Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

Police: Home invasion victim shoots, kills suspects

Police say two suspects are dead after an attempted home invasion.

Catawba County sheriff’s deputies say two men dressed in black and carrying pistols forced their way into a home on 33rd Avenue in Hickory around 11:00 last night. According to a sheriff’s official, the homeowner was armed with his own gun, and shot the suspects. Both suspects were pronounced dead at the scene.

Major Coy Reid with the sheriff’s office said both men were wearing masks and latex gloves.

At this time, no arrests have been made.

Labels: home invasion, NC

A Charlotte man who police say was trying to break into a Shamrock Drive apartment was shot and critically injured by a person who lived there.

Rontrey Eric Digsby was at Carolinas Medical Center Saturday in critical/stable condition Saturday, according to police. He is charged with first-degree burglary for trying to break into the apartment on Shamrock Drive, near the Charlotte Museum of History.

Police have released the name of the man who pulled the trigger, but the Observer didn't publish his name because he has not been charged with a crime.

According to jail records, Digsby's last known address was on Treetop Court in east Charlotte. He has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2003, when he was 17, according to a search of court records.

Labels: NC, residence burglary

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Charlotte family is grieving after they say their loved one was shot to death by a man he was trying to rob.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to an armed robbery call at the Cricket cell phone store at the Catawba Village shopping center on Mount Holly – Huntersville Road Saturday night.

There, they found a man shot. Medic declared that man dead on the scene, and the only other person in the store was the store’s manager, who wasn’t hurt.

Family members identified the dead man as 54-year-old James Henry Brewer.

His mother broke down in tears in front of the store Saturday night and screamed his name.

"Who killed my son? Who killed my son? James Henry. James Henry," cried Mary Brewer Givens.

...

Givens told WCNC Sunday that she knows what her son went into the store to do.

“The police told my grandson he had a mask and a gun when he went in there,” said Givens. She knows it’s not the first time he’s had trouble with the law.

A North Carolina Department of Corrections website shows James Henry Brewer has a record back to a kidnapping conviction in 1974, when he was 19.

Three other armed robbery convictions show up since then – the last in 1992. The DOC website said Brewer was released from prison in 2001.

Brewer’s wife, Tamara, said her husband worked in construction for three years after his release, and then stayed home to take care of her.

Tamara Brewer said she has diabetes, and her husband donated a kidney to her for a transplant.

She didn’t deny her husband may have been robbing the store. She said he is a good man who made a “wrong decision.”

“He’s in a better place,” said Tamara Brewer. “It was his time.”

Givens, James Henry Brewer’s mother, said he may be responsible for other cell-phone store robberies, and may have had an accomplice who hasn’t been caught.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Wounded man shoots intruder

A Gaston man shot and killed one of two intruders he discovered in his house Thursday night, Northampton County Sheriff Wardie Vincent said this morning.

Sheriff's office investigators are still looking into the shooting, in which 20-year-old Walter Daniels of Gaston died.

Vincent declined to discuss whether investigators are looking into the possibility of self-defense on the part of Monte Arrington, 21, who fired the shot during a struggle with Daniels.

Vincent said the fatal shooting occurred around 10 p.m., at Arrington's residence at 544 N.C. Highway 48, which is just inside the town limits of Gaston.

Arrington and his girlfriend were returning to the residence and were confronted by two men as they went in the home.

The best information investigators have thus far is that Daniels was armed and drew the weapon. That's when a struggle between Arrington and Daniels began. During the struggle, Arrington was stabbed but managed to grab the gun and shoot Daniels in the upper chest. It is believed Daniels died immediately, the sheriff said.

Arrington was transported to Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids and then airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville. His condition was not known.

Vincent said authorities continue to look for the other man in the house, who fled. The sheriff declined to disclose the man's name.

“The best we can understand is they broke in to burglarize the residence,” he said.

The State Bureau of Investigation was called in for assistance and the Gaston and Garysburg police departments helped with processing the crime scene.

Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, NC, residence burglary

Shooting ends man's life of crime

A Charlotte family is grieving after they say their loved one was shot to death by a man he was trying to rob.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to an armed robbery call at the Cricket cell phone store at the Catawba Village shopping center on Mount Holly – Huntersville Road Saturday night.

There, they found a man shot. Medic declared that man dead on the scene, and the only other person in the store was the store’s manager, who wasn’t hurt.

Family members identified the dead man as 54-year-old James Henry Brewer.

His mother broke down in tears in front of the store Saturday night and screamed his name.

"Who killed my son? Who killed my son? James Henry. James Henry," cried Mary Brewer Givens.

Police had not confirmed the man’s identity Sunday, but Givens said it was her son.

“We all stood there until they brought my son out of the Cricket place,” she recalled, “zipped up in that dead bag.”

Givens told WCNC Sunday that she knows what her son went into the store to do.

“The police told my grandson he had a mask and a gun when he went in there,” said Givens. She knows it’s not the first time he’s had trouble with the law.

