Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

Man shoots bear in self-defense

Maryland Natural Resources Police said Friday they will not charge an Amish Road man who shot a bear after it charged him and his wife and then attempted to come through a window after the couple sought refuge inside their home Wednesday evening.

“They had every right to do what they did,” said Clarissa Harris, a biologist with the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. “It is appropriate to defend yourself or your family or your livestock.”

NRP Sgt. Ken Turner said Friday that the husband and wife heard commotion outside their house and then saw a bear trying to get at two penned goats.

“The man said he shouted at the bear and the bear turned and ran toward the couple. He told the investigating officer that he was glad nobody was seated on the porch because the bear moved so quickly that they would not have had time to get into the house,” Turner said.

The bear then attempted to pull an air conditioning unit out of the window frame as the wife held onto the unit from inside.

The husband grabbed a shotgun, loaded it with No. 4 pellets and shot through the window at the bear, according to Turner.

The couple called Maryland State Police at 7:30 p.m. and at 8 p.m. a NRP officer arrived to find the bear struck in the head and neck area and lying, still alive, in the yard. Turner said the officer then put the bear down.

“We were not dealing with a typical black bear, it seems,” Turner said, referring to the aggressive actions of the animal.

Harris said there is evidence that the bear, a 134-pound lactating female, may have been previously injured by an automobile. “There was a rash, lost hair and scrapes,” Harris said. “We have also sent the head away to be tested for rabies.” Harris said there was no evidence of cubs being nearby.

The location of the incident is described as Amish Road not far south of Intestate 68. Because it has brought no charges in the matter, the NRP would not release the family’s name.

Harris said the family did the correct thing by calling the agency right away. “There is a new law in effect that requires people to report that they have shot a bear,” she said.

Bear tests positive for rabies

The aggressive bear that was killed a week ago by an Amish Road homeowner after the animal charged and then attempted to pull out a window air conditioner has tested positive for rabies, a Garrett County health official said Tuesday.

“We sent the head to our health and mental hygiene lab in Baltimore on Thursday and got the results Friday,” said Steve Sherrard, director of environmental health for the county’s health department.

At 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, the homeowners had heard a commotion outside and saw a bear attempting to get at two penned goats. When the husband hollered at the bear, it wheeled and charged the man and his wife, who retreated into their house. At that point, the bear attempted to pull out the air conditioner while the wife held onto it from inside.

The husband then shot the bear through the window, striking it with No. 4 shotgun pellets in the head and neck. The bear was eventually put down by a Natural Resources Police officer.

“After consulting medical personnel at Sacred Heart (Hospital), the family, including two children, will be getting the post-exposure rabies shots,” Sherrard said. “Apparently the exposure to blood came when they were cleaning up the house where the bear had made contact.”

Harry Spiker, who heads the bear management program for the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service, said that neither the police officer nor a wildlife employee who responded will receive shots.

“Our wildlife staff all have the pre-exposure vaccine,” he said.

NRP said the homeowners were acting in self defense and will not be charged for shooting the bear. They have not been identified.

Labels: animal, MD

Victim In Home Invasion Shoots, Kills Intruder

One of three men accused of breaking into a home and holding the residents at gunpoint was shot and killed early Friday morning by one of the residents.

Wayne County Sheriff's Department officials said three black males broke into a home in the Dudley community at about 12:30 a.m.

There were two adults and four small children -- ages 4, 5,5 and 8 -- at the home at 2546 Old Mount Olive Highway at the time.

According to officials, the three men broke through a front door, ransacked the home and held the people inside at gunpoint. Apparently at one point one of the intruders fired at someone in the home at which point the man who lived there was able to find his own firearm and shot back. That intruder was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other two men escaped the home in a dark-colored vehicle. Investigators with the sheriff's department and the Mount Olive Police Department are both investigating.

Labels: home invasion, NC, residence robbery

Victim and Suspect Show Up at The Med, Suspect Arrested

Memphis Police have arrested a man who showed up for treatment at the same emergency room as the man he's accused of shooting.

It happened Monday at the Regional Medical Center.

Police records show Samuel Anderson was shot several times by a man who came into his house and fired when Anderson tried to run. Anderson was hit in both thighs, his right calf and his right hand.

The report says the intruder ran when Anderson got to his bedroom, picked up a pistol and fired one shot. The report says the man broke out a window to escape, cutting himself.

At the hospital, Anderson recognized a man awaiting treatment, noting his crooked teeth. He told a nurse and police arrested 19-year-old Richard Terrell Blackburn.

After Blackburn was bandaged, police questioned him and say Blackburn admitted the shooting and told detectives where to find the gun, stashed in a lawn mower bag.

Labels: defender shot, home invasion, TN

Store owner fights back against would-be robber

A store owner at a metal scrap business tried to turn the tables on a young man who held him at gunpoint overnight. But as the victim fought back, he was shot.

Police say it happened around 7:30pm last night on Frick near Woodington when the teen walked into the business and demanded money from the owner.

"(The owner) said a black male came over the fence who was brandishing a shotgun and he was in the office, and the black male came into the office and demanded money. Apparently, he was acting like he was getting the money and he went for a weapon," said Sgt. Scott Ashmore with the Harris County Sheriff's Department. "The suspect saw him, shot the complainant in the arm, possibly severing the complainants arm and they apparently got into a gun battle, there were some shell casings out here at the scene. "

The suspect got into a dark colored SUV and fled the scene. There is not much of a description of the suspect. If you have any information on this case, you're asked to call the Harris County sheriff's department.

The owner of the recycling business is in stable condition. But there is some concern that he may end up losing his arm.

Labels: business robbery, defender shot, TX

Jury acquits murder suspect; man killed in self-defense

A Jacksonville man facing a life sentence in prison was found innocent Wednesday of murdering a man during a struggle outside his girlfriend's apartment.

Shedrick Cosby, 34, was arrested in December after the shooting death of Shelly Banks. Police charged that Cosby shot in a jealous rage after seeing two men leaving his girlfriend's apartment on Old Kings Road South in the Southside.

Cosby, whose face and neck were severely cut with a knife, testified he shot in self-defense after someone jumped him from behind and held him in a headlock. Cosby was a security guard at Forrest High School and had a permit to carry a concealed firearm, said Assistant Public Defender Debra Billard.

Billard said Cosby fired two shots blindly, and that evidence showed one bullet passed through a door before hitting Banks. The other bullet struck the apartment building's second story, she said.

She said the fact that just two bullets and two casings were recovered also contradicted testimony by prosecution witnesses, who described a larger number of shots being fired.

The six-person jury deliberated about three hours.

Labels: assault, concealed carry permit, FL

Store Guard Shoots, Kills Teen Robber

A teen robber was shot and killed by a grocery store security guard after an attempted robbery turned into a gunfight Saturday, Stockton police said.

The 19-year-old gunman was pronounced dead just outside the Super Mercado La Amapola, 1901 S. El Dorado Street in Stockton around 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Stockton police Sgt. Ken Praegitzer said. Investigators determined the teen allegedly entered the store, pulled a loaded handgun on employees and attempted to rob the store, Praegitzer said.

An armed security guard working in the store confronted the robber, triggering an exchange of gunfire. The teen suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The guard was not injured.

Praegitzer said investigators would forward their findings to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office to review whether the guard acted appropriately.

Labels: business robbery, CA

Police: Clerk shoots, kills would-be robber

A man in his 40s died today after he was shot by an employee while he was trying to rob a Wichita pharmacy, police said.

The man walked into Salyer Pharmacy at 102 E. 21st St. about 10:45 a.m. Saturday. He had a handkerchief over his face and a gun in his hand, Wichita Police Lt. Sam Hanley said.

He demanded money from at least two clerks, Hanley said, and "at some point, they produced their own weapon" and shot the man. The man died about 20 minutes later at Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus, Hanley said.

Dead Robber Identified in Self-Defense Case

Police have identified the armed robber who was shot and killed by a store employee Saturday morning.

Officers say 27-year-old Alexander Mies entered Salyer's Pharmacy at 10:47am with a bandage over part of his face, exposing just one eye. He asked to pick up a prescription under an alias name. Mies then pulled out a handgun and pointed at the clerk.

At that point, a 58-year-old employee shot Mies once in head with a shotgun.

No customers were inside at the time - just three employees. A delivery worker arrived in the middle of the holdup.

Mies pronounced dead at 11:15 am. Police say the shooting appears to be a simple case of self-defense.

WOULD-BE ROBBER KILLED

When the man pulled out a handgun in Salyer Pharmacy and demanded drugs Saturday, pharmacist Tom Lundberg bolted for a back room.

He didn't go there to hide.

He went to grab his shotgun.

"I didn't know what was going to happen," Lundberg said Monday.

When the intruder pointed his gun at Lundberg and his pharmacy co-owner, Lundberg didn't hesitate.

He fired the shotgun once, hitting the man in the head and killing him. Police identified the man Monday as Alexander R. Mies, 27.

Here's what police and Lundberg say happened:

About 10:45 a.m. Saturday, a man walked into Salyer's, 102 E. 21st St., with a bandage wrapped around his head, leaving one eye exposed.

He approached the counter and told an employee he was there to pick up a prescription, but he used an alias, police said.

At that point, the man pulled out his gun while yelling and demanding Lortabs and narcotics, Lundberg said.

That's when Lundberg ran to grab a shotgun he has kept at the pharmacy since a 1993 robbery attempt.

When Lundberg came out of the back room, he saw the intruder pointing the handgun at co-owner Fred Karban, Lundberg said.

At one point, the man ducked behind the counter and Lundberg thought he was going to leave.

"Then, he came right back up and pointed it at Fred," Lundberg said.

"And then, he pointed it back at me, and then I shot him. That's pretty much the end of it."

Lundberg, 58, has been a pharmacist in Wichita for 35 years, the past 20 at Salyer's.

After the police interviews, he finished out his work day, including delivering medicine to nursing homes. He was back at work Monday at the pharmacy.

Wichita police said they could present information about the case to the Sedgwick County district attorney's office today for review.

Lundberg said he doesn't expect the office to find he did anything wrong. He said that a police detective told him: "Obviously, if it was a problem, I wouldn't be talking with you here," at the pharmacy.

He said he had received several calls of support, and some customers who hadn't seen him in a while stopped by.

"It's kind of a sad deal," he said.

"I feel kind of sorry more for his family. I just wish he hadn't put me in that situation, is what I wish."

Pharmacist Cleared in Self-Defense Shooting

A pharmacist who shot and killed a robber last month has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

On Wednesday morning, District Attorney Nola Foulston's office released a report detailing what happened.
…

Investigators say Alexander Mies pulled a gun on a worker at Salyer Pharmacy at 21st and Broadway on Saturday, August 25. Mies entered the store with a bandage over part of his face, exposing just one eye. He asked to pick up a prescription under an alias name. Mies then pulled out a handgun and pointed at a pharmacist.

Another pharmacist, Tom Lundberg, reached for a shotgun behind the counter. Police say he ordered Mies to drop the gun, but when Mies didn't, Lundberg fired once, hitting the robber in the head.

No customers were inside at the time - just three employees. A delivery worker arrived in the middle of the holdup.

Investigators ruled the shooting as a simple case of self-defense.

Labels: business robbery, KS

Orange homeowner shoots burglary suspect

A 65-year-old Orange County homeowner shot a man late Friday as he was breaking into his home in the 2200 block of W. Pine St.

Harvey Lee Williams, 22, was shot in the right arm and taken to a hospital for treatment.

The homeowner, who fired from inside his house, does not face charges, Orange County Sheriff's Cmdr. Bruce McMullen said. Williams has not been charged, but the investigation is not complete.

Elderly Man Shoots Suspected Burglar

Orange County deputies responding to a report of a burglary found a man with a gunshot wound to his right arm just after midnight Saturday morning.

Their investigation discovered that the shooting victim had been burglarizing a home on West Pine Street and had been shot by the homeowner, a 65 year old man.

Fire rescue transported Harvey Lee Williams to Orlando Regional Medical Center,

The wound to Williams was considered non life threatening.

He was charged with burglary, and later booked into the Orange County Jail.

The elderly homeowner was not charged.

Labels: FL, intruder

Suspect sought in fatal Pike shootout

State police in Blooming Grove are investigating the death of a 46-year-old township man who was shot early Friday in Pike County.

Barry James Rose, of 3182 Bexhill Court, Saw Creek Estates, was shot around 2 a.m. Friday after someone entered his home, police reported.

Police said Mr. Rose and an intruder exchanged gunfire, and Mr. Rose died.

An autopsy was performed at Lehigh Valley Medical Center, and results are pending, according to police.

Saw Creek Estates resident Kristi Wertz, 25, used to keep her car doors unlocked, but not anymore.

“Lately there has been a lot of crime in this area,” she said. “For the past seven to eight months, we’ve seen the state police here quite frequently.”

There was a major drug bust in the community on Aug. 7.

Ms. Wertz, who also works at the nearby Country Squire Deli along Winona Falls Road, has lived in the private, gated community on and off for the past 10 years and said she did not always feel so uneasy. She heard about the shooting Friday morning while at work.

“A lot of people, I think, really aren’t so surprised,” she said, referring to the recent crime activity in the community.

The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 226-5718.

Labels: defender killed, home invasion, PA

Woman shoots at suspects in South Fort Myers home invasion

A woman shot back after three suspects broke into her South Fort Myers home late Friday night.

The Lee County Sheriff’s office responded to the home invasion at 6770 Briarcliff Road at 11:43 p.m.

The unnamed woman was home alone when the three suspects broke into the home, according to authorities. She grabbed a gun and fired off an undetermined number of shots scaring off the robbers.

The woman suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital.

The suspects did make off with valuables from the home, according to authorities.

Woman shoots at suspects in South Fort Myers home invasion

When a woman saw three men break into her bedroom window late Friday night, she took out a gun and fired several times.

It didn't stop the men, though. They came in through the window of her South Fort Myers home, and after a struggle, they tied her hands then took off with money and jewelry.

It all happened sometime before 11:40 p.m. Friday, and detectives were still looking for the suspects Saturday.

The woman, who is in her 20s, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

She shares the home at 6770 Briarcliff Road with her boyfriend, but she was alone at the time of the break-in.

Det. Michael Hollow said it isn't clear why the woman's home was targeted, and he also said this was the first incident of the kind he has heard of in South Fort Myers this year.

"Home invasions don't happen that often," he said.

Labels: FL, home invasion

TEEN SHOT DURING HOME INVASION

A teen-ager was shot while allegedly trying to break into a home in the Dollarway area Thursday night, police said.

The boy, about 14 or 15 years old, allegedly tried to kick in a door of a residence near the intersection of School and Malcomb streets. He was almost inside when the homeowner shot him, said Sgt. Greg Holland, assistant public relations officer with the Pine Bluff Police Department.

The juvenile reportedly was shot in his lower body and was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center. His condition was not known at the time, Holland said.

An investigation is continuing, he said.

No Charges Filed in Pine Bluff Home Invasion Shooting

A homeowner who fatally shot a Pine Bluff teenager during a botched home invasion won't face criminal charges.


Authorities say Jimmy Shaw shot and killed 14-year-old Winston Walls Junior after the teen broke into Shaw's home on August 23rd.

Prosecutor Steve Dalrymple has ruled the shooting was justified.

Dalrymple wrote in a memo to Pine Bluff Police Chief John Howell that the law allows deadly force as an appropriate means of self-defense. The memo says Shaw's actions were tragic but unavoidable.

Authorities say the teenager had a handgun when he broke into Shaw's home along with two other teens.

