KTLA spoke exclusively to the burglary victim. (KTLA-TV) |
MENTONE, Calif. (KTLA) -- A veteran Los Angeles police sergeant is out on bail after being arrested on burglary charges.
The Los Angeles Police Department says Sgt. Lucien Daigle, an 18-year veteran of the force, was arrested by deputies in San Bernardino County for suspicion of residential burglary.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials say a woman -- a well-known doctor in the area-- confronted Daigle inside her home on Tres Lagos Drive in Mentone after returning home from a walk with her dogs. When she saw him, she screamed and ran down the stairs.
"He was pursuing me," the woman told KTLA in an exclusive interview.
That's when she emptied a can of pepper spray meant for use on bears on Daigle and he fled the scene, she said.
"I could see that he had stuff in his hand that's ours in his hand, and I sprayed him with the bear spray," she told KTLA.
Deputies arrested Daigle after he crashed his a short distance from the crime scene.
Authorities said Daigle smelled of pepper spray and had valuables inside his car that belonged to the homeowner. Those valuables included jewelry, cameras and camera equipment, police said.
After learning Daigle was released on bail, the woman fled her own home and is now staying at an undisclosed location.
"It keeps sinking in that he was a police officer and it's scary," the woman said. "I'm really, really scared."
Daigle has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the criminal and administrative investigations.
LAPD officials say Daigle is the father of six children.
He is the president of his own Highland-based company, Alpha Capital Group. He is involved in gold investing and advertises his real estate properties in the police union newspaper.
Daigle and the burglary victim are in no way connected and do not know each other, officials said.
The Los Angeles Police Department says Sgt. Lucien Daigle, an 18-year veteran of the force, was arrested by deputies in San Bernardino County for suspicion of residential burglary.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials say a woman -- a well-known doctor in the area-- confronted Daigle inside her home on Tres Lagos Drive in Mentone after returning home from a walk with her dogs. When she saw him, she screamed and ran down the stairs.
"He was pursuing me," the woman told KTLA in an exclusive interview.
That's when she emptied a can of pepper spray meant for use on bears on Daigle and he fled the scene, she said.
"I could see that he had stuff in his hand that's ours in his hand, and I sprayed him with the bear spray," she told KTLA.
Deputies arrested Daigle after he crashed his a short distance from the crime scene.
Authorities said Daigle smelled of pepper spray and had valuables inside his car that belonged to the homeowner. Those valuables included jewelry, cameras and camera equipment, police said.
After learning Daigle was released on bail, the woman fled her own home and is now staying at an undisclosed location.
"It keeps sinking in that he was a police officer and it's scary," the woman said. "I'm really, really scared."
Daigle has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the criminal and administrative investigations.
LAPD officials say Daigle is the father of six children.
He is the president of his own Highland-based company, Alpha Capital Group. He is involved in gold investing and advertises his real estate properties in the police union newspaper.
Daigle and the burglary victim are in no way connected and do not know each other, officials said.