A North Carolina Department of Corrections website shows James Henry Brewer has a record back to a kidnapping conviction in 1974, when he was 19.

Three other armed robbery convictions show up since then – the last in 1992. The DOC website said Brewer was released from prison in 2001.

Brewer’s wife, Tamara, said her husband worked in construction for three years after his release, and then stayed home to take care of her.

Tamara Brewer said she has diabetes, and her husband donated a kidney to her for a transplant.

She didn’t deny her husband may have been robbing the store. She said he is a good man who made a “wrong decision.”

“He’s in a better place,” said Tamara Brewer. “It was his time.”

Givens, James Henry Brewer’s mother, said he may be responsible for other cell-phone store robberies, and may have had an accomplice who hasn’t been caught.

Police weren’t available Sunday to confirm family members' details.

Further links:
Man Shot in Robbery Attempt

Labels: business robbery, NC

About 8:55 p.m. Tuesday, an Inter-Pol guard spotted two men scaling a fence at a business with a history of break-ins, Guarascio said. He declined to name the business, citing confidentiality. But an official with county dispatch said Inter-Pol officers said they were at a business in the 300 block of Chesterfield Road. Guarascio said that address is near his client's business, but isn't where the incident occurred.

Inter-Pol's armed guards, who don't have arrest powers, chased the suspects into the woods, Guarascio said.

When the guards cornered the suspects, one turned and charged at them with what appeared to be a shotgun. After shouting multiple orders, a security guard fired three shots. The incident was over shortly after 9 p.m., but Inter-Pol continued to canvass the area until 11:30 p.m.

Inter-Pol officers returned Wednesday morning but found no blood trails, and no one had checked into New Hanover County hospitals with a gunshot wound, Guarascio said. He's continuing to investigate the incident and search for suspects. And while he will file a report with Private Protective Services, an oversight board with N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office, an outside investigation is unlikely since apparently no one was injured, Guarascio said.

Labels: business burglary, NC

Would-be robber shot at restaurant

A would-be robber had life-threatening injuries after being shot by his intended victim at a northern Charlotte restaurant late Wednesday, police said.

The suspect was taken to Carolinas Medical Center after the 9:20 p.m. shooting at Floyd's Homestyle Cooking restaurant on Graham Street. Some of his bloodied clothes were strewn in the parking lot of the restaurant. Nearby, two guns lay on a sidewalk.

Police haven't released an account of what happened during the shooting, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Spokesman Officer Hassan Peterson said the restaurant was closed when the first officers arrived.

Police interviewed the man working at the restaurant and homicide investigators planned to interview him again late Wednesday.

It was the second time in less than three months that someone working at a business shot a potential robber.

In December, a man shot a teenager who was trying to rob his west Charlotte convenience store.

On that day, two teens walked into the Bradford Food Mart demanding money and at least one of them was armed.

So was the store's owner.

The owner and one of the suspects fired their weapons, and one of the suspects was hit in the stomach. The owner wasn't hurt and the injured teen survived.

Would-Be Robber Shot

A suspected robber is in the hospital after police say he was shot by his intended victim.

It happened around 9:00 Wednesday night on North Graham Street in Charlotte.

Police say the gunman tried to rob a worker in the parking lot of Floyd's Restaurant.

That worker also had a gun and shot the gunman in the face.

Medic was called to the scene and took the gunman to the hospital with very serious injuries.

No word if any charges will be filed.

Labels: altercation, NC, street robbery

Labels: NC, pizza delivery driver, street robbery

A 16-year-old was arrested late Sunday night in connection with an attempted Gastonia convenience store robbery that left two clerks seriously injured.

Police say a suspect apparently engaged in a shootout with a clerk during the Saturday night incident.

Gastonia police said Brandon Carson of Gastonia has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

A couple working together at the Gastonia store are hospitalized in Charlotte. Luke Williams, 45, and girlfriend Vickie Madsen, who is in her early 50s, were airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center late Saturday with multiple gunshot wounds, Gastonia police said. Williams is listed in critical condition this morning. Madsen is in serious condition.

The robbery occurred about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, when an armed man walked into Ken's Superette at 1528 W. May Ave. and demanded money. A gunfight ensued, police said, preventing the robber from getting anything of value.

The suspect fled the scene on foot, police said.

Faye Allen, Vickie Madsen's mother, said the Allen family has owned the store for about 25 years. Vickie Madsen has worked there much of that time as the manager.

Williams, Madsen's fiancee, had gone to the store Saturday night to help her close the place for the night, says Allen.

"My understanding is that the man intended to kill them," Allen said. She said it was her daughter who shot at the robber. "Vickie firing back at him probably saved their lives," says Allen, 77, who has often worked at the store herself.

"She takes after me. Somebody tried to rob me there one night, 10 years ago, and I grabbed his gun and my husband and youngest son jumped on him. The guy got loose and ran, and I chased him down May Street with his own gun, but I couldn't get it to fire."

