A man in his 30s was hospitalized Monday after being shot by a North County homeowner who fought with the younger man who was trying to make off with a goat, according to the San Diego Sheriff's Department.
The incident occurred shortly after 3:15 p.m. outside a home in the remote yet upscale area of San Marcos near Coronado Hills Drive. The sheriff's office said in a news release issued Tuesday afternoon that the homeowners — a 79-year-old man and his 60-year-old wife — heard noises from their dogs and goats out in their yard and went out to investigate, when they saw what turned out to be a 36-year-old man, later identified as Alexander Belinsky, trying to steal one of their animals.
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Deputies said the couple tried to stop the thief but he pushed them both to the ground. At that point, the older man, who law enforcement said feared for his wife's safety, went inside and got a rifle and confronted the would-be rustler, who had allegedly thrown the animal into the front seat of a dune buggy parked on the property. Belinsky got out of the driver's seat at this point, officials said, rushed the homeowner, and a struggle for the weapon ensued, during which Belinsky was shot in the abdomen.
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The suspect was hospitalized after the incident; he is expected to survive. The homeowner was also injured, in his case, suffering wounds on his hands. His wife was unharmed.
Belinsky was arrested afterward, according to deputies, on a host of charges, including robbery, elder abuse, attempted vehicle theft, residential burglary, animal cruelty and battery.
Belinsky is also accused of smashing out the windows of a car parked in a garage at Palomar Medical Center just before the alleged attempted goat theft, according to deputies.
