Owner fires at burglars trying to run him over

Eight law enforcement officers and a K9 dog converged on an Ophir home being burglarized early Thursday morning after the property owner fired shots at two Port Orford men trying to run him over with stolen cars.

“The guy comes over the hill in a stolen truck, goosed it and tried to run over me,” said Paul Wesselink, a sheriff’s commissioner from Orange County, Calif., who is building a summer home at Elk Point off Highway 101.

Sheriff John Bishop said his department received a 911 call of a burglary in progress with shots fired. Deputy Joel Hensley was called out about 4:30 a.m. and arrived at the scene, followed by Sgt. John Ward.

Hensley found one stolen vehicle lodged against the fence in gear but no one around, Bishop said. When Ward arrived, they went up the road and contacted Wesselink.

“During this contact, sounds were coming from the brush area to the north of the residence. Another vehicle was located with engine running and lights on but no one around,” Bishop said.

Due to weather conditions and limited visibility, combined with no knowledge of how many burglars were near the area, additional assistance was requested.

Curry County Sheriff’s Capt. Bob Rector and Bishop arrived on scene along with Oregon State Trooper Paul Rushton, Gold Beach Police Chief P.J. Janik and Coos Bay Officers Sgt. Sean Merritt and Officer Tim West. Coos Bay also brought their K-9 “Vigo.”

A perimeter was set up around the residence and the burglars were tracked. It was later determined one fled to the south and the other north, but both had headed to Highway 101.

Wesselink told deputies he had heard sounds and had gone out to see what was going on. He confronted the first vehicle and the driver revved the engine and headed for him so he discharged a firearm into the ground in an attempt to get the vehicle to stop. The vehicle went around the owner but crashed into a fence and the driver fled the scene. Wesselink had hopped onto his all terrain vehicle when another car then attempted to come down the road and more warning shots were fired. The vehicle then backed up and became stuck and the driver fled on foot. Stolen property was located in both vehicles.

“I was in a Polaris Ranger (ATV), on a fairly steep hill. When he saw me, he aimed for me and punched it. When he was passing was when I fired at him. He got a little spooked and went out of control,” Wesselink said.

“I thought he was stupid on a stick,” Wesselink said.

“You don’t normally charge a guy with a gun. I didn’t want to shoot at him. I gave him a chance to go by. He almost hit me,” Wesselink said.

“I thought it was all over till I saw the next guy. Both cars wrecked out,” he said.

“They cleaned out the property. They were excited. They thought they hit the mother lode. They cleaned the house out of tools. They had taken tools out of the barn, stole a truck on the site, belonging to a worker, and put stuff in it,” Wesselink said.

He said the house, still under construction, is a 12,000-square-foot home that he will use as a summer home.

“I just got back a few days before. I have someone on the property all the time,” Wesselink said.

“They just ransacked everything,” he said.

He said he had a motorcycle that had been loaded by the burglars and was ready to go.

While the investigation at the residence continued that morning, officers were patrolling Highway 101.

At about 9:05 a.m., Trooper Rushton advised he had spotted two men hitchhiking approximately 2 miles to the north on the highway and they were taken into custody.

“North Bend sent two guys down with their tracker. It took about an hour and a half. They were here five hours. They tracked all over the place, their footprints,” Wesselink said. “They found these guys on their way home, Port Orford.

They’ve got weeds and scrubs all over. Their pants were dirty. They just said ‘We’re out taking a walk.’”

Jeffery Dale Rosenberry, 38, and Rick Thomas Phillips, 26, were arraigned Friday morning on charges of second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, two counts each of unauthorized use of a vehicle and recklessly endangering another. All but the last count are felonies.

Phillips is also charged with probation violation. Judge Jesse Margolis set bail at $100,000 each for the new charges. Phillips is also being held without bail for the probation violation.

Bishop said more charges are expected.

Wesselink said, “I was really, really impressed with the guys here. They did a really bang-up professional job.

“The police here, the sheriff especially, all the guys were very professional when they came. We do a lot of training and these guys, in a rural town, I wouldn’t have expected that. They were great, great guys, all of them,” he said.

“Where we are there are 5,500 guys on the force. He (Bishop) said thanks for rubbing it in. I was just happy we didn’t kill anyone, got both guys stopped from getting off the property.”