Labels: business robbery, defender shot, NC

Self-Defense Shooting in Cherokee County, North Carolina

In Cherokee County, North Carolina, a case of mistaken identity caused a fatal shooting.

It happened yesterday on Old Peachtree Road, a few miles northeast of Murphy. Cherokee County Sheriff Keith Lovin says Luis Wajda and Ruthann King were arguing when they called a friend to come pick them up. When Corey Luther arrived, Wajda thought he was King's ex-boyfriend, and fired his pistol. Police say Luther ultimately returned shots from a shotgun, killing Wajda.

"The person attempted to retreat as far as he could," Sheriff Loving said. "He was fired upon first and continued to be fired upon, and acted to protect himself."

Corey Luther was not charged or arrested. Sheriff Lovin says unless his department turns up new information, it's unlikely the District Attorney will bring any charges.

Labels: altercation, NC

Armed clerk turns tables on would-be robber

A Reidsville area store clerk turned the tables on a would-be robber by pointing a gun at him, the sheriff's office said.

Saveng Kaaosanga, 46, who works at the Cornerstone Market outside Reidsville, told the Rockingham County Sheriff's office a man entered the store with his right hand inside his coat as if he had a gun.

He was also keeping his face partially covered by pulling his shirt up and holding it with his left hand.

He demanded the money, but Kaaosanga refused. Instead, Kaaosanga defended himself by pointing a pistol at the suspect, the sheriff's office said.

The pistol misfired as he proceeded to flee the store.

He was last seeing climbing into a black, older model Ford truck.

The sheriff's office asks people with information to call 634-3238 to speak with a detective or Crimestoppers for a reward up to $1,000 349-9683.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Store worker returns fire during attempted robbery

A store worker returned fire after someone fired shots during an attempted robbery Saturday night, police said.

The employee, who was not identified, was closing Andy's Pantry at 1301 Grove St. and was walking to his car when someone approached him from the south side of the business, according to Greensboro police.

The employee told police the man opened fire at him with a handgun.

The worker returned fire with his own handgun. The man then ran away.

Police described him as black, 20 to 25 years old, medium to dark skin, and 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 7 inches tall. He had a slender build and was wearing a black bomber jacket with orange lining and a fur collar, black jeans and a black T-shirt. He had white Nike Air Force One tennis shoes.

The employee was not injured. It's unknown whether the would-be robber was injured, police said.

Labels: NC, street robbery

According to the 911 call, the man heard his neighbors being attacked, ran outside with a rifle and fired a shot at the suspect.

As deputies arrived on scene, the 911 dispatcher wanted to make sure officers didn't confuse the neighbor for the robber.

The 911 operator said, "Tell your husband he needs to secure the weapon, meaning, he needs to put it on the kitchen table and he needs to stand at the front door with you with his hands up in the air so when the officers get there so they know he is not a threat."

Investigators don't think the neighbor shot the suspect.

The suspect is described as a black male between 20 and 30 years old, about five-foot-ten to six feet tall, wearing a brown shirt and camouflaged pants.

Investigators say around 10:15 Monday night a masked man broke into a house on Seaview Road off Myrtle Grove Road and attacked the two women who live there with a stun gun.

One of the women regained her composure and was able to run to a neighbor for help.

Labels: home invasion, NC

A store owner shot a teenager trying to rob his west Charlotte convenience store this evening, police said.

The would-be robber had serious injuries and was taken to Carolinas Medical Center. An alleged accomplice, a teenager whose name and age also were not immediately released, was arrested. He is being questioned by officers tonight, but officers have not said what the teens will be charged with.

The shooting happened at about 8 p.m. inside the Bradford Food Mart, near Interstate 85 and Freedom Drive.

The teens walked into the store and demanded money, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Spokesman Officer Robert Fey. At least one of the teens was armed.

So was the store's owner, Fey said. The owner and the suspects exchanged gunfire, and one of the suspects was hit in the stomach. The owner wasn't hit.

The teenagers ran out the store's front door and down nearby Saratoga Street, but apparently couldn't make it far and were apprehended by police officers a few hundred yards from the store.

Paramedics took one to the hospital, and the other was arrested at the scene.

Labels: business robbery, NC

EDEN — Murder charges have been dismissed against a man accused of killing his girlfriend's son in a domestic dispute.

The first-degree murder charge against Emmett Jasper "Bo" Kennon Jr., 42, was dismissed Nov. 21, according to court documents.

Kennon was arrested in late October and charged in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Travis Clark of 183 Brightwood Road in Eden.

Travis Clark was the son of Kennon's girlfriend at the time, Lynette Clark.

Rockingham County District Attorney Phil Berger Jr. said Friday that the case proved to be one of self-defense rather than murder.

"We're deeply sorry for the loss that the Clark family suffered," Berger said. "It was a tragic situation."

