Police say the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Miguel Luna, kicked in the door of a home on Sharp Avenue in Sylmar at around noon on Tuesday. He left his foot print under the doorknob.
Luna proceeded to ransack a bedroom, not realizing the homeowner was in another room. When the owner confronted him, Luna begged him not to call police, ran out of the house and got into his car, which was parked in the driveway. When he couldn't get his car to start, Luna walked back into the home and again begged the homeowner not to call police, telling him that he was a friend of the homeowner's daughter.
The homeowner chased Luna out of the house, striking him with a garden hoe on the head. He was knocked unconscious for a short time, but he fled the scene when he awoke, leaving his car behind. He is still at large.
In the car, investigators found an iPad with pictures of Luna, his finger prints and even a traffic citation with his signature. There was also DNA from the blood on the garden hoe used by the homeowner. In a news release, LAPD investigators called it "a treasure trove of evidence."
"This crime scene was really a study in how to get caught," said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon in the news release.
If you have any information about his case, you're urged to call Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
