Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

EW man fires shot to scare off burglar, both arrested

Two men were arrested on numerous charges Saturday, police said, after a homeowner fired his shotgun out his window to drive away a would-be burglar.

Alan Pelletier, 45, of 95A Main St. in the Broad Brook section was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of firearms, and second-degree breach of peace by threat, police said.

Delroy A. Martin, 24, of 794 South St. Suffield, was charged with second-degree assault, criminal mischief, breach of peace, and criminal attempt to commit burglary, police said.

Officers responded to a call about 8:15 p.m. Saturday, police said.

"It appears Martin was attempting to break into 93 Main St. when shots were fired," Capt. Roger T. Hart said.

"It appears Pelletier shot a 12-gauge shotgun out the rear window of 95A Main St., presumably in an attempt to scare away the suspect," according to Hart.

No one was injured from the shooting, police said.

"When we arrived several people were holding a black male down," Hart said.

That man, Martin, was "attempting to break into a residence, using a garden tool to break down the door," according to Hart.

Martin appeared to have been intoxicated, and damaged multiple unit doors, Hart said.

Martin was held in lieu of $100,000 bond and was scheduled to appear at Enfield Superior Court today.

Pelletier was released on $10,000 nonsurety bond and is to appear on Jan. 22 at Enfield Superior Court, Hart said.

Labels: CT, home invasion

Labels: CT, residence burglary

Man Shoots Home Intruder In Southbury

Intruder Involved In Car Crash, Police Say

State police said they received a call Sunday from a man who said he had encountered an intruder at his house.

John Nagy told police that he may have shot the intruder at his home, located at 44 Berkshire Road in Southbury.

Nagy told police that he was awakened at about 2 a.m. by a noise in the basement area of the house. Nagy said he went to investigate the basement area armed with a weapon.

He stated that he encountered a man who had entered the basement. The man advanced in the direction of the Nagy, and Nagy said he shot his gun in the direction of the intruder and left his home to wait for police.

Nagy told state police that he believed that the intruder was still in the basement.

State troopers entered the home with a state police K-9 to search for the intruder, police said.

The intruder was located by troopers in the basement of the home suffering from an apparent single gunshot wound.

EMS responded, provided emergency care at the scene and transported the wounded suspect to Waterbury Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries.

The identification of the suspect is being withheld pending notification of family, police said.

Initial investigation by state police determined that the man was in fact the operator of a vehicle that had been involved in a one-car crash on River Road in Southbury.

The man fled the crash scene on foot and walked for about a half a mile and then entered the Nagy's house, where he encountered the homeowner.

State Police Western District Major Crime Squad will handle the investigation at the crime scene by collecting physical and forensic evidence and conduct follow-up investigation, police said.

Nagy was not injured in this incident, police said.

At the conclusion of the investigation, all facts and circumstances of this incident will be reviewed with the state's attorney, officials said.

Labels: CT, intruder

Homeowner Chases Men Out Of House

Wolcott police said officers arrived at 4:41 a.m. at the site of a home invasion on Chestnut Drive. Police said a woman was home alone with her sister when the two men entered the house.

Police said the homeowner was armed with a gun and chased the men out of the house.

The two men remain at large Thursday morning. Police described one man as 5 feet 11 inches tall with a medium build. He was last seen wearing dark-colored clothes.

Police described the second man as having a large build and said he was last seen wearing blue jeans and shorts.

Labels: CT, home invasion

Armed citizen patrol in New Haven

One group armed with guns is ready to make their New Haven neighborhood a safer place by patrolling in the area around Edgewood Park.

The Edgewood Park Defense Patrol will be patrolling the 16-block area from Whalley to Edgewood and Winthrop to West Park. They believe that the police are not doing their part to keep the streets safe.

Their uniform is a black tee-shirt with Edgewood Park Defense Patrol and their mission is to keep peace on the streets with armed bike patrols.

"It's certainly not the substitute that one would want but when you're missing what you're supposed to have and things are slipping out of hand then you're left with no choice but to do something about it," said Eliezer Greer.

Members of Yeshiva New Haven decided to take matters into their own hands after Rabbi Dov Greer was physically assaulted Sunday night. They say they've been appealing to the city for years with no results and are tired of sitting by while the vandalism, robberies and muggings increased.

"Being home with our families in the evenings is what we'd rather be doing than having to ensure that there's safety and security in the neighborhood," said Aviad Hack.

