Store Owner Tackles Burglar

ORANGEVALE (CBS13) - The suspect dropped down from the attic and then ransacked the consignment shop.

Tipping over teapots and shattering glass, she loaded up on $25,000 in loot.

But the break in tripped an alarm and Blooming Deals store owner Shannon Jungsten raced to the scene and came face-to-face with the suspect.

"She pops out the door to get away, and I start running towards her, and I noticed there was a lot of jewelry hanging down. So, my first instinct was to grab, so I grabbed a hold of her and I did not let go," said Jungsten.

But the suspect wouldn't give up and continued to fight.

"So I told her to drop everything and get down on the ground," said Jungsten.

Her boyfriend heard the screams and rushed over to help.

"So I ran over there as fast as I could and grabbed her by the neck, and kind of pushed her down to the ground," said Rob Best.

Within seconds, deputies arrived and cuffed Stephanie Wagner.

"I actually didn't even know it was a female until I had a hold of her. So when I grabbed a hold of her, she lifted her head up and I saw it as a female, and I was absolutely stunned," said Jungsten.

Man or woman, it didn't matter to Jungsten who didn't think twice about tackling the burglar in her store.

"I was kind of apprehensive about, you know, going in there in the first place; or coming across in any way and to see her in such a furry to uh, wow. It impressed me," said Best.

Catching the consignment crook is even more important, because everything in the store is owned by others.

"Now that I think of it, I think it's very dangerous and I'm actually kind of shaken up now. But at the time, I was just thinking about my customers. I just wanted to protect everything in the store," said Jungsten.

Jungsten says she'll be stepping up her surveillance system at the store by adding new cameras that she'll be able to monitor from home.

Since the burglary Thursday morning, the area has already started planning a neighborhood watch program.