Deputies: Burglar says Croatians were chasing him

Flagler County deputies said they arrested a 61-year-old Palm Coast man who was armed with a handgun and claimed he was being chased by Croatians on Tuesday morning when he tried to break into a neighbor's house.

Peter Bauer, of 7 Peppercorn Lane, was arrested at 3:55 a.m. on a charge of armed burglary.

Two teens at a nearby home reported a man was banging at their door, asking for help and trying to open the glass sliding doors, deputies said. They said the teens identified Bauer as the man who spent several minutes at their back door before running away.

Deputies said they found Bauer hiding between two vehicles in the driveway of 40 Peppercorn Lane. They said he was armed with a .380 caliber handgun and tried to elude deputies who were able to arrest him without incident at 32 Peppercorn Lane.

Bauer told deputies that Croatians went into his home and he fired about four shots at them before fleeing his home, deputies said. Bauer had a cut on his chin and left shoulder, which he said occurred when he fell while running from the Croatians, according to deputies.

When deputies went to Bauer's home, they said they found the front door wide open and noticed the smell of gun powder. Several shell casings were found inside the home as well as a pile of white powder with a straw inside the bathroom, deputies said. They said Bauer told them he had snorted cocaine Monday evening.

Bauer was being held in the Flagler County Inmate Facility with bail set at $1,500.