By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
Sacramento sheriff's deputies shot at a burglary suspect who pointed a weapon at them early today, the department said. After that he surrendered and was taken into police custody.
Spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said two deputies found the suspect hiding in the bushes near an Orangevale home that he was burglarizing when the homeowner interrupted him.
No one was hit in the gunfire, which occurred shortly after 6:52 a.m. after officers responded to a homeowner's report of a burglary-in-progress at the 8500 block of Greenback Lane.
The homeowner reported that the suspect was armed with a knife and a pump-action gun, Curran said.
When deputies arrived, they learned that the man, still armed, had ducked into nearby bushes.
The officers called for him to drop his weapons and come out, Curran said. The suspect refused and then pointed the gun at the deputies. Curran said that both deputies, fearing imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, fired multiple shots from their handguns at the suspect.
The suspect, identified as 47-year-old Pinta Viteazu, surrendered and was taken into custody.
They recovered the suspect's weapons: a knife and what turned out to be a bb/pellet gun.
Viteazu is to be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges that include assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
According to department policy, the deputies, a 44-year-old woman with 12 years in the department and a 41-year-old woman with 11 years on the job, are to be placed on administrative leave.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting will be investigated by the department's Homicide unit, the Internal Affairs unit, and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.
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