San Diego Police Department officers took two men into custody that may be connected to an afternoon home invasion in Clairemont that left an 87-year-old man injured last week.
The victim of the robbery, Paul Schmidt, said he was putting together a ceiling fan on July 24 when three men entered his home.
"I had a scissors laying there. He grabbed the scissors and he threatened me with it. He said there is three of us and one of you and we're robbing you,” he remembered.
When one of the suspects tried taking his wallet, Schmidt resisted. He pulled hard on the thief's beard but paid a price.
"He started beating me and picked up those fan blades and hit my head, knocked me over on the couch,” he said.
Schmidt’s Honda Ridgeline truck was stolen following the robbery, and he suffered wrist, arm and head wounds in the attack.
The next day, SDPD officers arrested two men following a suspicious vehicle response in the Midway District. The Dodge Ram they were in was stolen and a firearm was found inside.
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Schmidt identified one of the men who was arrested as the man whose beard he pulled in self-defense inside his home the day before. Schmidt's roommate Ricky Fannin said he recognized one of the detained men as the man who threatened him a month earlier in their backyard.
At the time of the arrest, the two suspects faced vehicle theft charges but were not being charged with crimes associated with the burglary.
On Monday, SDPD identified the suspects as 59-year-old John Slobig and 53-year-old Terry Jones and confirmed new charges in connection with the crimes against Schmidt.
According to court records, Slobig faces three new felonies including home invasion robbery, cruelty to an elderly causing great bodily injury, vehicle theft, and misdemeanor robbery.
He was already facing felony vehicle theft, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of stolen property, and flash incarceration charges.
Jones faces the same new charges on top of felony burglary and felony possession of stolen property.
A third suspect remains at large, according to SDPD.
Schmidt's truck has been recovered.
Schmidt told NBC 7 his biggest regret was that he could not stop the men, but he says his decision to stand down may have saved his life.
“It wouldn't be wise to be dead and I didn't know if they had guns or what,” he said. "What could I do? Maybe one or two guys I could handle, but three?"
Schmidt says the three men in his home ransacked the house for about 40 minutes and got away with some $800 in cash, credit and bank cards, and bags full of other select items from the home, including newly purchased vests for Schmidt’s "Barbershop Harmony" group.