Deputies were called to the Brightwood Road home about 11 p.m. Oct. 30 about a shooting. A sheriff's office news release described Kennon as being "irate and uncooperative." Travis Clark was found in the house with a gunshot wound.

Lynette Clark and Kennon had been arguing, sheriff's spokesman Dean Venable said in October, and Travis Clark got involved in the altercation.

Berger said information from three witnesses provided evidence that Kennon shot Travis Clark in self-defense.

Berger, citing information that witnesses gave, said Travis Clark put a gun to Kennon's head.

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

Robbery victim shoots suspect

Police say it was a robbery attempt gone bad Sunday night in east Charlotte, and they say a would-be suspect is hospitalized as a result.

The incident happened about 11:20 p.m. in the parking lot of the McDonalds restaurant on Albemarle Road at Farm Pond Lane.

According to police, two armed men confronted another man in the parking lot and tried to rob him. The would-be victim, however, pulled out a gun and shot one of the suspects in the stomach. Police say the victim then ran off.

The wounded suspect was taken by MEDIC to Carolinas Medical Center with wounds that police say are not life-threatening. Robbery detectives are investigating the case.

Labels: NC, street robbery

Shootout at store kills clerk

Edgecombe County authorities arrested three teenagers in connection with a string of crimes at a Princeville convenience store that ultimately led to a shootout and the store owner's murder Thursday night.

One teen, who was wounded in the shootout, was charged with the man's murder; another was charged with having the gun purportedly used in the shooting; and a third was charged with burglarizing the store twice in the last month, authorities charge.

"These gentlemen are tied together," Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight said. "But how the whole puzzle fits together, we don't know yet."

Ahmad M. Nimer, 61, owner of Wings N Things on N.C. 33, was shot and killed Thursday night during an apparent robbery attempt at the store, Knight said.

The store, which was previously called Exum's Grocery, recently reopened under the new name, the sheriff said.

"Gunfire was exchanged in the business, and (one of the suspects) has a bullet wound in his shoulder," Knight said.

William Earl Allen Jr., 18, of Tarboro was taken to Heritage Hospital for treatment. He is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Nimer, and he's being held under no bond.

(More)

Labels: business robbery, defender killed, NC

Robbery Suspect Found Shot To Death

Man Was Shot During Robbery, Deputies Say

A man who robbed a convenience store on Wednesday night was found shot to death Thursday morning, deputies said.

The robbery happened at the Handee Mart at 1016 South Main St. around 8:30 p.m.

Deputies said a man wearing a blue, hooded jacket and khaki pants walked into the store showed a black handgun and demanded money from the clerk. The clerk then pulled out his own gun and fired at the man and he ran away.

Deputies said when the [sic] responded they could not find the man.

Around 10 a.m. Thursday, a passer-by noticed a body lying near South Main Street about 100 yards away from the Handee Mart, deputies said.

Deputies said the man had been shot. They said based on the description provided by the clerk, they believe the body is that of the man involved in the robbery. A weapon was also found with the body.

The man’s identity has not been released pending positive identification of the body, deputies said.

Deputies said charges will most likely not be filed in the case, but the final decision on that will be made by the solicitor’s office.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Gastonia Man Shoots Burglar

New from overnight, police say an elderly man in Gastonia took matters into his own hands when a robber broke into his home.

It happened at a house on Sixth Avenue.

The homeowner said he didn't know what to think when the crook came inside.

He was shaken up and shot the intruder.

The burglar ran off, and police say he was later found on South Myrtle School Road.

He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center where he was released a short time later.

He's in jail this morning, charged with first degree burglary.

Labels: NC, residence burglary

Conover man won't be charged in killing

A Conover man who shot and killed another man during an argument earlier this month won't be charged by the District Attorney's Office, authorities said.

Officials decided not to charge John Kenneth Hedrick, 73, in the Oct. 6 shooting death of 36-year-old Raymond Weathers because it appeared that Hedrick fired in self-defense, authorities said.

"There was not enough evidence to prosecute this as a crime," said Capt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.

The men had starting arguing, likely over a female they both knew, in front Weather's Newton home, Brown said, and Weathers began hitting and kicking Hedrick.

Brown said the men were fighting on the ground, with Weathers sitting over Hedrick, and Hedrick was able to reach into his van and grab a gun off the floorboard.

Weathers was shot at least two times -- in the neck and shoulder -- with a revolver, and Hedrick had "visible injuries" to his upper body and head when the men were found in Weather's yard, Brown said.

Labels: altercation, NC

Lumberton teen shot, in critical condition

A 15-year-old boy was shot Monday night after pointing a shotgun at a man’s house, according to authorities.

The incident happened about 11 p.m. near a residence on the 500 block of East 21st Street.

The 15-year-old is in critical condition at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.

Investigators say the teenager was in a vehicle with four others. The driver parked the car next door to a residence. Four people, including the teen, got out of the car. The juvenile had a shotgun in his hand, said Sgt. Howard Reaves of the Lumberton Police Department.

