this dirtbags house I guarantee more evidence can be found.
Why was this guy booked into Volusia County? Why didn’t FCSO arrest him?
Shorty Buckshot says
All the internet George Zimmerman’s crack me up. So quick to turn a breaking and entering into a death. Seems like she had the drop on him from the get go and then some, enough of a steady hand to take pictures of a license plate. I give her credit for using restraint but don’t understand why she allowed him to get as far as he did. Phone in one hand calling 911, gun in the other the moment she saw him head toward the back door. The guy having time to actually break in after test knocking and her shuffling the kids away for safety and then ambushing seems a bit risky.
ScotchRox says
[quote] I stopped them in their tracks in the driveway by opening the blinds and glaring at them[/quote]
Nancy N. I have no doubt that seeing you would scare off any hardened criminal let alone some punks…
Sherry says
OK. . . why in the world let a stranger break into your home before acting? In this “armed to the teeth” day and age, the perp could have easily been armed himself. What if he turned the tables on her and harmed her or or kids? At a minimum, she has created psychological trauma for her children by allowing it to get that far.
Nancy is completely correct. . . call 911. . . then confront them BEFORE they even get close to your home! Also take photos of them and their vehicle and report the trespass. Good question. . . what happened to common sense? How would it have been better to shoot at them and put children through such things?
Local Resident says
Nancy, I’m glad you were able to scare the possible intruders away. However, I would like to know if you called the police after your possible home invasion??? I applaud Sarah’s bravery and tenacity to protect her family and home, as well as, getting these two scumbags put in jail!!
Mark says
Now he will go to jail for a week and try it again. She should have shot him with the gun not a phone.
Bc. says
Now this is gun control. You go girl
THE VOICE OF REASON says
His pants weren’t baggy until AFTER she pulled that gun on him.
anonymous says
Good job for mom protecting herself and her family. And getting dirt bag out with pictures of tag and vehicle. Can’t get much better than that.
KrazyKansasKat says
Burglary of an occupied dwelling has got to be more frightening & psychologically traumatizing then armed robbery in public. Just think about it, you’re in what you consider the safest & most comfortable place you know. Now you’re violated & you could have your personal possessions taken from you, you stand to be raped and/or even murdered considering. Shooting a burgler whether he’s armed or not should be dealt with in the gravest extreme, a self surviving homeowner should elect no other option.
Country Rock Dog says
It’s high time we hard working taxpaying citizens of Flagler County need to become completely self dependent, from personal experience by the time the 9-1-1 telecommunicator finishes questioning you endlessly asking the same question at least 3 times like a tape loop the suspect has long gone, the crime in progress is now a past crime sliding into the cold case designation and/or you are already dead. Even if they hear blood curdling screams in the background they drone on like 4-1-1 information operators or worst yet OnStar customer service reps. A new type of “Neighborhood Watch” effort is fast coming into place, citizens carrying weapons under the concealed permit statute patrolling their neighborhoods by foot, car or bicycle, minimum patrol: 2 residents with body cam, GPS & two way radio communications to a common resident base who then notifies the appropriate agency or other parties designated within the sphere of the neighborhoods legal authority & responsibility. That’s just a start because as many law enforcement agencies clearly stated to the public: There’s justice & then there’s just us. Hearing a remark like that from the very people who were sworn to protect you leaves quite an impression.