Labels: AR, home invasion

Man says he shot someone who threatened him

A Jacksonville man told police he shot someone Wednesday night after the man approached him on Ring Lane off Emerson Street and pointed a gun at him.

Gregory L. Christopher, 47, of Welford Road said he pulled out a gun himself and shot Larry S. White, 56, of San Diego Road, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. White was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police aren't releasing further details as the investigation continues.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, White has an extensive criminal history, including weapons, burglary and robbery charges. Christopher has had a clean record in Florida over the last 20 years.

Labels: assault, FL

Convenience store owner foils armed robbers

The owner of a west Chatham County convenience store derailed the plans of two armed men who tried to rob him Thursday morning, using a gun of his own to send them packing.

The would-be robbers, with guns drawn, entered Mike's Mini Mart at 2101 Lewis Mills Blvd. shortly after 7:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police.

When the owner saw the barrels of the assailants' guns, he pulled out his own weapon and immediately opened fire as they entered. Seconds later, the two assailants turned and fled from the business.

No customers were in the store, and no injuries were reported.

The men fired two shots at the business before fleeing, blowing out their own rear window in the process, according to a police report.

Police are asking the public's help to find a small blue or black car with the rear windshield shot out.

The car was last seen traveling toward ACL Boulevard with an orange hand truck or a lawn mower protruding from its trunk.

The assailants are described as two black males, one wearing a white T-shirt, dark shorts and white tennis shoes. He is 6 feet tall, weighing 160 to 170 pounds, with long dreadlocks. His accomplice stands about 5 feet, 9 inches, weighing 160 pounds. He was wearing a gray or green ball cap, a black hooded sweatshirt and yellow jogging pants with two stripes down the sides.

Labels: business robbery, GA

A man with a history of mental problems started a shootout with another man in North Shreveport Wednesday morning that left the instigator critically wounded, authorities and neighbors said.

Donald Richardson, 35, faces attempted murder charges upon his release from the hospital.

A neighbor, Diane Howard, took out a protective order against Richardson back in January.

Police Chief Henry Whitehorn said Richardson hadn't violated the protective order, but had been harrassing others.

Labels: altercation, defender shot, LA

Jury acquits Pittsburg County man in killing

A Pittsburg County jury on Wednesday acquitted a man of first-degree murder in the death of a former employee.

Jurors deliberated a little more than an hour before finding Mike Krebbs not guilty of murder in the Aug. 3, 2006, death of Ty Mordecai outside Krebbs' home near Blocker. The panel also acquitted Krebbs, 34, of the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter in the heat of passion.

As the jury foreman read the verdict, Krebbs, who had been leaning forward with his eyes closed, slowly exhaled. Mordecai's mother, Kathy Mordecai, who had gathered signatures on a petition for a grand jury investigation of her son's death, sat in silence.

Mordecai had once worked for Krebbs' construction company and the two men had been friends.

Krebbs testified on Wednesday that he shot Mordecai, but did so after he was assaulted. Witnesses also said that Mordecai had threatened Krebbs previously.

On the stand, Krebbs said Mordecai had called him earlier that night wanting to fight him and had threatened to burn his house down if he didn't come home. When Krebbs returned to his residence around 1:30 or 2 a.m., he saw a strange car parked outside his driveway and another one pulling out from his home, according to his testimony.

He said he put a clip in a handgun he had in his truck, and when he pulled up close to his house, he saw Mordecai waiting for him.

Krebbs told the jury that Mordecai attacked him as he sat inside his truck.

“He was coming in through the window,” Krebbs told the jury. “I shot, not to kill him, just to get him away from me.”

Krebbs also said he fired several more shots because he didn't know if Mordecai had a weapon. None of the other bullets struck Mordecai, according to testimony.

Emily Redman, the district attorney for Bryan, Atoka and Coal counties who was appointed to try the case, told jurors that Krebbs ran after Mordecai and shot at him with a pistol at least five times.

Redman was assigned to the case after the recusal of Pittsburg County District Attorney Jim Miller, who knew Krebbs.

When Miller declined to file charges in the weeks after the shooting, Kathy Mordecai gathered signatures to urge authorities to take action in the case.

Labels: assault, OK

Convenience Store Owner Fires Back at Armed Robbers

A frightening night for customers and the store owner at a convenience store in Griffin.

The robbery happened at Tony's One Stop just before midnight Wednesday on U.S. 41.

A customer, Chris Albright, says he had taken a short cut through the woods to the store where he says two robbers, wearing orange ski masks, jumped him and told him to get on the ground and put a gun to his head. He says they also told him to stand against a wall.

Spalding County deputies say the two later confronted customers behind the store and robbed them.

Deputies say the robbers shot the store owner in the face; he fired back, wounding at least one of the suspects.

Officers later arrested two 17-year-old suspects when they showed up for treatment at a hospital in Clayton County. They also arrested a 17-year-old girl from Henry County who they believe was driving the getaway car, which they also recovered.

The store owner remains in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Wounded Store Owner to be Released

The Spalding County convenience store owner who was shot and wounded in a shootout with some teen robbers late Wednesday night was scheduled for release from Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital Thursday afternoon, according to his father.

"It's a miracle that saved his life," Parish Harvil's father, Ron Harvil, told 11Alive News. Harvil said that as one of the gunmen shot at Parish, Parish instinctively raised his hand in front of his face.

"That deflected the bullet and caused it to tumble" and lose velocity, Harvil said. It embedded in Parish Harvil's skin, in his head, and did not cause a serious wound.

"It took the tip of his middle finger off" on his left hand, Ron said. He said doctors have reattached it.

Parish Harvil was still able to wound one of the robbers in his hand, and that's what led police to arrest the three suspects who are now in custody. Now, Sheriff James Stewart said one of the suspects is cooperating with investigators. Stewart has scheduled an afternoon news conference to update the public on the on-going investigation.

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Labels: business robbery, defender shot, GA

A cloud of violence grew until it overshadowed love

A domestic violence victim tells of the events that ended in a shooting.

Mark Nobles' work boots were still on the front porch, his model cars were still on his dresser and his Bible books were still by the bed they shared.

As Tonya Mathenia cradled herself in his fleece blanket, the 38-year-old Jacksonville woman cried as she talked about missing the man she loved like a husband for more than three years.

The man she killed with a 9mm pistol Sunday night after snatching the weapon she said he put to her forehead, threatening to end her life in their Westside bungalow.
Instead, she took his.

Mathenia told The Times-Union she shot once as her 44-year-old companion loped toward her as she cowered at their dead-bolted front door. Police released her after questioning but said Wednesday the investigation was continuing.

Mathenia said Nobles came home after using drugs and began lashing out like she was someone from an abusive past. She said the ironworker beat her in nearly every room of their Sappho Avenue rental home. The attack left her with a split lip needing stitches, a blackened eye and other lumps, and bruises and scratches, many on her neck and head.

The woman said she called 911 as the abuse began and screamed so someone at the other end could hear her before she hung up as her attacker approached. At 8:54 p.m., according to her phone's memory bank, she got a call back from the Sheriff's Office. After secretly pressing the speaker phone button, she hollered some more, hoping help would be on the way.

It didn't come in time. Police said they answered a call about a shooting about 9:15 p.m.

In the minutes before, as her companion started closing in, Mathenia said instinct overrode loyalty and love. Fear rising from her gut radiated to a finger poised on the gun's trigger.

"I remember barely putting my finger on it and it went off. I didn't know if I hit him at first," she said. "He grabbed himself but I didn't know if he was faking it. He just looked at me like being high and all that had left him. And he looked at me like, 'How could all that happen?' "

Three days later, as grief mixed with guilt, Mathenia said Wednesday the only thing she understood as the battery escalated was that her loved one wasn't leaving her any choice but to fight for her life.

Labels: domestic abuse, FL

Homeowner Fights Back Against Would-Be Burglar

A man said he went into his home and found a burglar armed with a knife Wednesday. The homeowner took out his gun and fired two shots in the air.

He said he didn't want to kill the burglar, he only wanted to scare him.

Miami police swarmed the Northwest Miami neighborhood.

"I got on the radio and I requested police assistance for an emergency," Capt. Pete Gomez of Miami Fire Rescue said. "I told the gentleman to put the weapon down and put his hands up in the air."

Gomez said he saw the homeowner with a gun in the middle of the street.

"I was stopped there in the traffic," he said. "I noticed two guys. One guy was jumping the fence, the gate here, and the other gentleman was approaching with a weapon in his hand, with a gun in his hand. The next thing I know, he starts firing rounds. It looks like they had a few words. The gentleman that was jumping the fence kind of like, stumbled a little bit, turned and started to run."

Miami police's K-9 units, along with other K-9 units from different agencies, were able to locate the burglary suspect hiding out in the same neighborhood.

"He was captured by police," Delrish Moss with the Miami Police Department said. "But that wasn't a good capture either because, at the end of the day, a Miami Beach police officer with a dog ended up apprehending him and he was also bitten by the dog. This wasn't his lucky day."

There were many agencies with K-9 units in the area because Coral Gables and Miami Beach police K-9 units were trained with Miami police. Once they got the 911 call, they swarmed the area with an army of dogs.

Miami Homeowner Shoots At Home Invasion Suspect

A homeowner might have taken the law into his own hands when a man allegedly broke into his home in Miami, shooting at the suspect.

Wednesday afternoon the City of Miami Fire chief was in the area of Northwest 22nd Avenue and 18th Street when he allegedly witnessed the shooting, calling polic [sic] for help. Once they arrived, police surrounded a perimeter in the neighborhood, looking for the suspect, who might be hurt.

They found him hiding in some bushes in a nearby apartment complex. A police dog spotted the suspect, who was all bloodied from injuries suffered during the alleged break-in.

Labels: FL, home invasion

Clovis Police Are Looking into Whether a Would-Be Burglar Was Stopped by a Bullet

Police say a tenant at the Villa Park apartments at Peach and Santa Ana fired a gun shot when someone tried to break into his home.

Moments later the suspect ran away but it's not known if the suspect was hit.

Police have not identified the suspect or the resident.

Labels: CA, residence burglary

Luling Woman Kills Intruder, Deputies Say

St. Charles Parish deputies said a 22-year-old woman shot back at two men who barged into her home early Wednesday morning, killing one and wounding the other.

Jason Jammal Todd and Chris Avila approached Nathaniel Evans as he was leaving for work at about 4 a.m., officials said.

At gunpoint, they forced Evans back inside and then approached his girlfriend.

Avila forced her to lie on the floor, deputies said, and one of them shot Evans.

The woman got a gun from her bedroom and fired at the two intruders, deputies said.

Todd was pronounced dead at the scene. Avila was hit in the lower torso and was found in a nearby field. He's listed in guarded but stable condition.

Evans, meanwhile, is in an intensive care unit in guarded but stable condition.

Deputies said both Todd and Avila had previous arrest records.

An investigation into the case is ongoing.

Labels: assault, home invasion, LA

Homeowner Shoots Burglar

According to police, a morning shooting in Columbus was a case of self defense.

Around 9:30 Wednesday morning police say a man armed with a gun entered a home on Patch drive.

Authorities say the homeowner pulled his own gun to defend himself. Sergeant Harvey Hatcher with the Columbus Police Department tells News Three this was a clear case of self defense. Hatcher says "right now the preliminary investigation shows the homeowner who lives here was confronted by a subject with a gun. The homeowner was able to retrieve his own weapon and fired shots at the suspect". Hatcher says the attacker was shot in the arm and was taken to The hospital. After the shooting the culprit ran one block away to Eddy street where he was taken into custody.

The case is being handled as an attempted burglary. The homeowner was not charged.

Labels: GA, residence robbery

Pit Bulls Come Into Home, Maul Woman

A home invasion, of sorts, in Washington state has left a woman badly injured, but her attackers weren't human, they were dogs.

Police in Pierce County says two pit bull terriers broke into the victim's home through a pet door and attacked the woman who was in her bed.

She managed to grab a gun and tried to shoot the dogs, enabling her to get away and lock herself in her car. From there, she was able to call 911.

The woman is hospitalized in serious condition.

Police say the pit bulls also killed a neighbor's Jack Russell terrier, which apparently heard the noises coming from the home and went inside.

Police used pepper spray and fought the dogs to get them under control. It's expected the animals will be destroyed.

Labels: animal, WA

Suspected burglar can't escape Toledo homeowner

Hal Durrett of Toledo was getting ready to take a shower Friday afternoon when he glanced outside and saw a strange man hanging around his vehicles. A white van with a septic maintenance logo was parked in his driveway.

Fuming from the loss of heirlooms when his Toledo rental home was burglarized last year, Durrett, 24, got his 40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and went downstairs just as the stranger pushed open the screen door.

The man's story about running out of gas seemed rehearsed. Durrett ordered him to lie on the floor and kept the gun trained on him as he dialed 911.

"That's when he got gutsy," Durrett said by phone Monday afternoon.

The stranger hurled himself on Durrett and tried to wrestle the gun away as they rolled. With Durrett, an ironworker, weighing 255 pounds to the stranger's estimated 160, the match was no contest, but the guy managed to get outside. He jumped into his van and backed out onto State Route 505.

Durrett fired three shots at the tires, flattening one of them, he said.

Lewis County sheriff's deputies found the van about a quarter-mile down the road and arrested Joel Anthony Anderson, 44, of Puyallup, Wash., without incident. "There was plenty of gas," Durrett said.

Anderson was booked in lieu of $50,000 bail on suspicion of first-degree burglary. He also had two warrants from outside Lewis County.

Durrett said he often imagined what it would be like to confront a burglar, but reality was nothing like he pictured.

"The guy didn't have a hood on and a mask," he said. "He just came walking in like he knew me, like we were old pals or something."

The incident had a different outcome than the 2002 fatal shooting of burglary suspect David Cline by Oliver Hooker of Centralia, who had been burglarized 10 times before the shooting. Hooker was tried for first-degree manslaughter. Although a jury found him innocent, Hooker said the ordeal left him bitter and broken.

Durrett said he wouldn't have shot the unarmed suspect at his house Friday, although people told him he would have been within his legal rights to defend himself once the man touched him.

"He wasn't going to kill me," Durrett said. "He was just wanting to steal stuff. I'm not one of those hang 'em high type of people. But on the other hard, I don't think a guy defending his own property should be put on trial."

Durrett said the suspect is lucky his girlfriend, Tiffani Alexander, wasn't home. "Tiffani has her own shotguns," he said. "And she's got more temper."

Labels: residence robbery, WA

Two dead, two arrested in Dayton store shooting

Airman nabs suspect minutes after shooting

Two people were shot to death and two people were arrested in a convenience store robbery Tuesday afternoon, Dayton police said. The owner of the Covault Market and Coin Laundry, 3705 Wayne Ave., was killed inside his store along with an employee, according to Maj. Michael Brown.

The robbery and shooting happened about 1:30 p.m.

Brown said two suspects were in custody.

An Air National Guard airman apprehended a masked gunman who was fleeing from the scene, according to the man's mother.

Robert Bragg, 24, who works as a military police officer at the Springfield Air National Guard base, was sitting on his porch about 1:30 p.m. when he noticed two suspicious young men walking down Coventry Road off Wayne Avenue, said Barbi Byrd, Bragg's mother.

Shortly after that, Byrd said she heard popping sounds and screaming. In the next instant, she said her son saw the same two men running down Coventry. Each was wearing a ski mask and armed with a handgun.

Bragg retrieved his 9mm pistol, pointed it the men and ordered them to stop and drop their weapons, Byrd said.

"I was freaking out. I thought one of them would shoot him," Byrd said.

One man dropped his gun and threw up his hands, as Bragg ordered, while the other took off running through a neighbor's yard.