Jeremy Locklear, 26, told lawmen he was sitting in his car in his driveway when he heard his dogs barking. He got out of his car to see what was going on when he saw the group near a building next to his residence. They came toward the house, and the teen pointed the shotgun in Locklear’s direction, Reaves said.

Locklear had a shotgun in his vehicle. He shot at the teenager, Reaves said. The teenager was struck on the right side with buck shots, he said.

The other men with the teen ran from the scene, he said. One person who remained in the car during the shooting was questioned by lawmen.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the men came to Locklear’s residence, Reaves said.

No charges had been filed as of Tuesday.

Labels: assault, NC

Police: Charlotte Robber Shot, Killed By Victim

A man is dead after an attempted robbery went wrong.

Police in Charlotte said 20-year-old Javauis Brown and another man tried to rob a group that was having a get-together behind some apartments on Conway Avenue in southeast Charlotte. It happened early Sunday just before 1:30 a.m. Officers said someone in the group shot and killed Brown. Hector Rojas Picheco, 16, was also shot, but was treated and released from Carolinas Medical Center.

Labels: NC, street robbery

Prosecutor drops murder charge against Brown

The Robeson County district attorney has dismissed a murder charge against a Rowland man.

District Attorney Johnson Britt said the first-degree murder charge against Jaralyn Edmond Brown Jr. was dismissed Sept. 18 before a probable cause hearing in Robeson County District Court.

“Based on the information provided to us, it was a self-defense case,” Britt said.

Brown was accused of shooting James McDougal, 26, who was found deadat Mill and Hickory streets in Rowland on April 2.

Investigators said McDougal and Brown had fought.

Residents who saw the altercation and members of McDougal’s family said McDougal had stepped in to help a relative who was fighting with Brown.

Britt said statements provided by Brown and a witness indicated McDougal initiated the fight. The men said McDougal hit Brown in the face with what appeared to be a handgun, Britt said. McDougal shot at Brown, and Brown returned fire.

“We had no other witnesses who would come forward regarding what specifically happened,” Britt said.

Regina McDougal, James McDougal’s mother, said the District Attorney’s Office only received information regarding Brown’s side of the story. She said she provided investigators with names of possible witnesses.

No one talked to anyone on the victim’s side. No one ever called me or asked me anything from Day One,” Regina McDougal said. “The only call I got from the chief of police was the day of my son’s death, and that was to get the correct spelling of my name. I feel my rights were violated as well as my son. My son would not have been in the fight if the police had done their job. They are taking his word. What about James? It needs to be taken to court to prove that it was self-defense.”

Labels: altercation, NC

Authorities: Surry County Intruder Shot, Killed

Deputies are investigating a breaking-and-entering case in which they said the intruder was shot and killed.

The incident occurred just after 8 a.m. Monday in Surry County.

Authorities said a man woke up and found another man climbing through a ladder and going through his window.

The homeowner confronted 55-year-old Howard Jones as he came off the ladder, investigators said.

Jones was shot twice with a rifle and later died at a local hospital, according to the Surry County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said it wasn't the first time Jones had broken into the home.

No charges have been filed.

The case is still under investigation.

No charges filed in shooting

No charges will be filed against a homeowner stemming from his fatal shooting of a suspected intruder last week, Surry County Sheriff Graham Atkinson said Wednesday.

This determination in the case involving the shooting of Ky Howard Jones, 55, was reached after officials with the sheriff's office met this week with District Attorney Ricky Bowman and members of his staff.

Jones, for whom no official address has been given, was shot on the morning of Sept. 17 while trying to burglarize a home he once owned at 484 Surry Gadsberry Road in the Pilot Mountain area, according to earlier accounts.

Authorities have said that Jones had propped a ladder against the house and was attempting to gain entry through a window when he was confronted by Jayme Gullatt, the homeowner, who was awakened by a loud noise and grabbed a .223-caliber rifle.

The intruder then began to advance on the homeowner, who fired two warning shots into the ground, based on Gullatt's statements to investigators. Despite the homeowner's actions, Jones continued to approach Gullatt and got to within a few feet of him before being shot once in the upper body. Jones was transported to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he died later that day.

Atkinson said Tuesday that after reviewing the evidence with the District Attorney's Office, it was determined that the homeowner had acted reasonably and within his rights.

As a result, no charges will be filed against Gullatt, whom authorities ruled was trying to protect himself.

North Carolina law states that a lawful occupant within a residence is justified in using any degree of force that the occupant reasonably believes is necessary to prevent a forcible entry or terminate an intruder's unlawful entry. Deadly force is allowed if the occupant reasonably believes that the intruder might kill or inflict serious injury to someone in the home or commit a felony there.

A lawful occupant does not have a duty to retreat from an intruder in such cases, under state law.

Jones earlier had been convicted of breaking into the house on Surry Gadsberry Road and was a suspect in another illegal entry there which occurred in the days before he was fatally shot.