They will be patrolling in pairs every night from 6-10 PM, with one person carrying a concealed gun.

"Anyone who patrols with a gun in an attempt to use it as a deterrent is putting themselves and other citizens at risk and I absolutely discourage it," said Mayor John DeStefano.

DeStefano says he has looked at the deployment levels in the Edgewood Park area and believes the police coverage is sufficient. News Channel 8 saw squad cars and officers walking the beat, but one man who is running for mayor, says he does not believe in vigilantism, but supports the residents move to protect their neighborhood.

"Perhaps it's time to look at contacting the Governor and asking the Governor to provide state police department's oversight in helping New Haven," said Jim Newton of New Haven.

The Defense Patrol says that they don't believe this will make them targets, rather it will wake up the neighborhood and encourage others to join in. They say they will continue the patrols as long as necessary.

Labels: concealed carry permit, CT, social breakdown

New Britain man takes gun, bullet in left hand from attempted robber

A 32-year-old New Britain man was shot in the hand during an attempted robbery Tuesday in Newhallville.

The victim was identified as Walter Mills.

According to police, Mills and his brother were selling sneakers on Brewster Street when two gunmen pulled up in a car and ordered them to "run it."

One had a handgun and the other a shotgun or rifle.

When one of the gunmen tried to force the victim to the ground, however, Mills resisted and grabbed the gun, which discharged and struck him in the left hand, police said.

He nonetheless managed to disarm the gunman and tossed the weapon as the robbers fled.

Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, CT, defender shot, street robbery

Homeowner fires gun at invaders

Police were searching for two males Saturday who fled the scene of a home after an occupant of the home fired a gun.

The two men, whose names were not known, and a third man, broke into a house on Cleveland Street around 10 a.m. Saturday and used force on an occupant, Danbury Det. Capt. Mitch Weston said.

The home's occupant managed to grab a hand gun and fired several shots.

Police are not sure if any bullets hit the two men that fled, Weston said.

The occupant of the home was not injured, and the third man was caught and taken into custody. Police would not release his name Saturday until after he was booked.

The two that fled from the home drove away in a black Cadillac with tinted windows and New York license plates.

Police would not release any further information Saturday, including the address of the incident.

Labels: assault, CT, home invasion

Suspect shot during home invasion in New Britain

One homeowner in New Britain says he took no chances when an intruder entered his home, and pulled the trigger.

Angel Bennitez says he did what he had to do to defend his family and his home.

"I got my pistol and saw the guy outside", says Bennitez.

Wednesday night his wife was mopping the floor when a masked man came in. Bennitez says he pushed his wife as he came in.

After hearing his wife scream for help, Angel came out with a 357 Magnum, and shot the gunman.

The bullet grazed the gunman and ended up in the stove. The gunman ran out of the house.

Angel is not in any trouble with police because his gun was registered. He said if he had to he would do it again.

State lawmakers say you do have the right to defend your property when you are threatened. That does include the use of force, but the amount of force depends on the circumstances.

Labels: CT, home invasion

BRISTOL -- A woman was killed and two men were injured - one critically - early this morning in an attack in the Loveland Lane neighborhood.

Details are still sketchy this morning, but police said the woman ran from her Valmore Road home after an attacker began beating her around 2:30 a.m. She escaped to a neighbor's house on Loveland Lane and pleaded for help, but the attacker followed her into that home and killed her, police said.

The attacker was shot in the head; police are not saying whether he was shot by the Loveland Lane homeowner or someone else.

Labels: assault, CT

Gunplay ends robbery attempt

The owner of a city jewelry store was shot in the foot by a man trying to rob his shop Friday afternoon, but managed to shoot the robber in the leg before police arrived.

Jerry DosSantos, owner of Santos Jewelers on Main Street, was released from Bridgeport Hospital late Friday after being treated. Police said he would not be arrested.

The suspected bandit, Gregory Turner, 32, address unavailable, was reported in stable condition in St. Vincent's Medical Center.

He is charged with first-degree robbery, attempted murder, unlawful restraint, first-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit, police Lt. Mathew Cuminotto Jr. said.

Labels: business robbery, CT, defender shot

Senior foils robbery in his own home

…

75-year-old James Dunn has quite a story to tell.

"Turn the porch light on and all I could see was one person."

