Police arrested Secundino Soto, 22, who is accused of breaking into an elderly woman's home while she slept and stealing her car and other items.
Helen Kornoff, 88, woke up in her Northeast Fresno home to find her garage door open and her Toyota Avalon missing.
While police were able to arrest Soto and return her items, she says her sense of security is now gone.
"To think that somebody was that close to you and could do something like that. They could've just as easy cut my throat," Kornoff said.
At about the same time Kornoff noticed that her car was missing, police were arresting Soto in Southeast Fresno. Several neighbors called police to report a man driving recklessly.
"The call was that a guy, Hispanic male in his 20s, was doing donuts in the roadway," said Sgt. Mike Smith with the Fresno Police Department.
Police found the car parked and returned it to Kornoff.
Other people found Kornoff's wallet and other items in their yard and brought them to her by using the address on her ID.
Kornoff spent the day shook up. She took inventory of her belongings and counted her blessings.
"Of course when I think somebody broke into my house, my first thought is my kids," Kornoff said while petting a cat that sat in her lap. "I call this my children."
She said she's grateful she wasn't physically hurt. Kornoff lives alone since her husband died a few years ago. She said she has not one blood relative alive.
"She was in tears when the officer arrived. She just hugged him, and she was really, really upset," Smith said.
He added that Soto has a lengthy criminal record, and had several warrants for his arrest for theft.
Soto is being held on a bail of about $60,000.
Helen Kornoff, 88, woke up in her Northeast Fresno home to find her garage door open and her Toyota Avalon missing.
While police were able to arrest Soto and return her items, she says her sense of security is now gone.
"To think that somebody was that close to you and could do something like that. They could've just as easy cut my throat," Kornoff said.
At about the same time Kornoff noticed that her car was missing, police were arresting Soto in Southeast Fresno. Several neighbors called police to report a man driving recklessly.
"The call was that a guy, Hispanic male in his 20s, was doing donuts in the roadway," said Sgt. Mike Smith with the Fresno Police Department.
Police found the car parked and returned it to Kornoff.
Other people found Kornoff's wallet and other items in their yard and brought them to her by using the address on her ID.
Kornoff spent the day shook up. She took inventory of her belongings and counted her blessings.
"Of course when I think somebody broke into my house, my first thought is my kids," Kornoff said while petting a cat that sat in her lap. "I call this my children."
She said she's grateful she wasn't physically hurt. Kornoff lives alone since her husband died a few years ago. She said she has not one blood relative alive.
"She was in tears when the officer arrived. She just hugged him, and she was really, really upset," Smith said.
He added that Soto has a lengthy criminal record, and had several warrants for his arrest for theft.
Soto is being held on a bail of about $60,000.