Woman Shot After Aiming Realistic Air Pistol at Police

By ROBERTO J. MANZANO, Times Staff Writer

     Police responding to a burglary call Wednesday shot a woman who aimed what looked like a real pistol at them, police said.

     Dimples Terresi, 34, of Canoga Park was shot once in the upper torso and was in stable condition at a hospital, said Lt. Horace Frank.

     Terresi's gun was an air pistol that looked like a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, Frank said. She will be booked on suspicion of brandishing a replica firearm at an officer. Terresi was shot by Officer Jeff Ingalls, a five-year veteran.

     The incident began when police received a disturbance call at the Warner Center Apartment complex in the 5500 block of Canoga Avenue about 11:30 a.m.

     Two officers spoke with the caller, a disabled woman in her 50s, and with Terresi, the woman's longtime caregiver, Frank said. They had been arguing.

     The officers determined that no crime had been committed, he said, but they took the apartment keys from Terresi and asked her to leave.

     About an hour later, police received a call about a burglary in progress at the same apartment, he said. Terresi had been seen trying to sneak into the apartment through a window, Frank said.

     Three officers found Terresi replacing a window screen in the hallway outside the apartment, Frank said. A gun was on the window ledge.

     Officers told her to turn around and put her hands in the air, but she shouted obscenities, Frank said. Then she picked up the gun and pointed it at them, he said.

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times