On Sunday night Dunn says a man came to his door and asked to use his phone because his car broke down but once inside, the man never dialed the phone, he just stood there with the phone to his ear and his hand at his side.

"Yep I said it a little bit different word a little bit louder, 'what the hell do you have in your right hand?'

That is when a second man came to the door. Both had knives.

"When he came around toward me he has a knife like this. Then I took and hold the right hand, I just got him right down like that. That's just what he did he went over like that of course. He was trying to pull. I could see that I was stronger."

Dunn then turned to his wife.

He told his wife, "Mary, run upstairs run up and tell David to come down with the gun."

That sent the men running before this great-grandfather could finish his move.

"I had my knee coming up when he pulled back and more or less lost my balance. I had to let go of him he just turned right around and shot out the door."

Labels: CT, home invasion

Resident Fatally Shoots Home Invader, Wounds Another

Three home invaders were repelled in a shootout Sunday night with a homeowner that left one of the attackers dead and one seriously wounded, police said.

Police got a report of a home invasion at a home on DeKalb Avenue Sunday night and officers found two people suffering from gunshot wounds.

A police representative said that one of those shot was the homeowner who had been attacked by three people who terrorized the family. One of the three attackers was shot and killed. The other two apparently fled.

A short time later a man showed up at St. Vincent's Hospital with a gunshot wound to the mouth. Police said, Frankie Rodriguez, 26, of Bridgeport, was one of the attackers who fled.

Rodriguez was placed under arrest and taken to Bridgeport Hospital where he was under police guard. The homeowner was admitted to St. Vincent's Hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds,

Labels: assault, CT, home invasion

Son Will Not Be Prosecuted For Shooting Father

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a disabled man who shot and killed his father three years ago.

Luigi DiBrigida, 35, had been charged with murder in the Dec. 20, 2001, killing of his father, John DiBrigida, 57. The charges were later reduced to first-degree manslaughter and criminal use of a weapon and on Monday, a plea was entered for both counts in Superior Court.

Prosecutor Maxine Wilensky said DiBrigida suffers from a brittle bone disease and is confined to a wheelchair. Patients with this genetic disorder break bones easily.

The shooting victim, John DiBrigida, had a history of alcoholism and being physically abusive, according to Wilensky. On the night of the shooting, there had been an argument and Luigi DiBrigida retreated to his bedroom, Wilensky said. His father followed him, flung open his bedroom door and yelled at him.

Luigi DiBrigida told investigators that his father said he was going to pick him up and throw him and his wheelchair.

"The state's position is that a reasonable person who is afflicted with the debilitating effects of this disease would have reasonably believed he was in imminent physical danger of great bodily harm from his inebriated father," Wilensky said.

Luigi DiBrigida took a gun from his wheelchair and fired, then called 911 for medical assistance. John DiBrigida was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he died.

Labels: CT, domestic abuse

Shoot-out in pizza parlor

A Hartford business man took the law into his own hands against a would be robber today.

This all happened early in the morning on Broad Street at Campus Pizza near Trinity College.

John Skouloudis has been carrying a gun everyday for the seventeen years he's owned Campus Pizza in an area know as Frog Hollow in Hartford.

Until today he never fired his gun. According to him, a would be robber came in and pointing a firearm.

Skouloudis ducked behind the counter and heard two shots fired. He pulled out his own gun and fired two shots in return.

When he looked up the robber was gone. Skouloudis still had his money and, more importantly, his life.

Labels: business robbery, CT

One Dead After Shooting At Groton Dairy Queen

Police: Owner Shoots Man Sunday Night

Police said a Dairy Queen owner shot a man who broke into the store Sunday night.

Authorities said the intruder was armed with a crow bar. The unidentified man died at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital.

Neighbors along Fort Hill Road said they heard multiple gunshots. Police arrived at the scene around midnight.

A store manager said the Dairy Queen closed around 10 p.m. Sunday. Police said the intruder broke into the store by prying a lock off the back door with the crow bar.

The manager said her boss was struck three times in the head with the crow bar.

Police did not release registration information regarding the gun. They are continuing their investigation.

Hear The Evidence First

Shooting lawsuit may appear frivolous, but questions remain.

On June 28, 2004, Jarion Childs, 27, allegedly broke into the Dairy Queen on Route 1 in Groton after it had closed. According to the account provided by Stephen Botchis, the victim of the break-in, Mr. Childs was carrying a crowbar and wearing a mask. He scuffled with Botchis, the manager, who was alone. Mr. Botchis, 51 at the time, suffered injuries when he was hit in the head during the struggle, but he had a gun and fired several shots, killing Mr. Childs.

