Security Cameras Tip Property Owner Off To An Armed Trespasser
Mountain Ranch, CA – While heading out on a hunting trip with friends, a property owner was alerted to a trespasser by security cameras and took action.
It was last Thursday around 8:45 that a call came into the Calaveras sheriff’s dispatch Center about a person trespassing near the 10600 block of Whiskey Slide Road in Mountain Ranch. It was the property owner making the report as he was heading back to his residence. Dispatch advised him that deputies were already responding and to wait for their arrival.
The owner arrived first and discovered a cut fence and fresh tire marks on the property. Just then, the alleged suspect pulled up, attempting to flee the same way he got onto the property. Confronting the man, the owner held him there until deputies arrived. Once on scene, deputies tried to question the alleged suspect, 41-year-old Jose Maria Vallijo of Sacramento, as to why he was in the area. He refused to answer that or any other questions. A search turned up a 9mm handgun, a .22 caliber rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, and multiple rounds of ammunition. Also, found were items stolen from the property. A records check showed Vallijo was on felony post-release community supervision from Sacramento County.
Vallijo was arrest for felony prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition, having a short barrel/modified shotgun, and violation of probation. Additionally, two misdemeanors for a concealed weapon in a vehicle and petty theft. He is being held with a $95,000 bail.
Sheriff’s officials also made it a point to caution against persons placing themselves in dangerous situations, offering that deputies are “well trained and well equipped to act on your behalf to keep you safe.”
