This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The outside door to a Holladay home's garage didn't stop a burglarizing couple, and neither did the interior door into the home. Barking dog? They ignored it.

But when the homeowner awoke and found the pair re-entering his house to get more loot, his pistol in his hands sent them fleeing down the driveway — and into the arms of arriving Unified Police officers.

UPD Lt. Justin Hoyal said the 30-year-old male and 38-year-old female broke into the home in the 2000 block of Walker Lane (5600 South) about 7 a.m. They went right to work, stacking up property by the doorway.

The pair ignored the dog inside, but the tumult awoke a sleeping woman inside. She woke her husband, who armed himself and began searching his home for intruders, finally confronting the suspects coming back in for more loot.

The pair ran, dropping stolen items as they fled. At one point, the homeowner fired his pistol into the dirt, ordering the pair to stop — just as officers arrived.

"This was very brazen," Hoyal said of the break-in. "The dog's barking, the homeowners are inside asleep, and then they come back in."

The suspects were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of residential burglary.

Hoyal said it was unlikely the homeowner, arguably defending his home and family, would be charged with discharging a firearm.

Twitter: @remims