Now Mr. Childs' family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Mr. Botchis, his brother Matthew Botchis, who owns the business, and the Dairy Queen company.

On its face, the lawsuit appears to make no sense. Why should someone committing a break-in, while wearing a mask and carrying a crowbar, have any right to compensation for the collateral harm that befalls him?

In fact, questions remain about what happened that night. The civil court system, as abused as it is with frivolous lawsuits, is one place where people can demand answers.

Eroll Skyers of Bridgeport, the attorney for the Childs' family, said the lawsuit intends to get at the answers and to prove that Mr. Childs, a college graduate and one-time high school basketball standout and college player, did not deserve to die.

The autopsy determined that Mr. Childs was shot in the back more than once. This, Mr. Skyers suggests, shows that Mr. Childs was moving away at the time. He also contends that Mr. Childs was an “invitee,” not the burglar described in published accounts. He refused to elaborate.

Mr. Skyers said that because he represents the “victim” of the shooting, he was able to review the police investigation. The attorney for Mr. Botchis has not had the opportunity to see the report, nor has the public. In fact Groton police have provided little information about the incident. Chief Kelly Fogg said that a summary of its investigation should be available in about a week.

Attorney William Corrigan of Hartford, representing Mr. Botchis, contends all the information he has suggests that Mr.

Childs was a burglar who was shot because he threatened his client's life.

Until evidence is provided to the contrary, the presumption should be that Mr. Botchis was the real victim who, fearing for his life, didn't have the opportunity to analyze the motives of his attacker before he started firing.

And if Mr. Botchis did something wrong, why was he never charged criminally?

Further undermining the credibility of the civil case is the fact that at the time of his death Mr. Childs was a suspect in a cold-blooded murder.

A. Gordon Jeffrey, who was 89, was severely beaten while tied in his own bed on May 14, 2004. His face disfigured, eyes swollen shut, the Stonington man died two weeks later, about one month before the Dairy Queen incident.

Mr. Childs' sister, Sonya Childs, told police her brother had planned to “jack” Mr. Jeffrey because he was bedridden and easy prey. Her statement is contained in an affidavit police used to obtain a search warrant for the apartment of Mr. Childs' girlfriend. Though the sister later denied making the statement, Mr. Childs' palm prints were found on a window at Mr. Jeffrey's home.

The murder case remains open.

So is this lawsuit a tawdry and baseless attempt to gain a cash windfall from a tragedy? Or is it a legitimate attempt to get at the truth?

Only time and the evidence will tell

Labels: assault, business burglary, CT

Shop owner, gunman shot in East Haven holdup attempt

Joseph Gigliotti, owner of New Haven Provisions, 850 Foxon Road, underwent surgery at Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven Thursday night, police said. His condition was not immediately available.

Gigliotti shot one of the three robbery suspects in the shoulder during the fracas, police Sgt. Robert Flodquist said. That man, whose name was not immediately available, was in surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Flodquist said.

The injured suspect and a second suspect, who police said drove the injured man to the hospital, were arrested after Yale-New Haven police reported that two men matching descriptions East Haven had broadcast had turned up at the hospital, one with a gunshot wound, Flodquist said.

A third suspect fled on foot. New Haven police later arrested him on Eastern Street in New Haven, not far from the New Haven-East Haven border, Flodquist said.

Labels: business robbery, CT, defender shot

Jury Rejects Wounded Burglar's Request For Damages

A Waterbury jury has rejected a burglar's bid for damages for being shot when he broke into a house five years ago.

Clarence Wiggins had sued Louis Steponaitis Jr. for shooting him in arm on Dec. 16, 1998.

Wiggins claimed he broke into a house on Pine Street looking for a place to sleep. Steponaitis, who purchases, renovates and rents buildings in distressed neighborhoods in the city, was sleeping upstairs to prevent burglaries. He awoke to sounds of someone entering the building.

Steponaitis said he warned Wiggins to stop and only fired the shotgun when Wiggins continued to come toward him.

The jury took about one hour Wednesday to reject Wiggins' claim.

Wiggins served time for third-degree burglary related to the break-in. He later violated probation for that crime and served time for a failure to appear charge.

Labels: assault, CT, residence burglary