Labels: intruder, NC

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

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

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

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

Riegelwood dispute turns deadly

The Columbus County Sheriff's Department says a dispute turned deadly Sunday morning. It happened around 5 a.m. on Robbie's Lane in Riegelwood.

Authorities say 23-year-old Terrell Brown broke into his girlfriend Ashley Brown's house using a machete. David Simmons was staying with her in the house and the two go [sic] into a fight.

Deputies say that's when Simmons shot and killed Terrel Brown.

Brown's friends are defending his actions.

Brandon Razor is the victim's friend. He said, "I talked to him the day before yesterday and he told me he was going to buy an engagement ring, he got engagement ring for my stepsister and he was going propose to her. He went over there to propose to her, I guess him and the new dude got into a fight and he just shot him."

Simmons went to the hospital with minor injuries.

Right now deputies say it appears the shooting was self-defense.

Labels: domestic dispute, home invasion, NC

Forced to kill: 4 stories of survival

Every year in the United States, about 200 people kill someone in self-defense. It's legal. It's often necessary. But it can emotionally scar the people who do the killing.

From 2001 through 2006, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police investigated 25 homicides later ruled justified.

Generally, police warn the public not to fight robbers because, they say, criminals are more likely to hurt or kill anyone who challenges them. But sometimes people feel they have no choice.

At least four times this month, would-be crime victims in Charlotte fought back against people trying to rob them. Two suspects were killed, two injured.

The latest occurred Monday, police said, when a clerk killed a man trying to rob her northeast Charlotte store. Prosecutors haven't decided whether to charge her. But "she is emotionally devastated by the decision that she was forced to make," her lawyer said in a statement.

Four Charlotteans say they understand how she feels. All fatally shot someone while trying to protect themselves. None was charged. But all four say the killings altered their lives.

(Much More)

Labels: NC, nl

Store Clerk Decision: To Shoot or Not to Shoot?

Robberies and assaults are not new in Charlotte's Hidden Valley Community.

During the past year and a half, the area has been hit hard by crime.

On Monday, a suspected thief was shot to death at a convenience store on Tom Hunter Road.

According to police, a man entered the Fast Mart just after 10 a.m.

He indicated that he had a weapon and demanded money from the female clerk.

Police say the clerk then confronted the would-be robbery [sic]. She allegedly fired one shot as the robber came toward her.

As WBTV's Steve Crump reports, police and the district attorney must now determine if this was a case of self-defense.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Man killed in robbery attempt outside club

A 26-year-old man was killed this morning in the parking lot of a strip club, Greensboro police said.

About 4 a.m. Monday, three men attempted to rob another man near his car in the parking lot of Lost Dimensions at 510 Farragut St., Capt. Gary Hastings said.

During the robbery attempt, the man fired a weapon at the three men, Hastings said.

When police arrived, they found a 26-year-old man - one of the three alleged robbers - dead of a gunshot wound in the woods on the edge of the parking lot, Hastings said. Police would not release his name until his family had been notified.

The other two men involved in the attempted robbery are in police custody, Hastings said. Police are still investigating whether the alleged robbers also fired weapons.

Police are also interviewing the man who fired the fatal shot.

Hastings would not release the names of the other men involved in the incident.

The investigation is still in its early stages and further details would likely be release later today, Hastings said.

Labels: NC, street robbery

Police: Suspected Robber Shot With Own Gun While Attacking Limo Driver

Police said a suspected robber was shot with his own gun Friday morning during an attack on two limo drivers. It happened at about 3 a.m on South Tryon Street just south of Clanton Road in southwest Charlotte.

Officers said three men with guns attacked the drivers of two limos and threatened to kill them. But as one robber reached for a laptop computer in a limo, the driver grabbed the attacker's gun and shot him. Police said that man was later dropped off at a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The other two robbers got away. The limo drivers were not hurt.

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

Homeowner shoots alleged armed intruder

An alleged intruder is listed in critical condition at Carolinas Medical Center after police say a homeowner shot him.

Police from the North Tryon Division responded to a call around 8:45 Tuesday night at a home in the 5800 block of Eastbrook Road in east Charlotte.

The homeowner told investigators an armed man, who he did not know, walked into his home.

He also said he and other residents of the house fought with the man and during the struggle the alleged intruder was shot.

Police have not released his identity, pending notification of his family.

The case now goes to the district attorney’s office which will determine whether the homeowner was justified in shooting the man.

Labels: home invasion, NC

Police: Teen Shot In Stomach Tried To Rob North Charlotte Man With Toy Gun

A toy gun landed a teenager in the hospital with critical injuries.

Police say he used it during a robbery on A Avenue off Beatties Ford Road, but in the end he was the one who got shot with a real gun.

Diane Brody found him lying in a field next to her north Charlotte house.

"I thought there was someone down there passed out. I told my son, ‘Let's go down there and see,’ and that's when we heard the boy had gotten shot," she said.

