Barstow firefighters fend off alleged burglar

BARSTOW • Firefighters subdued a 20-year-old Barstow man after he allegedly broke into the Barstow Fire Department’s station 363 on West Main Street early Tuesday morning.

Aaron Conklin was arrested on suspicion of two counts of burglary on the 2600 block of West Main Street at 1:17 a.m. Conklin is accused of braking into the trucks of two on-duty firefighters that were parked at the station before throwing a barbecue grill through a sliding glass door and entering the station. Conklin was rummaging through keys and carrying a firemen’s jacket and badges when he was confronted by firefighters who were working Tuesday, according to Cpt. Nick DiNapoli, a firefighter that fought with Conklin.

“We had been on a couple calls and I was sleeping when I thought I heard something or someone yell so I got up,” DiNapoli said. “I saw the light was on in the captain’s office so I looked and there was a guy that was bleeding and he was looking through our keys.”

DiNapoli said that he went back to the dormitory to wake up the other firefighters, Carlos Topete and Jack Knight, and put shoes on after seeing Conklin. The three then confronted Conklin who resisted and fought them. Knight and Topete helped DiNapoli and checked the fire station to make sure there were no other intruders, according to DiNapoli.

The firefighters were able to hold Conklin until police officers arrived to take him into custody.

“We’re all shaken up,” DiNapoli said. “I’m just glad it was at the fire station and not the home of a family or something.”

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or dheldreth@desertdispatch.com