While one of the men was on the ground, he told Bragg his name and begged to be released. The man said he only committed the robbery while under threat, Byrd said.

Byrd described her son as a vigilant and alert neighborhood advocate.

"He's our neighborhood watchdog, " she said.

Police took the second suspect into custody a short time later, Brown said.

The store did have security cameras.

Neighbors said the store had been robbed before.

Labels: business robbery, OH

Woman mauled by black bear at Wildcat Lake home

What was meant to only be a scare tactic ended poorly for a Central Kitsap woman who was attacked by a black bear on her Wildcat Lake property last Wednesday.

Although the rain has washed most of the evidence of the struggle away, there was still a pool of blood left behind from where the mauling took place.

An un-welcomed visitor that ravaged the property on a regular basis, the bear had outstayed its welcome.

In an attempt to try and scare the more than 300-pound black bear after spotting it on her property last Wednesday morning, the woman, a retired Navy doctor and volunteer Search and Rescue worker who wishes to remain unnamed, shot off her .30-06-caliber rifle, hitting the bear.

After watching it run off into the heavily wooded area that sits behind the couple’s home, the woman and her husband, went in search of the bear to kill it to prevent an attack on them or hikers who frequent the area. The couple began their search by heading over the ridge in the direction where the bear took off running.

Searching together, but letting her go ahead on the trail, it wasn’t long before the couple met the bear on a more intimate level than they expected.

“The bear was taller than I was,” her husband said. “He was hiding in the brush ... then I heard movement and started walking behind her.”

Hiding in the brush, the bear then sprang out at the woman, upon which she fired again at the bear, however it took her head in its jaw with razor sharp teeth. Nicking her jugular vein and leaving deep teeth marks over her face and neck, her head was literally inside the mouth of the bear.

Not missing a beat, her husband shot five rounds into the bear with a .460 Magnum, killing the bear before it could kill his wife. The handgun had so much power, upon the recoil, he suffered a severe thumb injury, almost severing it.

“I suspect that this was his territory,” he said while pointing to the densely wooded trees and underbrush. “He was so big ... people walk back there and it was our responsibility to protect other hikers.”

He added that when he was firing the rounds into the bear, his wife said she couldn’t hear the shots being fired from inside the bear’s mouth. The couple, both with extensive medical training, then bandaged themselves up and drove to Naval Hospital Bremerton where nurses then contacted the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The woman, who required surgery, was released Thursday night with a series of stitches and staples lining her face and neck and her husband with stitches around his thumb and hand.

“(They) live in a very heavily wooded area, the bear was a problem wandering on her property,” said Department of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Ted Jackson. “Kitsap County has a high population of (black) bears ... her husband killed it when it was on top of her.”

(More)

Labels: animal, WA

17-year-old homicide suspect killed

Police say the shooting in a Westside apartment might have been in self defense.

Before Reco Melvin turned up dead, police were looking for him.

The 17-year-old Eureka Garden apartments resident was a suspect in a homicide at the complex on Jacksonville's Westside several weeks earlier, authorities told the Times-Union.

Investigators suspect Melvin killed his neighbor Herbert Porter in a May 13 shooting while trying to rob the 36-year-old man of money he made selling sodas and other sweets to residents at the complex.

But police said that before they could question Melvin, he died in a July 24 shooting at Eureka Garden they're investigating as a justifiable homicide. The incidents don't appear linked.

Sgt. Dan Janson said Monday that police believe Melvin tried to rob a man who came to the complex to buy drugs that July morning. During the encounter, Melvin pulled a gun, but the man defended himself by drawing his own weapon and firing, Janson said.

Melvin's uncle Ray Nolan said on the day of his nephew's death that he heard reports of a green sport utility vehicle pulling into the complex before shooting started. He said he heard his nephew was the only one of a group of 10 or 12 people who didn't run away when a gunman approached.

The slaying happened a few buildings away from the apartment where the teenager lived with his mother and sisters in a spot where a memorial of candles and silk flowers still stands. Porter's homicide happened in his apartment, which is within eyesight of the Melvin family's front door.

Assistant State Attorney John Guy said Monday that Melvin's homicide case wasn't closed yet and that a finding of justifiable homicide was a possibility. He wouldn't comment further, and authorities wouldn't name the man they believe shot Melvin.

(More)

Officers: Teen Shot, Killed Was Robbing Man

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released new information on Tuesday about one of the four shootings that took place in a 24-hour period and left four teens dead in July.

Officers said the Westside shooting claimed the life of 17-year-old Rico Melvin.

Jacksonville police said the victim was shot and killed while committing a crime.

The fatal shooting happened at the Eureka Garden apartments on Labelle Street, where police said the teen was killed while trying to rob a man who came to the complex to buy drugs. During that encounter, Melvin pulled a gun and the man defended himself by drawing his own weapon and firing, according to police.

Authorities said Melvin was also a person of interest in a slaying that took place at the same apartment complex in May.

The investigation into the fatal shooting is still ongoing.

Labels: FL, street robbery

Euless Police Investigate Fatal Shooting

A Euless man took a weapon into another man's home and was gunned down.

The shooting took place on the 200 block of East Ash Lane around 4 a.m. Monday.

Here's what police say happened: The victim, Brandon Couey, had been arguing with a woman when a neighbor asked the woman if she was okay. Couey, who was armed with a knife, then walked into that neighbor's apartment. That is when Couey was shot.

"We don't really know what happened ? we have an idea based on witness statements," said Lt. Wayne Paulik, Euless Police Department. "We're still going to conduct a thorough investigation.

According to police, Couey then made his way across the street to a fire station. He was taken to a hospital and died.

No arrests have been made.

Police say a grand jury will ultimately decide if the shooting was a case of self defense.

Labels: domestic dispute, home invasion, TX

Resident Dies In Home Invasion Robbery; Intruder in Critical Condition

Anthony Jerome Hemingway Sr., 43, died early Monday morning in an exchange of gunfire with a man who kicked in the door of his apartment in Killeen.

The intruder, who was not identified, was in critical condition Monday after he was airlifted to Scott & White Hospital in Temple.

It happened around 6:30 a.m. Monday at an apartment in the 1500 block of Windward Drive.

Officers said an armed man kicked in the back door, entered the apartment and shot Hemingway, who returned fire, wounding his attacker.

Labels: defender killed, home invasion, residence robbery, TX

Blount Co. Home Invasion Foiled

A suspect in a Blount County home invasion got a lot more than he bargained for Sunday night.

A man who lives on West Vinegar Valley Road in Friendsville says he was asleep when he heard someone trying to break into his home with a crowbar.

The man told officers he grabbed his rifle, and as the suspect entered the house, he saw the gun and took off, getting into a car with another man.

The homeowner says he fired three shots at the car, possibly hitting a tail-light.

The two men got away in a blue, 80's model Ford Escort.

Labels: home invasion, TN

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - The owner of a Pine Bluff pawn shop shot dead a teenager he suspected to be a burglar, police said.

Taron Hopkins, 15, was pronounced dead at the scene early Friday morning, said Chad Kelley, chief deputy coroner. Hopkins suffered a gunshot wound to the upper body.

Police Lt. Bob Rawlinson said the shooting happened at Chuck Smith's Pawn Shop in Pine Bluff. The store's owner, Chuck Smith, told police he shot the teenager with a .38-caliber revolver as the teen and others tried to break into the store.

Smith was in a small living area at the back of the business when he heard people breaking in, Rawlinson said. Smith told police he fired several shots toward the group.

Several of the people fled, and a tire iron was left behind, Rawlinson said.

"We're going to gather the facts and then present them to the prosecuting attorney to determine whether the shooting was justified or if charges are warranted in this case," Rawlinson said.

SHOOTING OF TEENAGER RULED JUSTIFIED BY PROSECUTOR

Jefferson County’s prosecutor ruled Wednesday that the death of a 15-year-old boy who was shot by the owner of a Pine Bluff pawn shop was “justified under the law.”

Taron Hopkins was shot by Chuck Smith, the owner of Chuck Smith Pawn Shop at 3621 W. Sixth Ave., on Aug. 16 after Hopkins and two other juveniles tried to break into the business at approximately 11:30 p.m.

In a memo to Police Chief John Howell, 11th Judicial District West Prosecuting Attorney Steve Dalrymple said, “The physical evidence of the event was corroborated by the statements of the two youths that accompanied Taron Hopkins in the burglary of the building. Additionally, their two statements support the account of Chuck Smith.”

Smith told police he heard a noise at the back door of the building and, when he opened the back door, saw several individuals standing in front of him, including one holding what appeared to be a tire iron.

“The law is very clear on the use of deadly force,” Dalrymple said in the memo to Howell. “The use of a firearm by Smith was justifiable when faced by an intruder armed with a potential weapon, a tire iron.”

Hopkins was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:15 a.m. of an apparent gunshot wound to the upper body.

“The results are both tragic and deadly,” Dalrymple said. “Also clearly upsetting is the fact that three young teenagers were out and about in the late hours. Taron Hopkins was 15 years of age. It does not require a keen insight to recognize that such an act is an invitation to trouble.

“Both the evidence of the burglary and the statements of the accomplices of the deceased demonstrate that these actions were far beyond a mischievous act of a youth but rather were a planned criminal act,” Dalrymple said, adding that Smith’s actions “are not the subject of criminal prosecution.”

Wednesday afternoon, Dalrymple said he has received the complete case file in the death of Winston Walls Jr., 14, who reportedly kicked in the back door of a house in the Dollarway area on Aug. 23, and was shot by the homeowner, Jimmy Shaw, who had a handgun.

Dalrymple said he is reviewing that file before making a decision on whether the shooting was justified under state law.

Labels: AR, business burglary, minor offender

76-year-old man wrestles gun away from robber

A 76-year-old Pensacola man wrestled a gun from a 64-year-old man trying to rob him Friday, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to reports of an armed robbery at Tall Oaks Campground about 11 a.m. and found Jay Robbins, 64, of Pensacola being held at gunpoint by Paul Ehler, 76.

According to investigators, Ehler said he was sitting in his office chair when Roberts walked in and said he was going to rob Ehler.

Ehler told investigators Roberts wanted him to sit in a chair to be bound. But when the suspect fumbled with the rope, Ehler came around the desk and attacked him, the report said.

After a brief struggle, Ehler got the gun away from the suspect and held him until deputies arrived.

Robbins was arrested for one count of armed robbery and taken to Escambia County Jail where he is being held on $50,000 bond.

Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, FL, residence robbery

Grand jury declines to indict Cape Cod doctor in husband's death

Prosecutors are dropping the case against a Cape Cod doctor charged with fatally shooting her husband after a grand jury declined to indict her because of evidence he abused her.

The Barnstable County grand jury considered testimony from 27 witnesses who said Ann Gryboski, 51, was a victim of physical and psychological abuse by Patrick Lancaster, 50, her husband of more than 20 years, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe office said in a statement Friday.

"This is a finding by the Grand Jury consistent with the evidence in this particular case," O'Keefe said.

Gryboski has been free on bail after pleading not guilty in April to a murder charge. She had appeared in court with swollen eyes and bruises around her mouth, and the district attorney said then there were "mitigating factors" in her case.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday.

But in a statement released by Robert Galibois, attorney for Gryboski's son Chris, Reddington said he and Gryboski were pleased that grand jurors recognized that she acted in defense of herself and her son, according to the Cape Cod Times.

"This has been a very trying time for the doctor and her family and we hope that this unfortunate case will now be put behind her and she can get back to work with her patients and the job she loves," Reddington said in the statement.

"Chris is immeasurably relieved that the court process is over," Galibois said on behalf of his client. "He is grateful for the overwhelming support from family and friends during this difficult time."
Reddington had said in court that the case was "pure and simple self-defense."

"The bruises speak volumes about what happened," Reddington has said. "She did what she had to do to protect herself and her children."

Gryboski told police she shot her husband, a builder and charter boat owner, in their home on Easter Sunday after she attempted to intervene in an argument between him and one of their adult sons who confronted his father about his mother's black eye and swollen face.

She told police that the night before the killing, her husband had repeatedly punched her as she drove with their 2-year-old grandson in the back seat.

When her husband came toward her on that Sunday, she fired two shots, hitting him in the torso, according to prosecutors.

"She went to him, cradled his body and said 'I didn't want it to end like this, I hope you find peace,'" O'Keefe said in his Friday statement.

O'Keefe said Friday doctors who examined Gryboski found head and facial trauma on the right side and a chipped tooth as well as a mild corneal abrasion and evidence of a previous nasal injury.

Gryboski, who specializes in internal medicine, has a Yarmouth practice, but had stopped practicing pending her case. A spokesman at Cape Cod Hospital said at the time of the slaying Gryboski had a discipline-free record.

Labels: domestic abuse, MA

A robber shot by a guard during a heist attempt at a San Pablo grocery store on August 10 remains on the lam, police said Thursday.

Detectives suspect that he and his compatriots may have robbed other Food Maxx stores in the East Bay this summer. They do not know whether he died, sought medical help outside the region or simply spent his week hiding and suffering.

Police ask anyone who knows where he went to call, both for his sake and theirs.

"It was a point-blank shot. It struck him in the shoulder," San Pablo Police Detective David Hoff said. "I'm sure it was extremely painful."

The unidentified man and another suspect, 41-year-old Oakland resident James Jones, walked into the San Pablo Avenue Food Maxx about 8 p.m. last Friday wearing sunglasses and caps, police said.

Surveillance camera footage shows they spent 12 to 15 minutes "shopping" before the unidentified suspect grabbed a bag of snack food and headed for a register, with Jones close behind him.

They apparently did not know that loss-prevention workers had spotted them the moment they walked through the door, Hoff said. Moments after the man leaned over the counter and grabbed a wad of cash from the register's till, the store called police, and its private security guards closed in.

...

A guard with his gun drawn met the two men as they exited into the parking lot and grabbed the man with the cash by the shoulder, Hoff said.

In response, the robber reached into his waistband. The guard saw he was about to pull out a handgun, and fired twice. One of the rounds definitely hit the robber, who threw down his weapon and cash and jumped into a waiting, dark-colored Honda or Toyota, Hoff said.

Police arrived soon after and arrested Jones, whom store security detained. The weapon thrown down by the missing robber turned out to be a realistic-looking pellet gun.

Labels: business robbery, CA

Tattoo parlor owner shoots robber

The shotgun hangs on the wall of the Tattoo Doctor for a reason, its employees say. It's meant to convey a message to anyone walking in: Don't mess with us.

Until now, the insinuation worked fine. But when a would-be robber tried to hold up the southwest Atlanta tattoo and piercing parlor Thursday night, he learned the hard way what happens when you disobey.

The store owner shot the man at least three times, sending him scurrying out of the shop and into a nearby apartment complex — where he was promptly arrested.

"Stop trying to rob, that's not the avenue they need to take," said the owner's brother, who goes by the name "Zok" Patrick.

"But if you do," he added, "be ready for the repercussions."

About seven people, including patrons and employees, were at the shop on Campbellton Road when two men came in about 8 p.m. asking to get tattooed.

As one of them was called in for his appointment, the second man pulled out a gun, ordered everyone to get down on the ground and demanded money, Patrick said.

"He pointed to the [shotgun] and said nobody touch it," Patrick said. "We put it up there to curtail exactly this type of behavior."

As the patrons hit the ground, the store owner — whose business license lists him as Ikeno Patrick, but who goes by "Nomadic" — pulled out a different gun and fired.

"Zok" Patrick says his brother returned fire only after the would-be robber fired some shots of his own. Police had not sorted through the details of the attempted robbery by late Thursday night.

"From what I seen, [my brother] hit him on the mouth, the shoulder, the side," Patrick said.

