90-year-old trades bullets with burglary suspect

This home invasion suspect picked the wrong house — and paid a stiff price.

A burglar kicked the front door of a home in Greenbrae before 11 a.m. and detained 90-year-old resident Jay Leone at gunpoint. After briefly being held captive, Leone snuck away as the burglar rifled through his house. The World War II veteran grabbed a pistol from another room, and came out blasting.

Both Leone and the burglar were injured in the gunfight. And both men called 911.

A man identified as 30-year-old Samuel Joseph Cutrufelli of Novato called 911 from his car, saying he had shot himself and needed medical attention.

A few minutes later, Leone called 911 from his house and told police he had been shot in the head. Ambulances took both men to Marin General Hospital, while Cutrufelli was arrested on suspicion of  burglary and attempted murder.

Leone is a retired member of the Marin County sheriff’s air patrol, and shot the alleged burglar three times with one of the guns he keeps in his house.

The IJ reports that Cutrufelli got six years for assault with a deadly weapon in 2001 after attacking a pedestrian he almost hit with his car.

Jesse Garnier

Jesse Garnier is the editor and founder of SFBay. A Mission District native, he also teaches journalism as associate professor at San Francisco State University.