In a case of life imitating art, a pickax-wielding man smashed his way into a Santa Maria house, terrorizing a family of five who took refuge in a back bedroom until police arrived.

The horror-movie-like incident began at about 10 p.m. Monday when 15-year-old Willie Estrada, a Pioneer Valley High School student, heard a knock on the front door of his family's home in the 900 block of North School Street.

Estrada said he was able to get a quick look at the man's face before the visitor put his hand over the peep hole.

“We thought he was just a drunk,” Estrada said, but nonetheless, he called 9-1-1.

Seeing that he was not going to be let in the house, the intruder - identified by police as Eligio Raymond Franco, 28, of Santa Maria - used a pickax he found in the yard to smash his way through two glass doors and gain access to the house.

Once inside, the intruder broke a large window in the living room and a television set. As he made his way down the hallway, he ripped a thermostat off the wall and shattered a mirror.

Upon reaching the bedroom at the back of the house where Estrada and his family had fled, the intruder whacked and kicked at the door.

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“Let me in,” the intruder said in a high voice, according to Estrada.

”We were really scared because we

didn't know what to do,” Estrada recalled.

“As soon as he hit the T.V., we were already in the room,” he said. “I don't even know why he shattered the T.V.” he said.

“I think he was under the influence of something,” Estrada said, adding that later, when the suspect was in the patrol car, he was crying and sticking his tongue out.

Estrada was in his parents' bedroom with his mother, father, 25-year-old sister and 11-year-old sister. Other siblings were not at the house at the time.

As he and his mother held the door and the intruder tried to get in, Estrada's father, also named Willie Estrada, readied his gun to use if necessary. His father was about to shoot the man when the police showed up at the window, Estrada said.

The elder Estrada said shooting the culprit would have been risky with his family so close.

Franco was found by police officers in a bedroom of the house, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

Franco was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of burglary and felony vandalism. He remained in custody Tuesday night, with bail set at $50,000.

The five victims, who police said did not know Franco, were helped to safety out of the bedroom window by police.

“Like, we couldn't believe what was happening,” said Estrada, who said he called 9-1-1 from his cell phone during the incident. He said he felt like the family was in a horror movie.

About $1,000 in property was reportedly damaged during the rampage.

Lt. Dan Ast with the Santa Maria Police Department said Franco was initially non-compliant with police when they demanded that he show his hands. After awhile, he sat up and was taken into custody, Ast said.

He said Franco was under the influence of alcohol.

Ast said he couldn't comment on a possible motive for the intrusion.

Estrada and his younger sister stayed home from school Tuesday due to the traumatic experience.

The 11-year-old girl, whose bed the suspect reportedly was found on, was crying all night, he said.

The living room window had been fixed, but other signs of the ordeal remained at mid-day Tuesday.

“The most important thing was we're all safe,” Estrada said.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamariatimes.com.

May 14, 2008