The man ran out, firing back over his shoulder as he made his escape through the parking lot.

"The whole neighborhood must have called police. There were so many shots fired," Patrick said.

The store is in a shopping center that houses, among other businesses, a barber shop and a pizza place.

As the shots flew, the second man cowered in a corner, saying, "Please don't kill me. I didn't have nothing to do with it," Patrick recalled.

Atlanta police Officer Eric Schwartz said the would-be robber, whose name was not released, was arrested and taken to a hospital in stable condition.

"Nomadic" Patrick was taken to a police station to give his version of events. The other employees spent late Thursday night picking up glass shards and sweeping out the debris.

Labels: business robbery, GA

Intruder Fatally Shot During L.I. Home Invasion

A homeowner fatally shot one intruder and another escaped after a home invasion on Long Island on Thursday night.

Police said two men broke into a home in Bay Shore around 10 p.m. and demanded cash and drugs from the homeowner.

A struggle broke out and the homeowner shot one of the men and the other suspect fled the scene on foot, according to police. The intruder died at the scene.

Police are searching for the second suspect of the home invasion, but they do not have a description. Police are also checking into the background of the homeowner.

Labels: home invasion, NY, residence robbery

Suspect Shot After Breaking into Home

39-year-old Kenny Cantwell of Hilton Head was shot early this morning when he broke into a home he mistook as his own.

Beaufort County Sheriff's deputies proactively patrolling the area night clubs first made contact with an intoxicated Cantwell at Hilton Head Plaza just after 2:30 am this morning. While inebriated, Cantwell was not disorderly at the time. Deputies offered to assist Cantwell by securing him a taxi to transport him to his nearby home at 24 Compass Point Rd. in the Point Comfort neighborhood. Cantwell agreed to the offer and left without incident in the taxi several minutes later.

However, about 15 minutes after Cantwell's departure, deputies were called to respond to a report of a gunshot victim at the residence of 16 Compass Point Rd. Upon arrival, deputies discovered Cantwell lying at the bottom of the steps of the residence, disoriented and bleeding profusely from his left leg.

Deputies met with the complainant, 51-year old Raymond Gaudreau, who resides at 16 Compass Point Rd. Gaudreau recounted to deputies that he was asleep on the couch in the living room of his home when he was awakened by the sound of someone trying to come in the front door. Gaudreau advised seeing the door come partially open, but an engaged chain lock prevented it from being opened completely.

Gaudreau called out to the unknown individual outside the door, asking his identity. The subject outside identified himself as "Ken" and yelled that he lived there and to open the door. Gaudreau warned the subject not to come in and that he was armed with a gun, at which time the subject threatened to break the door down.

Gaudreau fled through the house to the back deck outside where he called 911. During this time, the subject did make forced entry through the front door, charging through the home where he confronted Gaudreau on the back deck. Gaudreau, who was armed with a 9mm handgun, repeatedly advised the subject that he was armed with a gun and to stay back.

The subject disregarded Gaudreau's warnings, becoming violent as he picked up the metal patio table separating the two men and threw it at Gaudreau. As the subject lunged towards Gaudreau, Gaudreau fired his gun, shooting the subject in the lower left leg.

After being shot, the subject finally retreated, crawling back through the home and out the front door, where he was found by arriving deputies. The deputies immediately recognized the subject as Kenny Cantwell, the intoxicated subject whom they had sent home from Hilton Head Plaza just minutes before.

Cantwell was transported to Hilton Head Regional Medical Center for medical treatment of the gunshot wound to his leg. His condition is undisclosed at this time. The incident remains under active investigation by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

Labels: home invasion, SC

New Castle County police are investigating the shooting of a man Wednesday afternoon during a break-in. Shortly before 3 p.m., police were called to the first block of Christiana Crossing Drive in Newark, where a 31-year-old male resident of Christiana Farms town houses said he had shot someone trying to break into his home, said spokesman Cpl. Trinidad Navarro. A female witness drove the intruder, a 39-year-old, to Christiana Hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper torso, Navarro said. He was reportedly in stable condition.

Labels: DE, intruder

Store employee shot in leg while chasing robbers

An employee of an Arden-area market was shot in the leg Thursday morning while chasing three men who had just robbed his store at gunpoint, the Sheriff's Department reported.

The three suspects -- last seen in dark clothing and black knit masks -- escaped with cash, and they remained at large in the early afternoon, said Sgt. Tim Curran, sheriff's spokesman.

The status of the wounded employee was not immediately known, but Curran said he was expected to survive. He was described as a 39-year-old relative of the family that owns Toledo's Mexican Market in the 1300 block of Fulton Avenue.

No one answered the phone at the store on Thursday afternoon.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m. the store was robbed, but the crime was not reported to authorities, Curran said. In fact, deputies were first alerted to trouble minutes later when residents at a nearby apartment complex on Wittkop Way reported hearing gunshots.

Curran said a gun battle had ensued at the complex between the robbers and at least two store employees, who had armed themselves with a shotgun and a handgun.

Curran said he did not know if the two groups were wildly shooting through the area or if the exchange took place as the robbers were getting into a car, but it was during that time when the store employee was shot.

Robbery And Shootout At Local Store

Witnesses say it was something out of the Wild West, after a gun battle erupted in a Sacramento apartment complex.

"Six or seven shots and then it was followed by a very, very, loud bang," said Kurt Richter who lives at the Bella Vita Apartments. Sheriff's deputies scoured the complex, trying to piece together an incident that had tenants ducking for cover.

"I'm not going to take a stray bullet in the face," said Richter.

It all started next door, where three armed robbers entered Toledo's Mexican Market on Fulton Avenue.

"It was a take over robbery they held them at gunpoint while they forced one of the employees to get the money," said Sgt. Tim Curran of the Sacramento Sheriff's Department. The three robbers ran out of the back of the store, and crawled through a hole in a fence leading to the apartment complex where a get away car was waiting.

What they didn't know, the store owner and an employee were hot on their heels. The owner had a handgun and a shotgun. A running gun-battle with the suspects took place around the apartments. Shell casings marked the gunmen's path. They got away in a silver four door sedan, but not before leaving some of their loot behind.

Store owner Jaime Toledo showed detectives how the suspects shot at him. The worker who was with him was hit by a bullet. "He was shot through the leg. He's ok, he's at the hospital already," said Toledo.

Toledo been at this location for seven years, but it's the first time he's been robbed. He says he wasn't scared, but then again he admits there wasn't time to think. "I don't know, when that thing happened, nobody was thinking," said Toledo.

Cops prefer victims to be good witnesses, and not take matters into their own hands. But Jaime doesn't regret his actions.

Labels: business robbery, CA, defender shot

Burglar pursued by quick-thinking man, nipped by dog

Thief apprehended after hold-up at Ellenwood truck stop

A security guard on his way to work late Wednesday night helped capture a man police said had just robbed an Ellenwood truck stop.

Vincent Taylor, 40, noticed a man coming out of the Fuel Center on Ga. 42 carrying a gun and large amount of money, said Clayton County police Deputy Chief Tim Robinson. Taylor was on his way to work at Turner Broadcasting, police said.

"Realizing what had occurred, Taylor gave chase on foot," Robinson said.

The armed robber, later identified by police as Robert C. Flynn II, 21, of Stockbridge, turned and fired at Taylor, Robinson said. Taylor returned fire from his handgun as Flynn ran into nearby woods, police said.

Neither man was hit and Taylor stayed at the truck stop to wait for police, Robinson said.

A K-9 unit was sent into the woods and tracked Flynn down within minutes, Robinson said. Flynn struggled with the dog and was bitten, police said. He was treated at Southern Regional Medical Center before being taken to the Clayton County Jail.

Robinson said the gun Flynn used in the robbery was reported stolen in January 2006 out of DeKalb County. Police said they also recovered more than $1,200 in cash stolen from the Fuel Center.

Flynn is charged with armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and theft by receiving stolen property, police said

Labels: business robbery, fugitive, GA

Man breaks into home, finds self held at gunpoint

A man broke into a Mesa home and found himself held at gun point.

Edward Linton walked into the home through the garage door where the resident confronted him.

The resident then threw him outside and held him at gunpoint while he waited for police to come.

Right now Linton is in police custody.

No word yet on if he'll face any charges.

Labels: AZ, intruder

Wharton Co. homeowner helps nab burglary suspect

A burglary suspect backed out of the home he entered in the early morning after being confronted by its pistol-packing owner.

Arrested after the reported break-in on Monday morning was Oscar Daniel Navarro Garcia, 22, of Boling. He was being held at the Wharton County Jail on Tuesday after Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Jeanette Krenek set bail at $50,000 on a charge of burglary of habitation.

The incident was called in to the sheriff's office at 4:17 a.m. from the victim's home in the 1500 block of Burning Stone Drive in the New Gulf community, located in east Wharton County.

The victim, a 57-year-old woman, told deputies she woke up when someone rang her rear doorbell. After grabbing her .38-caliber revolver, she answered the door and found a man wearing blue jeans but no shirt at the door. Later investigation showed someone had cut through two screens to gain entry to her closed-in utility room.

"He told her that someone had hit her parked car and had driven off," Sheriff's Lt. Daniel Marek said. "When she unlocked the door, he stepped in and said, 'Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.' He appeared to be intoxicated. When she threatened him with the gun, he fled."

Sheriff's deputy Joe Ray Joines and Sgt. Jimmy Woods responded to the location and the victim identified Garcia as the intruder.

Labels: residence burglary, TX

2 Shot In Coral Ribbon Home Invasion

Police are investigating a home invasion shooting at a home on Coral Ribbon, near Lindell and Robindale.

Metro police tell Action News, a woman came home around 5 AM this morning and was accosted by three African American men.

Her husband came to her aid, and shots were exchanged between the husband and the suspects.

One suspect was hit and died at the scene. The woman was also shot and taken to the hospital.

There is no word yet on her condition.

Police say the other two suspects are now at large.

Homeowner, Suspect Shot During Home Invasion, More Suspects Sought

A home invasion early this morning ended with a gun battle in a gated community in the southwest valley near Robindale and Lindell.

Metro says a woman was shot several times inside her home before her boyfriend killed one of the suspects. But two suspects are still at large and police say they are armed and dangerous.

Normally a quiet neighborhood, the Encantana gated community turned into a huge crime scene just before day break.

Metro spokesman Bill Cassell said, "Bullets struck several nearby residences."

Police say when the woman arrived home, she was accosted by three men.

"Her husband, who was inside the residence, came to her assistance and there was an exchange of gunfire inside the residence," Bill Cassell continued.

The woman was caught in the crossfire. She was shot and injured. One suspect was shot dead at the home. The two other suspects took off.

Police say the woman is hospitalized with multiple wounds, but is expected to survive.

Cassell said, "It's unknown at this point who fired the rounds that struck her."

Identity Learned of Killed Home Invasion Suspect

The suspect shot and killed in reported home invasion this week has been identified. His name is Leland Todd Jordan.

The 28-year-old was killed during a shootout in a gated community. The homeowner reportedly told police he woke up to find his girlfriend being attacked by three armed men. He opened fire hitting one suspect.

The other two got away. The woman was also hit by gunfire in the shoulder and neck -- but her injuries were non-life threatening.

Labels: home invasion, NV, residence robbery

Homeowner kills charging pit bull

A homeowner in Palmer shot and wounded a pit bull after it charged at him.

Police say they went to the home last week and found two pit bulls had escaped from a nearby residence. 1 of the dogs charged a neighbor.

Police say the dog tried jumping through the neighbor's screen door last week. When it tried again, police say the homeowner shot it.

The dog's owner arrived within minutes and took the wounded dog to the North Star Animal Hospital.

Police say while discharging a firearm is against a city ordinance, the homeowner was well within his rights in trying to defend himself and his home from the dangerous dog.

Labels: AK, animal

Suspect burglar shot inside home Sunday

Police were investigating a burglary that happened Sunday morning in which the suspect ended up in Terre Haute Regional Hospital.

An 18 year-old-man was home in the 2000 block of Washington Avenue when a man wearing black clothing and a mask entered the home around 4 a.m.

Police would not disclose how the burglary suspect got shot, but he ended up in the hospital about 50 minutes later with “buck shot” embedded in his body, police said.

Labels: IN, residence burglary

Motive a mystery in deadly Dallas freeway shooting

Police said they may never know why a man who wrecked his car along a downtown freeway opened fire on the people who stopped to render aid, killing two before fatally shooting himself.

A Dallas police officer responding to the incident and another passer-by who stopped to help were seriously wounded in the Sunday morning shooting, authorities said.

Police said no one heard any words from the suspected gunman, 20-year-old Nick A. Salinas, of Cedar Hill.

"We may never know," said Dallas police Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick. "But it's something we hope to find out."

Police identified the shooting victims as Robert Daniel Langston, 22, of Duncanville, and Jesus Reyes Terrazas, Jr., 24, of Dallas.

A woman at Terrazas' home said the family was still grieving and declined to comment.

...

Witnesses told investigators they stopped to help a motorist on the side of Interstate 35 when someone inside the car shot at them. One witness left in his car after the shooter pointed a gun at him, police said.

Terrazas was part of a group of four who saw the accident scene and turned around to help. Someone in the group returned fire, Hale said. Police said they don't believe the return fire hit Salinas. The man was licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

"Certainly I'm sure he was just trying to protect himself," Hale said.

(More)

Labels: altercation, concealed carry permit, TX

Suspect Killed in Shootout During Attempted Robbery

Two people are being questioned by police after a robbery escalated into a deadly shooting spree on the Westside.

It happened at Avatar Graphics on Blanding Boulevard at around 6:30 a.m. Monday morning.

Police say at least one person tried to rob the shop at gunpoint. That's when the owner, Bryan Martin, pulled out his own gun and bullets started flying.

Martin was found shot and in critical condition at the shop. The would-be robber was found a block down the road in a car with two other men. He later died from his injuries.

LAW & DISORDER: Shop owner shot, kills robbery suspect

He returned fire after being shot as he opened his shop, police say.

A Jacksonville shop owner shot and killed an apparent robber after taking a bullet in the stomach himself Monday morning on Blanding Boulevard, police said.

The owner of Avatar Graphics, a T-shirt design company on Blanding between San Juan Avenue and Park Street, was opening his store about 6:30 a.m. when he was shot. Police said the shop owner shot the suspect. Police confirmed the suspect later died. Police did not identify the shop owner.

Surgery was performed on the owner Monday at Shands Jacksonville hospital, Lt. Darryl Daniels said.

Two other males were with the gunman, Daniels said, and were detained for questioning. Daniels said the three, whose names were not released, were possibly teenagers.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda said no charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation.

Labels: business robbery, defender shot, FL

One hurt in Des Moines shooting

A man armed with a gun allegedly accosted a second man late Friday in Des Moines, but was the one who ended up being hurt.

Des Moines police said they were called to an apartment complex in the 2400 block of South 222nd Street at about 11:30 p.m. for the reported shooting.

When they arrived, they found a 40-year-old man who told officers he had been accosted by an armed man in the parking lot. The victim told police a struggle ensued and at least two shots were fired.

The attacker fled, driving off in a car and leaving a gun behind, which police took.

A short time later, a 21-year-old man showed up a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg. Police questioned the man, but did not arrest him.

The shooting remains under investigation.

Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, street robbery, WA

Police: Man shot dead after kicking in door

A 20-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday after he kicked down the front door of another man's home in Creola, authorities said.
…

In Creola, the two men had been arguing over the phone before Justin Cox went to the home just off U.S. 43 and kicked the door off its hinges, said Cpl. Gary Davis of the Creola Police Department.

