Chico >> A suspected burglar’s attempt to break into a car Wednesday morning apparently went awry and he chopped off a part of one of his fingers, Chico police said.

The suspected burglar, identified as 22-year-old Angel Orozco-Vargas of Oroville, took himself to a local hospital and allegedly told staff there he cut off his finger while trying to break into a car at West Fifth and Ivy streets, Chico police Sgt. Cesar Sandoval said.

Orozco-Vargas also allegedly told hospital staff he left the knife he was using behind at the scene.

Chico police officers were dispatched to the area about 10:50 a.m. and found damage and blood on the window of a black Cadillac CTS parked on Ivy Street, Sandoval said. Officers also found a folding knife and Orozco-Vargas’s severed finger.

Medics took the digit back to the hospital, he said.

It was not clear which specific finger was cut off Orozco-Vargas’s hand.

Sandoval said a witness reported seeing a man trying to break into the Cadillac about 10:30 a.m. The man ran away from the scene when the witness yelled at him.

Sandoval said the man could face charges from vandalism to attempted vehicle theft.

Investigators subsequently learned that Orozco-Vargas was allegedly linked to a stolen vehicle that was recovered by Chico police earlier in the morning.

Orozco-Vargas remained hospitalized Wednesday afternoon.

In his experience, Sandoval said he didn’t remember another instance where a person cut off their own finger by trying to break into a car.

“I’ve never seen it,” he said. “I’m sure it’s probably happened, but I’ve never seen it.”

Contact reporter Andre Byik at 896-7760.