A California business owner and his two sons were arrested on accusations of beating and zip-tying a suspected burglar, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
Deputies responded to a call for a business burglary at Sparks Custom Pools on the 6900 block of Meany Avenue in Bakersfield on April 27 at about 3 a.m., according to the sheriff’s department.
Upon arrival, deputies found the man who reported the theft, John Sparks, 50, and his two sons, Brenden Sparks, 23, and Trenton Sparks, 20, in the parking lot of the business beside the alleged burglary suspect, who was “laying on the ground with his hands zip-tied behind his back,” the release says.
McClatchy News reached out to Sparks Custom Pools and did not immediately receive a response.
The suspect, who had injuries to his head and face, was transported to a hospital for his injuries.
Crimes Against Persons detectives assumed the investigation and learned that the suspect entered the fenced yard of the closed business and took items from an unlocked car, the release said. His actions, though, were allegedly caught on camera, so John Sparks went to the business.
Upon arrival, John Sparks found the suspect, who then fled before the business owner chased after him, the sheriff’s department said. John Sparks confronted the suspect and fired a handgun at him. In response, the suspect laid on the ground, and John Sparks zip-tied the man’s hands behind his back.
Shortly after, John Sparks’ sons arrived. For about 45 minutes, all three men began punching, kicking and hitting the suspect with blunt force objects, “causing severe lacerations and injuries to the suspect’s face and body,” the release states.
The suspect was then placed into the bed of a pick-up truck and transported back to Sparks Custom Pools parking lot where sheriffs initially responded, according to the release.
Arrest warrants were issued for John, Brenden and Trenton Sparks, who turned themselves in on May 3, according to the sheriff’s department. The father and sons face a number of charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy and kidnapping.
Detectives will also seek petty theft and trespassing charges against the burglary suspect, the release said.