Ronnie Freeman, who was at home with his wife and baby, shot Cox with a rifle, Davis said. So far, Freeman does not face any criminal charges, Davis said.

Investigators believe Cox intended to hurt Freeman, Davis said.

The case remains under investigation and will be presented to a Mobile County grand jury, Davis said. The shooting took place about 1:30 a.m. on Carroll Lane, Davis said.

Labels: AL, altercation, assault

Local Business Owner Assaulted Outside Home

The owner of an area nightclub was beaten and robbed early Monday morning on Columbus' north side.

Witnesses said the victim, owner of the International Ballroom and Nightclub, was targeted outside of his Sinclair Road home at about 2:30 a.m., NBC 4's David Wayne reported.

According to police, the incident was originally called in as a home invasion, but it turned out that someone was waiting outside the home of the victim.

Police said that when the victim arrived home two people were waiting. As he got out of his car, he was allegedly assaulted as the suspects demanded money.

"Two individuals were waiting in the shadows for him, as he exited his vehicle he was jumped and assaulted" Detective Art Hughes, of the Columbus Division of Police said. "A struggle ensued and the business owner was able to produce a weapon. There was a shot fired and, at this time, it appears nobody was hit."

Police have not arrested any suspects involved in the case.

Labels: OH, street robbery

Man, 85, Fools, Captures Alleged Burglar

An 85-year-old man whose home was burglarized three times within a week decided to take matters into his own hands. Alton Tillman left his home at his regular time Tuesday, but doubled back and quietly went inside, finding emptied drawers, items in disarray _ and someone's feet sticking out from under a bed, police said.

Tillman ordered him out, then called 911.

When officers arrived, they found Tillman pointing a handgun at a 16-year-old boy standing against a wall, they said.

Officers said they found several items belonging to Tillman in the boy's pockets and other items of the man's at the youth's home a block away.

The teenager was charged with felony burglary and larceny.

Police Capt. Patrick Whitney said people should call officers rather than acting on their own.

"We're not Superman either, but at least we do have the equipment and the training," he said.

Labels: NM, residence burglary

Attempted robbery in Pembroke Pines lands suspect in hospital

An armed robbery suspect is in the hospital after a convenience store clerk shot him in self-defense earlier today, police said.

Bruce Flanders, 54, fired at the suspect after the alleged robber and another male walked into the Super Stop Food Store at 6460 Pines Blvd. at around 12:30 p.m., with a shotgun and demanded cash, said Sgt. John Jacob. The 21-year-old armed suspect had racked the shotgun before the men demanded money and pointed the weapon at Flanders after the store clerk showed his gun, Jacob said.

The two men fled the scene by running into an alley across the street from the convenience store, Jacob said. Shortly after arriving on scene, police found the injured suspect, who had a wound to his abdomen area, police said. The man was sent to Memorial Regional Hospital and underwent surgery Sunday afternoon, Jacob said. K-9 units found the second suspect, a 29-year-old male, hiding in a nearby dumpster.

The suspects' names have not been released.

Labels: business robbery, FL

3 killed in Burke Co. shooting rampage

Neighbor allegedly goes from trailer to trailer before getting shot to death; 2 others injured in attacks

It wasn't unusual to hear gunshots fired in this neck of Connelly Springs.

Mostly it was just men shooting targets, though a wayward bullet recently cut through a neighbor's occupied trailer -- straight through.

On Thursday night, the shots turned deadly, and in the space of about 10 minutes three men lay dead, including the shooter. Two others were hurt.

Burke County sheriff's Lt. Becky Brendle said it happened like this:

Just after 10:30 p.m., a man walked up to the camper home of Frank James Clark and shot him dead with a rifle.

He then walked the 150 feet across a driveway and yard to the trailer home of William and Shirley Clark, Frank's brother and mother, where William Clark was working on an ATV in the sultry heat. The man asked him where Clark's mother was.

Clark knocked the man's rifle toward the ground and ran inside the trailer before the man started firing through the front door. Clark grabbed his mother and pulled her to the floor, where the two laid as bullets passed through the home and Clark called 911.

Next, the man left the trailer, walked about 15 yards through the woods behind the Clarks' and knocked on the trailer home of William Clark's other two brothers, Edward and Wayne. He was told to come inside.

When the man walked in he started shooting the rifle. He shot Edward at least twice, killing him, shot a woman and man who were visiting, and then started shooting at Wayne, who ran to a back bedroom.

Wayne grabbed a rifle from the bedroom and waited until he heard the man's gun click. He assumed it was empty, so he stepped into the hall and saw the man there with the rifle in one hand and a handgun in the other.

Wayne, he told investigators, shot the man through the heart.

When it was over, Frank James Clark, 46, Edward Leroy Clark, 47, and 61-year-old Charlie Clinard Jackson, a neighbor of the Clark brothers, were dead, and Janet Elizabeth Lefler and Scott Elliott Campbell hurt.

Investigators say Jackson was the shooter and that nobody seems to know why he did it.

Friday, gauze pad wrappers dotted the yard where it all started. The front door of William and Shirley Clark's trailer sported several bullet holes, while more holes pocked the back of the home where at least three of the bullets exited.

Empty beer cans and junk vehicles lay about and a hand-lettered sign on the front porch read, "No Jehovahs Witnesses."

Neighbor Glennie Lail said gunshots in the area had concerned neighbors with children in the past, including herself.

She said she knew Jackson, whose brother also lives nearby. Her son would sometimes go to the brother's house to play with his dogs but would come home when Jackson showed up because he was scared of him.

(More about Jackson)

Labels: assault, home invasion, NC

Alleged robber shot down

Man dies at Percy Avenue Market in YC

A man died Friday night after allegedly robbing a Yuba City grocery store and trying to flee.

Police responded to the Percy Avenue Market at around 8:30 p.m. after they received reports of a man who had been shot.

Deputy Police Chief Rob Landon said the suspect robbed the market, but never left the premises.

“He made it to the other side of the parking lot and expired,” Landon said.

Landon did not release the identity of the shooter, but friends of the store clerk said weapons are kept in the store.

The deputy police chief would not say whether a store clerk shot the alleged robber nor confirm that the deceased died of gunshot wounds.
...

Police are still investigating the incident.

Robbery Suspect Shot & Killed By Store Owner

A deadly shooting is being called self-defense, after a convenience store clerk in Yuba City took matters into her own hands during a robbery.

"We heard a couple gunshots and saw a bunch of people running," said Matt Lewis, who witnessed the incident. In normally quiet Yuba City, hearing gunshots will send people running, and it did on Friday night at the Percy Avenue Market.

About 8:15 p.m., a white man in his thirties wearing a dark jacket walked into the empty store. He demanded money at gunpoint. The female clerk, also one of the market's owners, gave him all she had, which was less than one hundred dollars. "He demanded more cash, and as he demanded more that's when the clerk pulled out a gun and shot the suspect," said Sergeant Kim Slade of the Yuba Police Department.

Shot in the chest, the man stumbled into the parking lot and died. Police found his gun and the money he had stolen in his coat.

"It was horrible, especially in your neighborhood. I mean, that's my house right there and this is my store," said Lewis.

Back at work on Saturday, but much too shaken to speak on camera, the woman and her husband say this is the worst experience in their 24 years of operation. It's not the first time the store has been robbed. Back in 1992, a man came in, demanded money and got into a scuffle with the owner. He ended up getting shot in the stomach and the suspect got away. The couple says they've learned a lot about self-defense since then.

The suspect is from the area but his identity has not been released. Police are investigating, but say the shooting looks to be self-defense. "We try and advise people not to take the law into their own hands. We look at each case differently, but it's kind of a spur of the moment thing, how one feels," said Slade.

Owner will not be charged

A Yuba City market owner who shot and killed an armed robber will not be charged with a crime, Sutter County District Attorney Carl Adams said today.

Adams said the woman, who co-owns the Percy Avenue Market, acted in self-defense when she pulled a .38 caliber revolver from a drawer the night of Aug. 10 and shot Billy Lloyd Saling at point blank range.

Adams did not name the woman in a press release but confirmed she is Suad Hamdan, wife of co-owner Chris Hamdan. She earlier declined comment.

Saling had a loaded .22 caliber revolver in his hand when Hamdan fired one time, hitting him in the upper left chest. She fired a second time as he ran out the door but missed and hit a wall, said Adams.

Saling collapsed and died in a parking lot five to eight seconds after being hit, the district attorney said.

“It’s pretty clear she was convinced he would shoot her,” said Adams. “It’s clear she thought her life was at risk

Labels: business robbery, CA

Wal-Mart shooting justified, Gibbons says

Battery charges expected against shooter’s alleged assailant

Fifth Judicial Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons has declined to prosecute a man who shot an acquaintance in the leg July 18 in the Wal-Mart parking lot on East Main Street.

William Garfield Farr, 50, was arrested later that night in connection with the shooting after he fled the scene without notifying authorities of the incident, a circumstance Gibbons called “troubling” in a memo sent Wednesday to Russellville Police Department Det. Mark Frost, which was provided to The Courier.

A witness recorded Farr’s license plate number as he drove away, according to a July 20 article by Scott Perkins and Janie Ginocchio.

In a July 20 bond hearing held at the Pope County Detention Center, District Judge Don Bourne ordered Farr held on a $25,000 commercial bond. At that time, the alleged victim, Ben Lopez, was in stable condition at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, according to testimony by Frost.

Gibbons cited Arkansas Criminal Act 5-2-607 in the memo, which provides that “a person is justified in using deadly physical force upon another person if he reasonably believes that the other person is: (1) Committing or about to commit a felony involving force or violence; (2) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force; [or] (3) Imminently endangering his or her life.”

In the memo, Gibbons wrote despite Farr’s failure to call police and fleeing, “from the evidence, it is clear that Lopez was the initial aggressor and entered Farr’s vehicle while possessing a knife. Farr retreated to the passenger side of his vehicle, a point beyond which he could go no further with complete safety.”

“Although disputed by Lopez,” Gibbons continued, “the credible evidence is that Lopez struck at Farr with the knife injuring Farr’s lip. At that point, Farr shot Lopez in the leg with a handgun which he was authorized to carry under Arkansas Law.”

Frost testified July 20 officers found a knife at the scene. During that hearing, Farr appeared to have a small cut on his upper lip consistent with a superficial knife wound.

Gibbons wrote he anticipates filing battery charges against Lopez in connection with the incident.

It remains unclear how the two came to meet in the parking lot, as well as what caused the encounter to turn violent.

Labels: altercation, AR, assault, concealed carry permit

Would-be robber's slaying 'justifiable'

The fatal shooting of a man while trying to rob a Muskegon Heights woman in her driveway has been ruled "justifiable," Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said Thursday.

That means no homicide charge will be filed in the July 25 shooting of Edtwon Magett, 32, of Milwaukee.

But the shooter faces trial on several other felony counts.

Kenyada Yvonne Young, 27, waived her right to a preliminary examination Thursday on five charges: being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, making a false report of a felony, delivery of a controlled substance and a felony firearm count. Sixtieth District Judge Michael J. Nolan ordered Young bound over for trial in 14th Circuit Court.

Also waiving his preliminary hearing Thursday was Magett's alleged accomplice in the botched robbery attempt. Malcolm Lamont Price, 19, of 3013 Woodcliffe, faces trial on charges of assault with intent to rob while armed and felony firearm possession.

Magett was shot in the head by his intended victim about 1:30 a.m. in the driveway at 2030 Riordan in what authorities have called a drug-related robbery attempt. He died July 26 at a Muskegon hospital.

Authorities said Young had just pulled into her driveway when Magett confronted her. She started to open the car door, and he pulled it open the rest of the way, put a gun to her head and demanded money.

Police and prosecutors said the woman appeared to be cooperating but instead pulled a small-caliber handgun out of her pocket and shot Magett.

She then allegedly forced Price to drag Magett to her front porch and kick the residence open to make it appear a breaking and entering had occurred, police said.

Prosecutors earlier said Young is an alleged drug dealer and that the holdup men believed she was carrying a large amount of money. She did have several hundred dollars in her possession, and police also found what they said were illegally obtained Vicodin pills in her home.

Police said Magett had been in prison most of his adult life, and his record showed convictions for armed robbery and narcotics violations in Wisconsin and Michigan.

He had been staying with a relative in Muskegon Heights after getting out of prison two months ago. The state corrections department Web site shows Magett was released May 15 on parole after a 2001 drug conviction in Michigan's Cass County and a 2003 prison escape conviction in Berrien County.

Labels: MI, street robbery

Prosecutors Decide Parking Lot Shooting Was Self-Defense

Hillsborough County prosecutors have decided not to pursue aggravated battery charges against a Pinellas County car salesman accused of shooting a man who was charging at him outside an Oldsmar bar this year.

The ordeal was captured on a 911 tape, recorded after the shooter called for help but before he fired his .45-caliber handgun.

Craig Auclair was arrested on aggravated battery charges after he shot Scott Baptista, a 40-year-old seasonal employee of Tampa Bay Downs who lived at the track. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said the shooting occurred after a barroom squabble over cigarettes.

Assistant State Attorney Morris J. Fonte Jr. said it was a clear case of self-defense, even though Auclair started the initial fight.

The altercation began inside KD's Pub on the northeast corner of Hillsborough Avenue and Race Track Road just after midnight Feb. 26 when Auclair, 25, and Baptista fought.

Auclair, of 507 Longfellow Court, Apt. D, Safety Harbor, was kicked out of the bar, deputies said, and as he walked toward his vehicle, Baptista and a friend followed.

An independent witness told prosecutors that Baptista and his friend backed Auclair up about 90 feet before Auclair, who had retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and had called 911, fired a warning shot into the air.

Because he was so close to the county line, Auclair's 911 call was connected to Pinellas County dispatchers.

While Auclair was on the telephone, the two men continued to approach him and Baptista dared Auclair to shoot him, witnesses said.

Fonte said that although Auclair was the aggressor inside the bar, "in no way was he the aggressor outside. He gave every opportunity for the men to back off." Baptista told Fonte that he followed Auclair outside "to get his licks in."

Shots were fired; two hit Baptista, deputies said. He was treated at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Auclair's attorney argued that his client's actions were self-defense.

"We are very pleased with the decision by the state attorney's office not to pursue this matter," said defense attorney John Lauro of Tampa in a prepared statement issued Monday. "We believe that Mr. Auclair acted entirely in self-defense and within his rights under Florida's new Stand-Your-Ground Act."

Labels: altercation, assault, FL

Convenience store clerk opens fire on would-be robber

A convenience store clerk opened fire on a possible would be robber trying to make his way into the store.

It happened off the East Freeway and Hurley in the northeast side of town overnight. Authorities say the suspect walked up to the window and attempted to smash it with a brick wrapped in a T-shirt. It cracked, the window didn't break.

The clerk who was inside of the bullet-proof glass came out and fired a shot at the suspect. The suspect managed to get away.

Police don't think the suspect was hit. The store clerk's brother works at the motel next door. He heard all of the commotion and called police.

Labels: business robbery, TX

Monroe man shot with own pistol after fight

When David Brown pulled out his 9mm pistol Monday morning, he was ready to use it.

But when the gun jammed on Brown, Greg Cooper, the would-be victim, took the weapon and used the handgun to beat Brown with it. The weapon fired, hitting Brown.

Police responded to a report of shots fired just after 9 a.m. at 713-B Lacy St. When officers arrived, they could not find an assailant or a victim but followed a blood trail from where the shooting took place to the back porch of 717-A.

“It appears the two men got into an argument, one pulled a weapon out, cocked it, and it misfired,” Investigator Alicia Martin said. “It then proceeded into a physical altercation. Once the gun misfired, the victim took the gun away and proceeded to use it against his assailant.”

