Pasco County sheriff's deputies arrested one teen Tuesday and were searching for another one after a Holiday home was broken into, ransacked and vandalized.
Deputies said homeowner Paul Anthony Esken walked into the home at 1930 Abacus Road on Tuesday morning and spotted two boys standing on a bed with at least one hammer, ripping drywall from the ceiling. The 14-year-old boy who was arrested, whose name is being withheld by the Tribune because of his age, threatened 44-year-old Esken with the hammer, and the two teens fled, a sheriff's office report stated.
Damage included wiring cut out of walls, furniture broken and smashed into walls, and windows shattered, according to the report. Papers were strewn about the house.
Esken said that when he arrived, the doors were unlocked.
Deputies responded and left, and Esken called deputies a second time when he saw the boys again. A deputy returned and spotted the boys behind a nearby private school, the report said. He chased them and caught the 14-year-old.
The report said Esken identified him as one of the boys who broke into his home.
The boy, an eighth-grader at Smith Middle School, was arrested on charges of armed burglary, criminal mischief, aggravated assault and resisting arrest without violence. He denied any wrongdoing, the report stated. It said he refused to tell deputies who he was with that day.
Damage to the home is estimated at $30,000.
Anyone with information can call the sheriff's tip line, 1-800-706-2488.
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