'Burglar' fatally shot by homeowner may have mistakenly entered home

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Friends of the burglary suspect who was shot to death in Long Beach say the man may have mistakenly entered the home, but evidence seems to indicate otherwise.

Long Beach police responded to a burglary in progress call at a home in the 2800 block of East 3rd Street Sunday just after 3 a.m. They found the alleged burglar, 29-year-old Ryan Mitchell Anderson of Long Beach, dead inside the home.

Police say a resident shot the suspect inside the single-family home before officers arrived. The couple that lives at the home was not injured.

Anderson's friends are coming to his defense, saying it may have been a misunderstanding. They say he was out partying with them earlier in the night and might have been intoxicated when he walked into the home where he was shot.

"He's not, by any means, a violent person. I'm just thinking that maybe he got confused and thought this was his house because it kind of looks the same in front," said Angela Almaguar, Anderson's roommate.

Almaguar said Anderson was walking home when they last heard from him. Anderson has no criminal record, according to his friends.

But police said on Monday that evidence collected at the scene indicated Anderson had scaled a wall to get into the backyard area, and then broke a window to enter the home. Police also said Anderson had personal property belonging to the resident in his possession.

Neighbors say burglars have targeted their neighborhood for quite some time.

The shooting comes just weeks after an 80-year-old man in Long Beach's Bixby Knolls neighborhood fatally shot one of two suspects who broke into his house and beat him.

Long Beach police say the number of burglaries this year is actually down compared to this time last year.