Turlock man detains burglary suspect at gunpoint

A 26-year-old burglary suspect has a 5-year-old girl to thank for his survival, her dad says.

“I probably would have killed the guy had my daughter not been there,” said Gilbert Minjares. “This guy ended up living, and that’s a direct result of the love I have for my daughter.”

Minjares was towel drying his daughter’s hair after her shower Friday night when he heard a loud crash in the backyard of his Turlock home, a sound later determined to be the suspect falling into a patio table table after jumping a fence.

He told his daughter to stay put while he grabbed his firearm from the adjoining closet then headed toward the French doors that open up his room to the backyard.

Just before Minjares reached the doors, the intruder kicked them open and walked in. Minjares pointed his gun at the intruder, the red light from its attached laser dancing on his face.

The man looked to the right as if ready to make a run for it, Minjares said, but he told him, “Listen, if you make one move I am going to blow your head off.”

He ordered the intruder into the backyard, then told him to get on the ground.

Keeping him at gunpoint, Minjares searched the intruder for weapons and called out for his neighbors to call 911. But no one’s lights turned on, and no one responded.

“My only option was to go back in the house to my bathroom to get my cellphone,” Minjares said.

He kept his eyes fixed on the intruder as he backed into his room then into his bathroom, where he grabbed his phone.

Minjares called 911. He told the dispatcher he had an intruder at gunpoint. He told her how officers could get into his backyard. And he described what he and the intruder were wearing so officers would know who was the bad guy when they arrived.

“Within a minute and a half, I could hear sirens coming from every corner of the city,” Minjares said.

Turlock police officers arrived and immediately handcuffed the suspect. Minjares credited the dispatcher for keeping him focused and Turlock officers for their quick, professional response to what could have been a chaotic situation.

Immediately after officers arrived, Minjares said he went to find his daughter.

At first he didn’t see her but when he called her name, Minjares said her little hands reached out from behind a row of pants hanging in his closet.

Minjares said his daughter, even at the age of 5, knows how to call 911 and he has taught her to be prepared in emergency situations, whether it be an earthquake, fire or an intruder in their home.

Police identified the suspect as Martin Zamora.

While waiting for officers to arrive, Minjares said Zamora was complaining that he couldn’t breathe. He later learned Zamora was involved in an altercation at a downtown bar a few blocks away before the break in. Officer Mayra Lewis said someone at the bar pepper-sprayed Zamora.

Lewis said Zamora tried to break into one of Minjares’ neighbors’ home first but was chased off by the resident wielding a 2-by-4.

Zamora was arrested on suspicion of burglary and attempted burglary.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Turlock man detains burglary suspect at gunpoint."