Wednesday, September 13, 2001

Karate Kids Beat Back Burglary Attempt

Suspect disappears into the night after a scuffle in La Canada Flintridge home. By Marshall Allen--The Leader"These kids did a lot of things right. They were good witnesses, they called 911 and stayed on the phone and didn't get hysterical."Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Sgt. Don Bee on Becky and Roy Manukyan, the 13-and 12-year-old siblings who fought off a burglar using karate and ju jitsu LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE--The burglar knew the kids were home and entered anyway, said Sgt. Don Bee of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's station. But the crook didn't count on karate kids. At 9:50 pm Sept. 1, siblings Becky and Roy Manukyan were home in La Canada Flintridge watching TV while their parents were out to dinner. A large, muscular black man wearing a mask, gloves, dark shirt and shorts, entered the home through the sliding glass door, Bee said. Roy, 12, found the man in the hallway and confronted him. The unarmed man pushed Roy down and walked into the living room, where he attempted to pull Becky, 13, out of the room by her legs. The siblings, whom their father, Ruben, said each have black belts in karate, and brown belts in ju jitsu, began hitting and kicking th suspect. "Most likely, that was a big surprise to him," Ruben said. During the struggle, they were able to call 911 and talk to the operator from the phones located in different rooms in the house. The man eventually fled through the sliding glass door and disappeared into the darkness. The children weren't injured in the altercation. Deputies, who searched for the suspect, know of no motive in the incident, and don't have any suspects. There have been no other recent incidents of this nature in the Foothill area. "These kids did a lot of things right." Bee said. "they were good witnesses, they called 911 and stayed on the phone and didn't get hysterical." Ruben said it's important to him for the community to know of the incident, although he doesn't want people to panic about one incident.