Intruders break through back door of home before dawn — and then say good morning to homeowner's shotgun

An Oklahoma homeowner told the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office he was awakened by a window breaking at his residence in the Pumpkin Hollow area before dawn last Friday — and so he made sure his shotgun was at the ready.

Soon two males he didn't know were breaking through his back door, authorities said — and with that the homeowner called 911, confronted the pair, and fired his shotgun at them.

Leaving so soon?

Perhaps they experienced a sudden hankerin' for breakfast, because at that moment they immediately fled the scene, authorities said.

Sheriff Jason Chennault and a deputy responded to the incident around 5:15 a.m. and found the suspects' vehicle parked in the house's yard, the sheriff's office said. Turns out it was loaded with items stolen from the property's outbuildings.

The sheriff and deputy then noticed a trail of footprints in the wet grass headed away from the house — and with that another deputy and his K-9 partner Lucas were called to the scene, the sheriff's office said.

Lucas always gets his man

Lucas tracked the suspects' trail to a dirt road where it appeared they met another vehicle, authorities said. But soon — with the help of a deputy marshal — they found a male who matched the homeowner's description of one of the suspects.

James Levesque, 22, admitted to his part in the burglary — and the vehicle parked at the crime scene was registered to Levesque, the sheriff's office said.

Then the hunt began for Levesque's alleged accomplice — and they found 21-year-old Chase Baker at a residence in the Briggs area and arrested him, authorities said.

What happened to the suspects?

Levesque and Baker were booked into jail for first-degree burglary and knowingly concealing stolen property, both felonies, and neither was injured by the shotgun blast, the sheriff's office said.

The recovered stolen property will be returned to the burglary victim, authorities said.