Detectives say it was around 7 p.m. Monday when two teenagers targeted a man and followed him to his home. A 15-year-old got out of the car with the toy gun and demanded money.

But police say the robbery victim had a different idea. He took out a pistol and shot the teen three times in the stomach. The other teenager sped off.

Just up the road Valerie Blount runs a daycare, and like her neighbors she can't believe this has happened.

"That's what the scary part was, having a daycare here and as quiet as it was and all of a sudden you hear shooting going on. That was the first thing that popped in my mind, the safety of my kids," she said.

Blount has also lived on A Avenue for 15 years and says nothing like this has ever happened before on her street.

"Basically I couldn't believe it. It's fairly calm and fairly quiet so it was a real shocker," she said.

Police said the teen is still in critical condition. They said they have the name of his accomplice but no arrest have been made.

Labels: NC, street robbery

5-year-old pins rabid fox during family cookout to protect brother; stepfather kills animal

A 5-year-old boy grabbed a rabid fox by the neck and pinned it to the ground during a family cookout, protecting six other children before his stepfather could kill the animal.

"I wanted to protect my little brother," said Rayshun McDowell, who battled the fox in the front yard of his home Sunday in Kingstown, a town about 50 miles west of Charlotte.

The fox bit Rayshun in the leg, but the 61-pound-boy held the animal down for more than a minute. Animal control officials said Tuesday that test results confirmed the fox had rabies, which is fatal unless treated before symptoms appear. Rayshun is undergoing treatment.

"I looked out the window and Rayshun had the fox by the neck and was pushing it into the ground," said his mother, Shinda Linder. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

Rayshun's stepfather, Ryan Thompson, pulled the boy off the animal and kicked it. A neighbor fired a handgun three times but the fox continued to advance.

Thompson, wearing a cast because of a broken leg, said he used a stick and his crutch to beat the fox to death.

Rayshun, meanwhile, asked only for a Band-Aid and didn't complain of any pain.

"Rayshun was really calm and wasn't upset," his mother said. "I couldn't believe he would do something like that. He was so brave, and I was a wreck."

Rabies attacks the nervous system and is transmitted through saliva. It often makes animals aggressive. A 6-year-old girl who was attacked by a fox the same day at her home nearby also is being treated.

Labels: animal, NC

79-Year-Old Man Shoots Intruder During Hickory Home Invasion

An elderly man feared for his life and shot a 23-year-old man who broke into his home Tuesday night in Hickory.

The 79-year-old man woke up to find that someone had broken into his home.

His quick thinking may have saved his life and his wife’s.

The man told his wife to go the neighbor’s house and be safe. Get out while she could.

The man then grabbed his handgun that he had in the house and waited for the intruder.

When the burglar walked into his bedroom, the elderly man shot him in the head.

The elderly man said it was a split second decision and one that he doesn’t regret.

Investigators said the man had a right to defend himself and his home.

The 23-year-old intruder is in the hospital and is expected to survive.

Investigators said that he would be arrested as soon as he is discharged from the hospital.

Ex-sharpshooter surprises would-be burglar

When an unexpected knock rattled the front door, 79-year-old Dwight Cook left his perch in front of the television to investigate. But no one was there.

Minutes later, he heard the sliding glass doors break, and Cook sent his wife to the neighbors’ house and grabbed his gun. The would-be robber who entered Cook’s home late Tuesday night wasn’t expecting to run into anyone — let alone a former Army sharpshooter.

Cook used his .22-caliber weapon to fire a warning shot into the ceiling, but the bullet ricocheted and part of it hit the intruder in the forehead, said Lt. Hank Guess with the Hickory Police Department.

“I wasn’t aiming for him. I’ve handled guns since I was 12,” Cook said. “If I wanted to hit him, I would have. If he’d moved, the next shot would have stopped him.”

Cook held the man at gunpoint until police arrived after he dialed 911.

The intruder, 23-year-old Derek Scott Frenceschini of Hickory, was arrested. He was hospitalized for the bullet fragment in his skull and a fractured hand he injured during the break-in, officials said.

Labels: home invasion, NC

Third man sought in botched robbery

Authorities are looking for a third man involved in a botched break-in that left one of the alleged burglars suffering from gunshot wounds.

Police say that Shawn Emanual, 25, of 521 McQueen Road, Shannon, was shot by the homeowner while breaking into a home at 609 N.C. 71 North on June 7. Emanual and Jeffrey “Will Steal” Locklear, 30, of 1312 Red Hill Road, Maxton, were charged with breaking into the home.

Police Detective Lt. Jamie Oxendine said authorities do not have the identity of the third man.

Oxendine said Emanual broke into Wyvis Oxendine's home at about 3:40 p.m. Wyvis Oxendine was watching television as his 15-year-old daughter took a nap.

“They thought no one was at home,” Jamie Oxendine said. “When they actually found this person was at home, that's when it all went wrong.”