A 9mm shell was located in the driveway, according to reports seven to eight feet away from where the blood started.

Brown, 28, of 735 Lacy St., was later located at his house and transported by Walton EMS to Athens Regional Hospital. Reports were that he had several lacerations to his hand and was shot in the wrist of his left hand.

Monroe Police Department officials expect to issue warrants for Brown’s arrest by the end of the week.

Labels: altercation, assault, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, GA

Lehigh Acres man shoots would-be robber

"I thought he was trying to get a weapon. I fired at him", said resident Justin Marcoux.

Justin Marcoux says he didn't hesitate. The 21-year-old walked outside his home in Lehigh Acres Wednesday morning after he heard a noise. He thought it was his ride to work.

"I came outside, a guy was running across the lawn with my dad's generator, he dropped it," says Marcoux.

At that moment, he thought the robber might hurt him.

"I had mine in my pocket - I fired in his direction andI guess I hit him." He did, in the arm. 43-year-old Victor Howren went to the hospital and now faces burglary and grand theft charges.

"I was shakin'," says Marcoux.

Under the Stand Your Ground Law, it's Marcoux's right to protect himself.

"The defend yourself law is there so people can defend themselves in situations where there is no where to go," says Lee Sheriff's Firearms Instructor Matt Chitwood.

Chitwood says pulling the trigger should be a last resort. "If you're going to go toward something to defend your property or an object, that's what would concern me about any situation like that. If somebody's life is in danger that's a completely different situation."

Chitwood says people who own guns need to know the law and think out how they react in a dangerous situation.

In Marcoux's case he does have a concealed weapons permit and he wasn't hurt.

Marcoux says if it happened again, he would act in the same way. "We have the right to protect our own property."

Man shot in Lehigh attempted robbery, police say

When a Lehigh Acres man woke up this morning for work and heard his dog barking, he discovered someone trying to steal his generator from the front porch.

At 4:05 this morning, the Lee County Sheriff's Office received a call about a robbery and shooting from the home at 1012 Richmond Ave. N., said sheriff's spokesman, Sgt. Larry King.

The man had walked outside because he thought the barking signaled that his ride to work had arrived, King said.

But that's when he saw the man dragging the generator to his driveway.

The resident thought that the man was armed, so he retrieved his own firearm and shot the robber in the arm, King said.

The resident has a concealed weapon permit.

The suspect then left the generator and drove about a mile away to a wooded area, where deputies used a helicopter and a K-9 unit to find him.

The man has been taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, where King said he was in good condition.

Detectives will interview both men. No charges have yet been filed.

There were other residents home at the time, but they were asleep throughout the incident, King said.

The neighborhood is sparsely populated, and the home is a single-family house, he said.

Richmond Avenue is blocked between E. 10th and E. 11th streets while authorities continue to investigate.

Robert T. and Amy Marcoux are the homeowners, according to Lee County property records. The 2,688 square-foot home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The resident's shooting could possibly be justified because of the "Stand Your Ground" law, which went into effect in October 2006, which gives citizens the right to use deadly force to defend themselves against a feared threat against themselves or someone else.

Labels: concealed carry permit, FL, residence burglary

Homeowner holds suspect at gunpoint

A man who found a burglar in his home Tuesday morning held the intruder at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived.

Just after 3 a.m., a woman reportedly heard noises in her house in the 1500 block of Cemetery Road, north of the city limits. She woke her husband, who walked toward the light someone had turned on in the house.

However, the homeowner did not venture out of the bedroom empty-handed.

“He grabbed his shotgun,” said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, sheriff’s office spokesman.

When the man found an intruder in his house, he pointed the weapon and waited.

Sheriff’s deputies received the 911 call of the break-in at 3:16 a.m. and arrived three minutes later.

Tuttoilmondo also said anyone facing a home break-in should exercise “the utmost caution” before engaging an intruder.

“People have an absolute right to defend their property and their loved ones, but we encourage people to call 911 the instant they discover their homes are being broken into and remain in a safe place,” he said.

Santa Fe resident Karel Christopher Phillips, 17, was in jail Tuesday, under $15,000 bond. He faces a charge of burglary of a habitation, which carries a possible prison term of two to 20 years, as well as a fine of up to $10,000.

Labels: minor offender, residence burglary, TX

Quick on the draw
Gun-toting store owner runs off bandit

He says the robber pointed a gun, yelled, 'Check this out, fool'

Allen Van Arsdale calls himself a peaceful man who doesn't seek out trouble. But he doesn't apologize for his killer instinct.

Van Arsdale was tending his antique shop near downtown Ogden about 12:40 p.m. Monday when an intruder stormed in.

"Check this out, fool!" the man yelled, with a gun aimed at Van Arsdale's head 15 feet away.

In retrospect, Van Arsdale acknowledged Tuesday, he probably should have given the man the cash he most likely wanted.

But in one swift motion, the 46-year-old rock collector dropped to a knee, pulled out the .45 Colt revolver he keeps handy and fired a shot.

"I missed him by 14 inches," said Van Arsdale, owner of Al's Antiques Etc.

The bullet struck a photocopy machine. The would-be bandit, who wore a black ski mask halfway down his face, took off before Van Arsdale, a former Air Force airman, could squeeze the trigger again, he said. Detectives recovered the bullet.

Van Arsdale speculates the man, who is still at large, wanted money for drugs.

"Whatever drugs he's doing altered his brain chemical, and he did something he probably didn't want to do," Van Arsdale said. "When somebody points a gun at me, it alters my brain chemistry and makes me do things I don't normally do."

The armed robbery was the city's first since a police officer shot and killed 41-year-old Armond Sanchez in February as he fled from a robbery, Lt. Tony Fox said.

In that case, Sanchez robbed Jack's Shoe Repair store a block from Van Arsdale's antique shop and took off on foot. Police said Sanchez, who was suspected in more than a dozen robberies, raised a gun at an officer.

Sanchez took $45 in the shoe-repair robbery.

Moulton's first reaction to news of Van Arsdale's brush?

"Hopefully he hit him," Moulton said. "I just think it's a shame I come to work every day and work my guts out and these young punks come in and try to take [my] money."

Labels: business robbery, UT

Store Robbery & Standoff

A store clerk fights back after an armed robbery in Albany. Tonight, a suspect is in custody following a stand off with police.

The robbery happened at Quail Street News around 5:20 A.M. Store clerk Hafiz Alam was behind the counter when a man walked in the door and demanded money. Alam opened the register and handed over the money, but while putting the cash away, the robber made a mistake. The man set his shotgun on the counter and while he wasn't paying attention Alam grabbed the gun.

The robber ran out the door while Alam called for help. Moments later, the robber came back in, struggled with Alam, and one shot is fired. Luckily, no one is injured and the robber made off with the gun and the money.

Outside, a city worker spotted the man's license plate number and thats how police tracked the suspect to his home at 71 Westerlo Street.

Police shut down streets and evacuated homes while attempting to get the man out of the house. When they got no answer Albany Police fired tear gas into the home. The suspect came out of the building and was taken into custody. He is behind bars tonight, police say he will face charges in the robbery.

Alam, the clerk in the robbery, says he will return to work for his next shift.

Labels: business robbery, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, NY

ASU student shot, killed - Man mistaken as an intruder

The father of a Rowena man says his son inadvertently entered the wrong house early Saturday, then he was mistaken for a burglar and shot to death by a homeowner in San Antonio.

San Antonio police reported they found Tracy Glass, 19, dead near the home of Raymond Lemes, 48. According to a police report, Lemes told officers he was asleep when he heard a scream and realized an intruder was in his northwest San Antonio home.

The intruder ran, and Lemes chased him down the street, the report said. When he caught up with the suspect, Lemes said the man lunged at him, so he shot him, according to the report. Upon arriving at the scene, police found Glass face down, dead with gunshot wounds to the chest, neck and arm.

The police report said Lemes has a license for his .40-caliber Glock pistol.

The homeowner told police the intruder likely gained access to his home through a broken sliding door.

Burnell Glass said Monday that his son was visiting his sister at a house near Lemes’ residence. He said Tracy Glass went for a walk in the early morning and returned to what he thought was the home where he was staying.

When he heard a shout from the home, Tracy Glass turned and left, his father said. When Lemes followed him, Burnell Glass said his son turned around and was shot.

“This was a very tragic accident,” Burnell Glass said.

He said his son was a good person who simply made a mistake.

“He was not a thief,” he said. “He was not troubled or into drugs.”

Media Service Officer Joe Rios of the San Antonio Police Department said the incident is still under investigation. No charges have been filed against Lemes, Rios said.

“My son is dead, and nothing will bring him back,” Burnell Glass said.

“I have no reproach for the man. I will pray for him.”

Tracy Glass most recently worked in San Angelo at El Mejor restaurant and Dean’s Marine, his father said. He will be remembered by family and friends as a man who committed his life to God and to his family, Burnell Glass said.

Tracy Glass graduated from Miles High School in 2006 and was attending Angelo State University. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Rowena.

Rowena is about 20 miles northwest of San Angelo.

Family struggles to understand son's slaying

Carmen and Burnell Glass, two God-fearing cotton farmers from the fields of West Texas, are looking to a higher law these days in grappling with the sudden, violent death of their son.

For others, the slaying of Tracy Glass raises questions embedded firmly in the Texas Penal Code.

The case, experts said, hinges on whether a Northwest Side homeowner thought deadly force was his only option to protect himself or recover property when he chased the unarmed college student to the street and shot him to death.

Raymond Lemes, 48, found Glass inside his house early Saturday morning. Believing Glass was an intruder, Lemes grabbed his .40-caliber handgun and chased the young man outside, where he shot him in the neck, arm and chest, according to a police report.

The report does not indicate whether Glass, 19, took anything from the home. Lemes later told police he meant to detain Glass until authorities arrived, but he fired when Glass "lunged at him," the report says.

Buoyed by their Christian faith, the Glasses already have forgiven Lemes, whom they've never met. But the grieving parents also believe that the slaying of their son was a terrible mistake triggered when he mistakenly entered Lemes' house and then turned to face the homeowner.

"Tracy was not a violent person. He was not a thief," said Burnell Glass. "He was taught when you step on somebody's toes, you turn around and say, 'I'm sorry.'"

Glass, a sophomore at Angelo State University who grew up on his family's farm, had been staying at his sister's house on Autumn Evening the night he died.

That house is painted white with blue trim and is on the right side of the cul-de-sac. Lemes' house is also white with blue trim and is on the right side of another cul-de-sac, Autumn Star. One home is directly behind the other.

Living in a rural area, Glass had picked up the habit of taking late-night walks to get better reception on his cell phone, his father said. On Saturday, he sent a text message to his girlfriend and left his sister's house.

"When she called back, there was no answer," Burnell Glass said.

What happened next remains under investigation, said police spokesman Gabe Trevino.

(More, including several sidebars of interest)

Labels: assault, concealed carry permit, intruder, TX

Murder Charge Dropped

A 2006 first-degree murder charge against a former Ozark woman has been dropped, according to Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons.

An order dismissing charges against Audrea Waldo, 24, was signed July 26 by Circuit Court Judge James Kennedy.

Waldo was accused of shooting her father, Joel Waldo, 48, on Jan. 2, 2006, at the family’s home at 504 W. Main St. in Ozark.

A probable cause affidavit filed in the case said Waldo shot at her father eight times with a .45-caliber pistol. Waldo told police she was threatened by her father and feared he would do something to her and her grandmother. Gibbons said autopsy results show the shooting victim had a large amount of methamphetamine in his system, giving credence to Audrea Waldo’s claims and justifying her use of deadly force.

According to the Ozark Spectator, Waldo now lives in Texas.

Labels: AR, domestic dispute

Man shot in the back

A man was shot in the back with a pellet gun following an argument that broke out Monday afternoon while he and two other men were drinking and cooking on a grill in Saraland, authorities said.

Investigators believed that the three men were cooking when the homeowner asked one of the men to leave, according to a news release from the Saraland Police Department.

The man refused to leave, so the homeowner went inside his house at 223 Short St., located near Bayou Sara, said police spokesman Sgt. Leroy Smith.

The man followed the homeowner in and attempted to hit him, the release said.

The homeowner grabbed a pellet rifle and shot the man in the back, the release said.

No charges have been filed, and the case will be presented to the next available Mobile County grand jury, Smith said. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.

Labels: AL, altercation, assault

Man holds fleeing burglary suspect at gunpoint

A man held a 17-year-old suspected burglar at gunpoint Friday morning while his wife called 911, police said.

The incident began when two juveniles tried to break into a home in the 1300 block of Dixon Court around 3 a.m. Friday, said Tracy city spokesman Matt Robinson. The home’s burglar alarm, however, scared the teens off. They ran down the street and hopped a fence into the backyard of a home in the 1200 block of Berg Road.

The juveniles didn’t get very far when a resident at that home stepped into his backyard and trained a shotgun on them. One suspect fled back over the fence. The other remained there until police came, Robinson said.

Police arrested a 17-year-old boy from Tracy and turned him over to his parents. The case will be sent to juvenile prosecutors for investigation and possible charges. Police are still searching for the other suspect, Robinson said.

“We do commend the homeowner for holding onto the subject and protecting his property, but we do want to warn residents it can be very dangerous and they have to be very careful,” Robinson said.

Labels: CA, fugitive

Mandarin Slaying Possibly Self Defense

Gunman Cooperating With Investigators

A 26-year-old man died Sunday night after he was shot inside a Mandarin convenience store and homicide detectives are trying to determine if the shooting was in self defense.

Police responding to a report of a gunshot at the BP gas station at the corner of Old St. Augustine and Losco roads about 9:45 p.m. found Isaiah Williams lying on the ground. He transported to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center, where he died a shot time later.

The store clerk told Channel 4's John Dunlap that the shooting followed a confrontation that began with Williams cursing a man in line behind them.

"He went out and he came back with a friend," BP manager Reddy Kandala said. "That time, there was a fight."

Kandala said the shooter, whose name was not released by police, told Williams and his friends he had a gun. Kandala said Williams left the store again, but when he entered for a third time, he was shot.

The gunman is cooperating with police and the entire incident was recorded by surveillance cameras. Police and the state attorneys office will review the evidence and witness statements to decide if the shooting was in self defense or if the gunman should be charged with a crime.

Labels: assault, TX

Rabid skunk illustrates need for caution against disease

Jolie Zulkowski said the first indication something was amiss was when her son's dog started barking outside.

She went out and found a skunk.
"It wandered up underneath our truck on Sunday morning," said Zulkowski, who lives in the Cottonwood area.

Her daughter's boyfriend killed the skunk with a shotgun, and the family preserved the carcass and took it to Fort Bend Animal Control on Monday. The animal tested positive for rabies, the family learned Tuesday.

This is the first time she has seen a skunk on her property.

"If you know anything about the country, a skunk in the daytime is normally not a good sign," she said.

Skunks are nocturnal animals, and daytime activity usually means they're rabid, she said.

Her son's dog, the same dog that barked at the skunk, is now in quarantine, where it must remain for 45 days. All of the animals on her property were given booster shots as a precaution.

Labels: animal, TX

Woman fatally stabbed by her ex; he's fatally shot by a bystander

A Seattle mother of four was fatally stabbed early today despite a court protection order against her knife-wielding ex-husband.

The 33-year-old victim was stabbed nearly two dozen times while attending a birthday party about 1 a.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in the 9100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

The 39-year-old assailant burst into the hall, grabbed the victim and slashed her with a large knife, witnesses told police. The weapon was recovered at the scene.

