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Danville Resident Pepper-Sprayed In Burglary Attempt

DANVILLE (CBS SF) - Sheriff's investigators have released a sketch of one of two or three men who tried to break into a home in unincorporated Danville last Thursday and pepper sprayed a resident as she was escaping, Contra Costa County sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.

The victim, an 18-year-old woman, was in her home in the 2000 block of Lusitano Street shortly after 10:50 a.m. on Aug. 18 when someone rang her doorbell several times, Lee said.

The woman didn't recognize the man, so she didn't open the door.

The man then began knocking on her door. Moments later, the woman heard the sound of breaking glass and saw another man breaking the rear sliding glass door of the house, Lee said.

The woman fled out the front door and was confronted by one of the suspects, who pepper sprayed her in the face, Lee said.

The suspects fled empty-handed and paramedics treated the victim at the scene.

Investigators believe two or three suspects were involved. They have all been described as black males between 19 and 27 years old and between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall. They all had thin builds and bald heads, Lee said.

They may have been driving a black Mercedes Benz GL550 that had paper plates with "Berkeley" printed in red lettering on them.

As of Thursday, no suspects had been identified, Lee said.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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