It was the third trip to the home off Old Taos Highway for the three teenage burglars.

They'd broken into a car in front of the home on the night of Dec. 11 and stolen a set of keys. "There was no house key on (the key ring), but I knew they'd come back and try to break in," the 39-year-old resident of the home said Thursday.

Sure enough, they returned the next day after the resident left to have lunch. They broke a window to get in and stole two rifles, a shotgun, a laptop computer and a digital camera, she said. Apparently not satisfied with their take, the three teens — Joe Rivera, 15, Michael Martinez, 15, and Sergio Guzman, 16 — came back and began packing up more of the owners' possessions to steal, she said.

However, the resident returned home to pick up her checkbook after lunch, approached her front door and found it locked from the inside.

"I knew someone was in my house, so I ran back to my car and called 911," she said.

As she stood in her driveway, the woman said she saw the three teens bolt from the house and begin running down the street. The resident gave chase and began yelling and cursing at them.

"I just started running," she said. "I mean, I was pissed. It was a good thing I didn't get my hands on them because I was gonna kill them."

At the end of the block, one of the teens stopped about 15 yards away from the woman, took out a switchblade or pocket knife and threw it at her head, she said. The resident ducked and it barely missed her face, she said.

The police officer who responded — Sgt. Allen Lopez — followed the teens' footprints in the snow to a nearby house and arrested them, said Santa Fe police Sgt. Jason Wagner. All of the property from the home was eventually recovered, he said.

The number of residential burglaries such as this one continues to rise in Santa Fe.

Overall, the burglary rate — including residential, commercial and auto break-ins — was up 46.5 percent in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to the third quarter of 2008, statistics show. But the number of residential burglaries rose by 112 percent in the third quarter over the same period last year.

In fact, the residential burglary rate rose in the third quarter by more than 50 percent in each of the city's nine police districts except one. Neighborhoods in south-central, central and eastern Santa Fe notched increases of 255 percent, 300 percent and 140 percent, respectively, during that period, the statistics show.

And that is on top of a 105 percent rise in residential burglaries in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the second quarter of 2008.

The three teens — two of whom were wearing ankle bracelets because of prior run-ins with the law — were each charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated assault and larceny. Rivera was wearing the bracelet because he pulled a gun on a DeVargas Middle School bus driver who tried to break up a bus fight started by Rivera and Martinez, Wagner said. The reason Guzman was wearing the bracelet was not available Thursday.

City police officers arrested five others for burglary last weekend — three more juveniles and a 19-year-old were among that group.

Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Abram Anaya said Thursday that despite the numbers, he thinks police are having some success. He said the number of residential burglaries declined from October to November and that the number of burglary arrests in the city is up 28 percent this year over last.

"I think we're finally getting a handle on it," he said.

Police Chief Aric Wheeler said he believes three major factors are influencing the burglary rate: population growth, the poor economy, and the normal ups and downs inherent in tracking burglary figures.

As evidenced by the arrests last weekend, police also are seeing more juveniles — especially gang members — becoming involved in burglary, Wheeler said.

"It's a generational change," he said. "Younger kids are committing more crimes at a younger age. We need to keep closer tabs on them so they're not out and about having free reign."

While police have in the past criticized juvenile probation officers for not putting teen burglars behind bars, Anaya credited the Juvenile Probation Office with incarcerating far more youths than before. All six juveniles arrested last weekend were placed in the Santa Fe County juvenile jail.

However, Wheeler said the juvenile justice system, while better than before, still has work to do.

"I think we'll eventually get to the point where there are strong penalties for juveniles," he said. "And that will be a strong deterrent."

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.