A 32-year-old Kent man who was at the party pulled a hand gun and shot the suspect who later died at Harborview Medial Center.

Police spokeswoman Renee Witt said the party guest had a concealed-weapons permit. She said he likely won't face charges since he acted to prevent further harm.

Another partygoer who tried to save the victim suffered minor cuts. He drove himself to Virginia Mason Medical Center and was later released.

Although identities had not been formally released this evening, court records indicate that the victim and 39-year-old assailant obtained a court separation March 30 of this year.

Court records also show that the attacker had a previous record of violence including multiple counts of assault in April this year.

Labels: assault, domestic abuse, WA

Two die in gun battle outside Rialto club

Two people were killed and a third was critically wounded after an early morning gunbattle Sunday outside a Rialto nightclub, police said.

About 1:45 a.m., a crowd had gathered outside the El Patio Nightclub at 333 E. Foothill Blvd. when a confrontation broke out and a man pulled a handgun and opened fire, police said.

The man fatally shot Adrian Alvarado, 17, of Rialto, in the head and wounded Eduardo Marin, 25, in the torso before the club's armed security fatally shot the gunman, Rialto police Sgt. Tim Lane said Sunday.

Alvarado and Marin had been standing in the parking lot when they were hit by gunfire, police said. The club's private security then confronted the gunman, whose identity has not been released, and exchanged gunshots, police said.

The gunman at the scene and the private security guard, whose name was not released, was not injured, police said.
Alvarado and the suspect died at the scene, while Marin was taken to a local hospital where he was in critical condition on Sunday, Lane said.

Police interviewed and released the private security guard, and authorities will forward the case to the San Bernardino County district attorney's office for review, police said.

Labels: altercation, assault, CA, minor offender

Couple kill man while defending neighbor, police say

Neighbors shot and killed a man violating a restraining order yesterday after his ex-girlfriend found him inside her University City apartment, police said.

William and Nicole Porter, both 22, were each booked on one count of murder, San Diego police Capt. Mary Cornicelli said yesterday.

The county Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Larry Kermit King, 47.

Investigators said they believe the husband and wife each shot King.

The woman found King sleeping inside her apartment – at the Archstone University Towne Centre Apartments on Avenida Navidad near Genesee Avenue – about 1 a.m. when she returned home from work, Cornicelli said.

Police are still trying to determine how he got into the apartment. A restraining order prohibiting King from getting near the woman had been issued Feb. 26 in response to allegations of domestic violence.

The woman woke him up, and the two argued, Cornicelli said. The woman left her first-floor unit and went to the Porters' upstairs apartment to get help.

Minutes later, King pounded on the Porters' door.

“He was yelling . . . 'Come on out. I'm going to kill you,' ” Cornicelli said.

King left after no one answered. Cornicelli said William and Nicole Porter then armed themselves with handguns.

“Then Mr. Porter, obviously feeling threatened for himself, his wife and the other woman, decides to go outside and attempt to hold the suspect for police,” Cornicelli said. Nicole Porter stayed on her balcony.

The two men argued and then fought in a grassy area just outside the apartment. King was shot.

“We believe, at the same time, Mrs. Porter fired from the balcony,” Cornicelli said.

Cornicelli wouldn't say whether King was armed.

“All I can tell you is the deceased did not show or display any weapons,” Cornicelli said.

Paramedics were unable to resuscitate King, who stumbled into the woman's apartment after being shot.

Police recovered a handgun from William Porter and another that they said they believe Nicole Porter used. They had not determined how many times King was shot.

“The case is still pretty active,” Cornicelli said yesterday afternoon. “We've got a guy out there right now still working the scene. We'll get it all together in the next couple days.”

Police have two days to present the case to prosecutors, who will decide whether to charge or release the Porters.

Labels: CA, domestic dispute

Woman wakes up with intruder near her bed

Deputies are looking for a man who broke into a woman's home and was allegedly going through her drawers when she woke up.

It happened early Thursday morning at a home in the Myerlee neighborhood.

The woman, Nancy Hauber, woke up around 5:15 a.m. after hearing a noise in her room. She thought it was her cat, but then she opened her eyes and saw a strange man standing about five feet from her bed.

She grabbed a gun, ran from the room and called 911.

Here are some excerpts from the call:

Operator: 911, what is your emergency?

Hauber: Someone was just in my house.

Operator: Is he still there?

Hauber: No, I don't know ma'am. I'm outside near the pool.

Operator: What is your address?

Hauber: I've got a gun in my hand right now.

Operator: Okay, ma'am, calm down. Did you get a description of him?

Hauber: No, it's dark and he had a flashlight.

When deputies arrived, the man was gone, but they say they found his flashlight and some jewelry boxes on the ground.
Hauber's close call is now the talk of the quiet neighborhood.

"I think I probably would have been scared. I know I probably wouldn't have moved," said Sylvia Scott, who lives near Hauber.

Another neighbor, Bev Gaudelli, added, "I always put my alarm system on at night, but now I'm putting it on in the day as well."

Deputies say the suspect is about 5'9" with a medium build and dark shoulder length hair. He was wearing a blue, button down work shirt.

Labels: FL, residence burglary

Murder jury acquits Callahan

Morgan Circuit Court panel believes 2006 shooting of Cullman man was self-defense

A Morgan County jury sent Mark Anthony Callahan home Friday to raise his five children.

The jury acquitted Callahan, 38, in Circuit Court of murder in the July 1, 2006, shooting death of Ricky Gilley, 30, of Cullman.

The jury believed the shooting was in self-defense.

"He's certainly elated and just wanted to get home with his children," Callahan's attorney, Larry Madison, said after the verdict.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Matthews scrutinized Callahan's testimony about what happened the night of the shooting.

Callahan said he feared for his and his five children's lives. He said Gilley had gotten Callahan's gun and threatened him. He said he managed to wrestle the gun away and shot Gilley.

Callahan said an argument between him, Gilley and his girlfriend preceded the shooting.

Gilley's girlfriend, who is also Callahan's first cousin, testified that Callahan rubbed her leg and that is what caused the fight.

Testimony revealed that the three had consumed one bottle of liquor and had started on another bottle before the shooting. A pathologist testified that Gilley died from a gunshot wound to the chest. He said the shooting occurred at close range, no more than 21/2 feet away.

Madison used that testimony to argue his case, saying it proved Callahan wrestled the gun from Gilley.

Matthews told the jury that Callahan could have walked away and that there was no sign of a fight inside Callahan's home at Somerville.

"Cussing someone doesn't justify killing them," Matthews argued. "You tell him today he's not justified. He's guilty of murder."

Madison told the jury that Callahan didn't have to leave his home.

"This man was in his home and his children's home," Madison said.

He asked the jury for an acquittal, and a little less than an hour later the jury returned the verdict.
Circuit Judge Steve Haddock discharged Callahan and told him he was free to go.

He left the courtroom and, on the way out of the courthouse, kissed two of his five children whom he said he is raising alone.

Callahan told the jury Thursday that his wife abandoned him and the children more than a year ago when she left with another man.

Labels: AL, assault, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, domestic dispute

Resident shoots Tequesta man he thought was breaking in

A man is dead after a resident shot at him with a handgun because he thought the man was trying to break into his house.

Shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, police responded to a call about a burglary in progress at the home of James and Sabrina Fantin, according to a news release. They found Paul Mantwill of Tequesta lying injured outside the home at 198 Golfview Drive.

Mantwill, 41, was flown to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at about 8 a.m. that same morning.

Police are investigating the incident as a possible homicide, spokesman Peter Allen said.

The preliminary investigation indicates that 41-year-old James Fantin thought Mantwill was trying to break into his house, and Fantin fired two shots from a handgun. Allen said Friday that it was inconclusive whether Mantwill was struck by the shots, and that police are waiting on the medical examiner's ruling for a cause of death. An autopsy on Mantwill was being done Friday.

Mantwill's neighbors on Yacht Club Place described him as a nice, gentle man who lived with his parents, tending to his mother, Pauline, before she died of cancer in February.

Pete and Joan Gomez, who lived on the small waterfront cul-de-sac with the Mantwill family, said that Paul Mantwill spent his Sundays ushering the 10:30 morning mass at St. Jude Catholic Church and was a member of the Knights of Columbus, they said.

"Every time we were out, he'd come over and talk, he was very friendly," Joan said.

"I'm surprised he was out that early in the morning," her husband said Less than a mile away, the Fantin's butter-colored home seemed vacant. The blinds on the front windows were closed shut, the driveway was empty and yellow "caution" tape sealed off the back yard. The Fantins could not be reached for comment.

Labels: FL, intruder

Landlord Shoots, Kills Intruder, Police Say

A landlord shot and killed an intruder at a house in the 6100 block of Indiana Avenue early Friday morning, police said.

According to authorities, the landlord was having some problems at the house. He went to check on the place at about 12:30 a.m. and was confronted by the intruder.

The landlord told police that the intruder came at him and he shot the man. The man died from his injuries. His name has not been released.

The landlord was not hurt. The shooting is under investigation.

Homeowner Shoots, Kills Suspected Burglar

People in one south Kansas City neighborhood are supporting the actions of a homeowner who police said defended himself after he caught a man burglarizing his home.

Police believe the man who was shot and killed broke into the house to steal valuables inside. The armed owner prevented that from happening.

The owner, Wilbert Veal, called 911 just before 1 a.m., telling police he was armed with a handgun and had just shot someone in his basement. Police believe the dead man was a burglar. Next door neighbor Gloria Bogle can't believe what happened.

"We never have anything like that here. That was very strange. I can't get over it, to hear that," Bogle said.

Police said the home is vacant, but Veal was there Thursday night to check on the house and heard a noise in the basement. When he went downstairs he told police the burglar lunged at him.

Police said Veal had a gun with him when he went to investigate the noise, and he shot the burglar to protect himself. Neighbors said property owners taking their safety and security into their own hands should send a message to criminals.

"I think they better be careful because you never know what somebody's gonna do," neighbor Christopher Ellis said. "Everbody's looking out for themselves nowadays. Even homeowners. Burglars beware!"

Veal has been questioned by police and released. Although break-ins haven't been a big problem on the block, neighbors said Veal's actions have made them think twice about how they would defend themselves and protect their property.

Police have not yet released the name of the man who was killed.

Labels: home invasion, MO

Store owner shoots robbery suspect

Four months ago, after a series of break-ins at his convenience store, Merlony "Jason" Colaco nabbed a robbery suspect and used his shotgun to hold her at bay until police arrived.

Thursday morning, he confronted another suspect, only this time, he fired.

"I shot that guy, not because he was stealing, but because he came to me and was attacking me," Colaco said. "This was the first time I ever fired a gun. I never even hunted before."

Police said Colaco, owner of Molly Pitcher Mini-Mart of 13640 Molly Pitcher Highway, shot Thomas Philip Candeloro Jr., 44, of Baltimore, after he and two other white men broke into the store at 1:46 a.m. to steal cartons of cigarettes.

When Colaco confronted the men with his shotgun, a fight broke out that resulted in Candeloro being shot, police said.

Candeloro's alleged accomplices reportedly fled, but he was taken to Washington County Hospital, where he was treated and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Police said charges of robbery, burglary, theft and conspiracy are pending against him.

Calaco's store is just off of Interstate 81. For several months it has been the site of several break-ins and robberies.
Colaco's account

Speaking from his store on Thursday afternoon, Colaco said he felt bad about the whole situation and that he was still shaken by it all.

After the arrest of the robbery suspect in April, he thought the crimes were over and he could stop camping out in his
store after it closed at 10 p.m.

But two weeks ago, he said someone broke into his back door and took two cartons of Marlboro cigarettes. Three days later, someone stole 15 to 16 bags of ice from the container in front of the store.

During that same period, he said, someone threw a rock through the window of another area business.

Once again, Colaco had had enough.

As he'd done in the past, he grabbed his shotgun and began sleeping in his office. He listened for sounds and closely watched the security camera. At 1:40 a.m., he heard the sound of the cowbell attached to his door.

He looked at the security camera and saw three men violently shaking the door, trying to get in, he said. Eventually, they made it inside and began to fill two trash cans with cigarettes.

Remembering how he scared a previous robbery suspect and held her at bay, Colaco said he walked out to confront the men while holding his shotgun. But instead of being scared, one of the men approached him as if he didn't care about the gun, Colaco said.

"I had the safety lock on my gun and I became nervous and couldn't remove it," Colaco recalled. "He came toward me and I backed up."

The man turned and ran outside. The second man, who was much bigger than the first, Colaco said, took a trash can filled with merchandise.

"Hold it," Colaco called out to him. But the man simply looked at Colaco and walked outside.

However, when the third man, Candeloro, walked up to Colaco, he showed more aggression, Colaco said. "He lifted the trash can and threw it at me."

Colaco shouted for him to stop. "Hold it," he said. "Or I'll shoot."

Candeloro reportedly ignored the warnings and started walking toward Colaco. "Stop!" Colaco shouted.

He kept coming.

Colaco pulled the trigger, shooting him in his left side, near the stomach.

"I thought I'd missed, because he just walked away. But after he walked through the door, he collapsed." He began yelling for his friends. He tried to get up but fell down.

Pennsylvania State Police called in response to the store's alarm system. "Send an ambulance, I shot a guy," Colaco said.

When he looked outside, he saw Candeloro crawling, trying to walk. He crawled a distance and stood up, only to fall again. "You shot me...I'm gonna sue you!" he told the store owner.

Colaco said he was troubled by the incident. "I felt bad for him," he said. "I never shot anyone before. I never even hunted."

He said he didn't know how much longer he could put up with the crime.

Earlier crime spree

Earlier this year, Colaco was credited with catching Erica Marie Lynch, 19, of 128 S. Jefferson St., Greencastle, after she allegedly broke into his store on March 28 to steal cigarettes for drug money, according to court documents filed with the office of Magisterial District Judge Duane K. Cunningham.

When arrested, Lynch told police that she and her live-in boyfriend, Joshua Lance Ingream, 19, and their friend, James Edward Byrd Jr., 43, Chambersburg, had burglarized "multiple places" in Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Lynch was charged with two counts of burglary and theft by unlawful taking. Ingream was charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft by unlawful taking and two counts of criminal mischief. Byrd, however, was placed in Franklin County Prison. He was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief.

Labels: business burglary, PA

Bell acquitted in 06 [sic] shooting

A 31-year-old Bridgeton man was acquitted Thursday on charges of first-degree attempted murder in connection with a 2005 shooting incident in Gouldtown.

Leroy Bell, of Hampton Street, was also acquitted on various weapons charges, with the exception of fourth-degree possession of a firearm without a permit, for which he was convicted.

Bell was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault as well. However, jurors found he acted in defense in connection with those charges, negating those convictions.

Because Bell was convicted of a felony, Superior Court Judge Timothy Farrell ordered him to turn over all firearms he may own.

In a 2005 statement to detectives, Bell admitted shooting at the alleged victim in the case, 20-year-old Douglas Lawson, of North Pearl Street, Bridgeton, but only after Lawson shot at him during an incident on Longview Avenue in Fairfield Township on Aug. 30, 2005.

Neither Bell nor Lawson were injured in either of the two incidents.

Detectives who testified during a one-day trial Wednesday said that they found no evidence corroberating Bell's assertion that he was acting in self-defense.

Lawson declined to testify against Bell.

Lawson is facing charges of attempted murder himself, in connection with a separate incident that also occurred on Longview Avenue on Aug. 30, 2005, in which its alleged Lawson fired a gun at Bell.

The only witnesses in the trial were two detectives who worked on the case, although several other people were said to have been at the scene of the shooting.

