Caped man encounters armed homeowner, arrested on suspicion of burglary in Amador County

A Stockton man was arrested Monday after deputies said he walked into an Amador County home and tried to steal items from the garage.

The incident happened just before 9 p.m. at the home on New York Ranch Road north of Jackson. The homeowner, who is wheelchair-bound, called authorities after seeing the unknown man enter the home and begin “acting erratically,” Amador County sheriff’s deputies said in a social media post.

The homeowner described the man to dispatchers as 40 years old, wearing a red cape and black pants. The homeowner, who was armed with a handgun, told dispatchers he persuaded the intruder to leave.

Upon arrival, deputies said they found Erik Willden of Stockton “stealing items from within the homeowner’s detached garage.” He also told deputies he had smoked methamphetamine in the hours before his arrest.

Willden, 42, was booked at Amador County Jail on suspicion of burglary and being under the influence of a controlled substance.