Neighbors in Orchards detain struggling intruder until sheriff’s deputy arrives

When an intruder forced his way into a family’s home in Orchards late Friday night, neighbors grabbed him and held him until sheriff’s deputies and police officers arrived.

It was shortly after 10 p.m. Friday when the man entered a mobile home in the 11600 block of Northeast 71st Street uninvited, said Sgt. K.C. Kasberg with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The folks who live there told the man to get out. Someone called 911 and neighbors pinned the man on the ground.

Deputy Joe McLoughlin, the first to arrive, radioed for assistance as he worked to handcuff the struggling man. Several officers with the Sheriff’s Office and Vancouver Police Department rushed to help but, seconds later, officials radioed that the situation was under control.

Officers took the man to a hospital for a mental evaluation, Kasberg said later Friday night. It wasn’t believed the intruder knew the occupants of the home he broke into, and it was thought he might have had a mental or drug-related problem.

When the man is released from the hospital, he’ll be taken to the jail on suspicion of burglary and assault, Kasberg said.

Only one person was hurt, a neighbor who helped detain the man and suffered a minor wrist injury.

The neighbors did a good job of detaining the man, Kasberg said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.