Bell was facing a potential prison sentence of 30 years to life in prison if convicted of attempted murder.

Labels: assault, NJ

N. Texas Man Fights Back, Shoots Would-Be Robber

Police say an elderly North Texan battled robbers, shooting one of them during an attack in Pleasant Grove.

72-year-old Robert Cushingberry says he was just defending himself when two men approached him and a companion wanting money.

Cushingberry says he's been robbed before. Because of that, he says, he now takes precautions.

Cushingberry says when the men approached and started threatening him, he pulled out a gun from under his seat and opened fire. So did the two men. "I was standing at the at the back of my truck where my pistol was," he said, "when he saw me reach in there to get it. That's when he shot the first two times. After that, it was just one on one."

Blood stains cover the parking lot where it happened at Overton and Bonnie View. Bullet holes are scattered throughout Cushingberry's truck.

People in this Pleasant Grove neighborhood say they would like to see the area cleaned up.

Jeff Jefferson lives in the area. "You are going to have the good and the bad," he said. "Do things they are not supposed to do. Hopefully we can clean up the area."

One of the robbers was shot in the stomach and taken to Baylor Hospital. The second suspect has been arrested. Cushingberry has not been charged.

Labels: street robbery, TX

No charges for Bishop man who shot intruder

Oconee County Sheriff's deputies don't plan to charge a 30-year-old Bishop man who says he shot an armed burglar Sunday afternoon.

The Railroad Street man told deputies that he was acting in self-defense when he shot an intruder in the left forearm.

Deputies said the man was awakened shortly before noon by the sound of someone prying open a side door, which had been screwed shut because of a previous break-in.

The man told deputies the burglar walked into the living room and pointed a semi-automatic pistol at him, but he grabbed a .38-caliber handgun from a nearby coffee table and fired.

The burglar, identified as Joseph Lee Austin, 29, of 4140 Bowers Pointe Drive, Lilburn, ran from the house and left the area in a pickup truck driven by another man, deputies said.

Austin called deputies minutes later from Jack's Food Mart on Greensboro Highway, four miles away in Watkinsville, to report the shooting. Deputies who responded to the convenience store said they found an empty pistol holster on the floor truck.

Austin, who was unarmed when deputies arrived, was taken to St. Mary's Hospital for treatment.

(More)

Labels: GA, home invasion

Man awakes, chases suspect

An 80-year-old man armed with a shotgun sent a would-be burglar running it [sic] into the woods.

Scratching sounds woke Edward Childress about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at his home on 6363 U.S. Business. When Childress went to investigate, he found a man standing on a ladder looking in his window, according to a sheriff’s office report.

Childress grabbed his shotgun, and the man ran off.

Rockingham County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Edwards and his dog, Amos, tracked Kennith David Eanes to train tracks about a mile away.

Eanes, 40, of 6960 N.C. 770 in Ruffin, is charged with attempted breaking and entering, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail is set at $10,000, and a court date is scheduled for Aug. 21.

Labels: NC, residence burglary

Carjack Victim Turns Tables On Attackers

Bullets fly on the streets of Miramar early Thursday morning as an attempted carjacking turned into a shoot out.

Miramar police say it happened just around 5:30 a.m. in front of the Wachovia bank branch on Miramar Parkway and 68th Avenue. 57-year old Bruce Allen Williams had just pulled his truck up to an ATM at the bank when two men got out of a small brown car and demanded the keys to William's truck.

As Williams got out of the truck and handed the would-be carjackers his keys, one of the robbery suspects fired on him. Williams, who has concealed weapons permit, drew his own gun and fired back, hitting at least one of the men. Williams was not hurt. Both of the robbery suspects then took off on foot as the driver of the small brown car fled the parking lot.

Police established a perimeter in the area in an effort to capture the 3 suspects, one of which is suffering from a gunshot wound.

Labels: carjacking, concealed carry permit, FL

No charges in fatal shooting

A woman who shot and killed her estranged husband will not be charged in his death.

Tashia Lovelace shot Joel Lovelace at about 9:53 p.m. on June 9 after he broke into her home on Martinsville Highway in the Cascade area of Pittsylvania County, according to the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. After shooting him five times, Tashia immediately dialed 911.

“In my opinion, she did not commit a criminal act,” Pittsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney David Grimes said Wednesday. “It was self-defense. If someone’s breaking into your house after threatening to kill you, that’s getting pretty close.”

Grimes said the number of shots that were fired was not a huge factor in the decision not to charge Tashia.

“By all appearances, all five shots were fired before (the victim) fell,” Grimes said. “She had a semi-automatic handgun, so it would fire pretty quickly.”

Deputies found Joel dead at the scene of the shooting about 10 minutes after Tashia called 911.

They also found an open pocketknife with a blade that ranged between 3 to 4 inches in length under Joel, the sheriff’s office said.

The front door of Tashia’s mobile home had extensive damage that indicated that it had been forced open. Deputies also found a shoe print on the outside of the door near the doorknob.

Tashia told authorities that she and her husband had been separated for more than a year. On the day of shooting, she said she ran into Joel earlier at a high school graduation. After the graduation and throughout the day, she said he called her phone numerous times threatening to kill her.

Tashia also told authorities that she was home with three children that night when she saw Joel’s vehicle pull up. He called her again, telling her that he “had something for her.” She then said she heard him hit her door at least twice. She ran to her bedroom to retrieve her handgun and saw him return to his vehicle as if he was looking for something.

He called her one last time repeating his threat to kill her, she told deputies.

She said when she returned to the living room, Joel kicked in the locked, dead-bolted door and entered the house. She then shot him numerous times before calling 911.
The decision not to charge Tashia revolved around the belief that she was acting in self-defense.

Grimes said Virginia law justifies the taking of another person’s life only when it appears reasonably necessary to do so to defend one’s self or another from great bodily harm or to defend one’s home from intrusion when it appears the intruder is intent on committing a felony or a violent act.

The prosecutor added that a person in his or her own home is not required to retreat from an intruder before resorting to force, even deadly force, if necessary.
Because he believes the case meets these guidelines, Grimes said the book on it is most likely closed.

“I don’t expect for it to re-open,” he said. “Based on everything that we’ve heard, it’s not a criminal case. It’s a tragedy that it happened, but it’s not a criminal case. It’s not a crime that she will be prosecuted for.”

Labels: domestic abuse, home invasion, VA

Washington Home Invasion Marks Fourth In Eastern Carolina

There's been another home invasion in Eastern Carolina. It marks the fourth in less than a week.

The latest happened in Washington in Beaufort County when a person shot a man inside his home at 701 Market Street, Tuesday night.

Stephen Mason says the intruder entered his home through the back porch. Mason says he was getting ready to go to bed. He turned off all the lights inside the home then he heard a loud bang. When he went to check it out, he says he was hit in the head by the intruder. Mason says he had his gun with him so he fired twice.

Police don't know if the suspect, who got away, was hit.

This latest home invasion follows two in Greenville. In one, a homeowner shot and killed an intruder. And in Wilson, a man was killed when someone broke into his house.

Labels: NC, residence burglary

Man turns the table on alleged robbers

One assailant dead, the other hospitalized

A Queens man opened fire during an alleged robbery attempt outside a Ridgewood home -- shooting his two assailants, killing one.

Eyewitness News is told the 42-year-old man was outside 60-34 Putnam Avenue when he was approached by the two suspects just before 10:30 p.m. last night.

When the two men allegedly attempted to rob him, the man opened fire.

Officials say one of the alleged robbers, a 31-year-old man, was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital. The other, a 32-year-old man, was shot in the arm and back and taken to the hospital in stable condition.

The 42-year-old gunman was taken to the 104 Precinct and is being questioned. Police say four guns -- a .22 caliber, a .25 caliber, a .357 caliber and a .380 caliber -- were taken into custody at the scene. Numerous shell casings were also recovered.

Authorities are trying to determine the legality of those weapons to determine if any charges will be filed.

Cops: Homeowner fatally shoots gunman

A Queens contractor shot two armed men outside his Ridgewood home, killing one and wounding the other when they showed up to collect money from him, police sources said Wednesday.

Lulzim Kupi, 42, was charged with second-degree murder and gun possession, but suggested he was acting in self-defense when he opened fire Tuesday night, killing Gentian Kasa, 31, and wounding Redinel Dervishaj, 32.

My family," Kupi told reporters as he was led by police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood. Kupi opened fire when one of the suspects said they'd go after Kupi's wife if he didn't come up with the money, believed to be $20,000, sources said.

Kupi's wife and one son -- two other children are visiting relatives in Albania -- and his parents were inside the Putnam Avenue home at the time, neighbors said.

When the suspects tried to get around Kupi and into the home, Kupi fought back and all three men pulled out guns as the confrontation moved up the block, sources said.

Kupi fired first, killing Kasa with several bullets from his .357-caliber handgun, police sources said.

"The guy was laying down right there," said neighbor Tony Piliego, 77. "Face up. No moving -- nothing."

Kupi then grabbed Kasa's .380-caliber handgun and chased Dervishaj, who tripped and dropped his .45 caliber handgun near 60th Place, sources said.

Kupi shot him several times with Kasa's gun, sources said.

As police raced to the scene, Kupi sat on the curb and told an officer: "I'm the one you're looking for," sources said.

Police said they recovered the three guns at the scene, plus another that Dervishaj had. Dervishaj was treated at Elmhurst General Hospital and is expected to recover.

Kupi owns Marvelous Stairs, a stairway installation business in Ridgewood, and he told detectives he also builds bars in local Albanian social clubs. Detectives weren't sure if Kasa and Dervishaj were trying to shake him down for protection money or if Kupi owed them money for some other reason.

Sources said detectives are also exploring whether the confrontation was linked to Albanian organized crime.

Shortly before the 10:25 p.m. confrontation, Kupi got a phone call with word that Kasa and Dervishaj were heading to his house, sources said.

Sources said Kupi stepped outside and waited.

Kasa, who lived in the neighborhood with his wife, was described by neighbors as quiet and somewhat mysterious.

"He seemed like a nice guy," said one neighbor, Lazlo Reisinger, 34. "But I don't think you want to mess with him."

Contractor Calls Shooting of Two Men Self-Defense

One man was killed and another wounded after being shot in Queens late Tuesday by a contractor who told investigators that the men had demanded $20,000 from him and threatened to harm his wife, law enforcement officials said.

The contractor, Lulzim Kupi, 42, told investigators he shot the men in self-defense. He was expected to be charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, the police said. One man who was shot, Redinel Dervishaj, 32, was in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center with gunshot wounds to the arm and torso, law enforcement officials said. The other man, Gentian Kasa, 31, died after being shot several times, at least once in the head, officials said.

The shootings took place about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on Putnam Avenue, in Ridgewood, close to a tan brick row house Mr. Kupi shares with his wife, three children and two adults believed to be his or his wife’s parents. According to law enforcement officials, Mr. Kupi, an Albanian immigrant, said he had been at dinner with relatives in Connecticut hours before the shooting, when he received a threatening phone call from either Mr. Kasa or Mr. Dervishaj. He told investigators that the caller demanded $20,000 in cash.

Mr. Kupi told investigators he and his family went home, and some time later, he got another call and went outside with a .357 magnum in his pocket or tucked in his waistband.

The police said they believed the three men knew each other from the contracting business, possibly through a job or jobs building bars for Albanian social clubs.

According to the officials, when Mr. Kasa and Mr. Dervishaj arrived, Mr. Kupi said he told them he did not have the money. They then tried to brush past him into the house, reaching for guns, and threatening to rape his wife, Mr. Kupi told investigators. Mr. Kupi told them that Mr. Dervishaj pulled out a .45 semiautomatic as Mr. Kasa struggled to pull a .25-caliber gun from his waistband.

Mr. Kupi said he got his gun out first and shot Mr. Dervishaj, then chased Mr. Kasa down the street. Investigators said Mr. Kupi told them Mr. Kasa had a second gun, a .380-caliber pistol, which he dropped and Mr. Kupi picked up. Mr. Kupi told investigators he then shot Mr. Kasa in the head with that gun.

Mr. Kasa was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, and investigators found nearly $1,000 cash in his clothing, the police said.

Mr. Kasa, who lived about six blocks from Mr. Kupi, had an 8-month-old baby, and his wife was five months pregnant, a neighbor said. The neighbor said she last saw Mr. Kasa on his stoop about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The police said they found all four guns and four spent shell casings after the shooting, which jarred residents of Putnam Avenue. The .357 contained six rounds, all spent, the police said.

Mr. Kupi had no known criminal history, law enforcement officials said. His business, Marvelous Stairs and Handrails, in Flushing, was closed yesterday.

'LOW' BAIL FOR SLAY SUSPECT

An Albanian immigrant - the only man standing after a gun battle with two armed thugs - faced a judge in Queens yesterday where the prosecutor said he could well go free after a grand jury hears his self-defense claim.

Lulzim Kupi, 42, was held on $100,000 bail - low for someone charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Prosecutor Michael Vozzo told Judge Gene Lopez that he would normally ask for no bail for a murder suspect.

"However, in this case, we feel there is a possibility a grand jury [would return a] 'no true' bill."

If that happened, Kupi would not be prosecuted.

Labels: NY, street robbery

Police: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Robbers

An overnight robbery went awry when a North Dallas homeowner came out shooting.

Police said four men broke into a home in the 9000 block of Woodshore Drive in a robbery attempt. The men approached the homeowner and demanded cash, according to police.

The homeowner pulled out a gun and shot two of the robbers, police said. One man died before police arrived and the other was taken to the Baylor Medical Center in critical condition.

The shooting continued outside the home while the two other robbers ran off.

"We know there were a total of four suspects,” Dallas police Sgt. Jamie Matthews said. “One that is deceased, one that is in critical condition at Baylor, one that is in custody and a fourth that is at large."

One of the men called 911 for help, saying that they were walking down the street when someone started shooting at them, according to police. Police said the homeowner also called 911 and chased after the men.

Police said they recovered several weapons from the suspect vehicle.

Police said they aren’t sure if there’s a connection between the homeowners and his attackers.

Armed homeowner thwarts home invaders

A robbery gone bad in northeast Dallas turned into a gunbattle early Wednesday that ended with one man dead, another injured and another facing charges.

Police found small amounts of marijuana during their investigation and were looking into whether the events were drug-related.

Police said Wednesday afternoon they had not confirmed the identity of the man who died.

It started about 2 a.m. at a home on the 9000 block of Woodshore Drive, in a neighborhood near where Greenville Avenue intersects Royal Lane. Four or five intruders broke into the home and surprised its owner, 25-year-old Mark Stinson, while he was sleeping.

They forced him at gunpoint to open a safe containing several thousands of dollars, police say, and then they tried to flee in an SUV. But Mr. Stinson had a gun of his own and fired it as they tried to drive away.

It was unclear whether they fired back, Dallas police homicide Sgt. Larry Lewis said. “But we did pick up different caliber rounds out there so we know at least more than one gun was being shot.”

The sergeant said at least 30 rounds were fired in all.

Less then a mile away, the occupants of the SUV pulled over because tires were shot out. They called 911 as one of the occupants died of gunshot wounds. Another, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested at the scene. The others fled.

Another man, 18-year-old Davane Jones, soon showed up at a local hospital with gunshot wounds. Police arrested him and the 17-year-old on charges of aggravated robbery.

As for the homeowner, Mr. Stinson, police say they will leave any possible charges up to the district attorney’s office and a grand jury. “Even though by our investigation it appears he was justified under Texas law to defend his house and his property...we don’t make that decision,” Sgt. Lewis said.

Labels: home invasion, residence robbery, TX