93-year-old homeowner shoots, kills burglary suspect inside Moreno Valley home

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. - A burglary suspect was shot and killed after allegedly breaking into a Moreno Valley home last week.  

Deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on the 24000 block of Eucalyptus Ave. around 12:30 a.m. on June 29 for reports of a burglary in progress.  

The homeowner, 93-year-old Joe Howard Teague, told deputies that he had several suspects at gunpoint. A witness said that several people fled the scene on foot just before deputies arrived. One of the suspects, 33-year-old Joseph Ortega, was shot and taken to the hospital. He died days later.  

The homeowner was taken to the sheriff’s station for questioning but was not arrested. A friend of Teague told deputies that his house has been getting broken into often recently.