The detective said the 59-year-old homeowner fired two shots at the men as they fled his house with some of his property. Police recovered a Playstation game system and nine video games in the front yard.

Minutes after the break-in, a sheriff's deputy saw Emanual - suffering from shots to the leg and arm - had him taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center.

Emanual was eventually charged with breaking and entering, felony larceny and felony possession of stolen goods. Locklear was charged with conspiracy to commit breaking and entering and larceny. He also was charged with being the getaway driver. He was jailed $5,000 bail.

Wyvis Oxendine, who used a .380-caliber handgun to shoot Emanual, was not charged with any crime.

Labels: NC, residence burglary

Intruder shot in NE Charlotte

An intruder was shot early today after entering a home at 327 Vickery Drive in northeast Charlotte, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

Investigators say a burglary suspect, whose name was not released, was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The man was shot after he forced his way into the home on Vickery Drive shortly after 2 a.m., investigators say. Charges have not yet been filed in the case, officials said.

Labels: home invasion, NC, residence robbery

Men use stun gun on clerk during store robbery

Two men used a stun gun on a clerk late Wednesday night when they robbed the Handi Cupboard in Woodleaf.
The clerk still managed to shoot at the fleeing suspects, according to the Rowan County Sheriff's Office.

According to Sheriff's Office reports, the clerk said two black men, both around 6 feet tall, came into the store at 175 N.C. 801 while he was cashing out the register for the night about 11:30 p.m.

One suspect weighed about 300 pounds and the other about 170 pounds.

The smaller man was carrying the stun gun and wearing a black shirt and black pants.

The other man was carrying a handgun. The only available clothing description was a white shirt.

The suspects told the clerk to get on the floor. The robber with the stun gun used it on the clerk while the other man went around the counter to get the money from the register.

When the two men left the store, the clerk still managed to follow them, firing a 9 mm gun. The suspects drove away in a silver-colored car toward Woodleaf.

Investigators found five spent rounds from the clerk's gun. The Post does not generally identify victims of armed robbery if suspects have not been arrested.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Man Shoots his Neighbor; Charges Dropped

Police have dropped charges against a man in Mecklenburg County who is accused of shooting his neighbor last week.

Greg Hicks was shot in the chest and suffered a punctured lung. He nearly died as a result of his injuries.

"I would say it's so close, death was knocking on my door," Hicks said.

He lives across the street from his neighbor Chris Liewald.

On Tuesday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department dropped all charges against Liewald.

They said Liewald acted in self defense. Liewald said Hicks threatened him and confronted him on his front lawn.

Labels: assault, NC

Northeast Charlotte Attempted Robbery

Police are investigating an attempted armed robbery in northeast Charlotte.

Officers tell us a man walked into a Circle K / 76 gas station just before two o'clock Friday morning with a shotgun. This is on the Plaza at Harris Boulevard.

Police say the man and the clerk got into a scuffle and the clerk took the shotgun away from the man. The man then took off but he was empty handed.

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

Police: Clerk Holds Robbery Accomplice At Gunpoint

Police said a convenience store owner held a burglar's accomplice at gunpoint Thursday after an armed robbery at his store.

Authorities said a man entered a Shell station on University Parkway at about 5:11 a.m. and demanded money. After he received an undisclosed amount of money, the culprit demanded money from the safe, police said.

The owner, James William Overby, retrieved a handgun from a concealed location and pointed it at the culprit, according to Winston-Salem police. A short struggle ensued and the culprit fled on foot, police said.

Overby then encountered a second culprit waiting in the suspect vehicle and ordered him to the ground, according to police. Overby detained that person until police arrived.

The investigation is still under way.

Overby wasn't injured.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Homeowner Shoots Suspect in Fayetteville Home Invasion

Authorities are investigating the death of a man after a homeowner shot him after an alleged home invasion.

At approximately 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Fayetteville police officers responded to an unit at the Lake Shore Grand Luxury Apartments at 5508 Faith Drive in reference to a home invasion.

Investigators said three men entered the residence armed with a weapon while the occupant was home. Police said the homeowner heard the men enter the residence, armed himself and fired, shooting one of them.

Police said all three men fled the scene and drove to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where the wounded suspect died as a result of his injuries.

Detectives have the other two suspects in custody. Authorities have not yet released the names of the people involved.

Soldier kills home intruder

A Fort Bragg soldier shot a 16-year-old intruder to death in his apartment early Wednesday, stopping an apparent home invasion.

Buchkechio Geddie died at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Police said three accomplices took him to the hospital.

Geddie and the three others were planning a robbery at a unit in the Lakeshore Grande apartments, police said. The complex is off Campground Road, not far from Cross Creek Mall.

According to court documents, the four — Geddie, Michael Fripp, Torrian Knowles and Kwuamae Keaton — were at the apartment complex shortly after 5 a.m.

Keaton, 17, reportedly stayed in the car while Fripp, 22, stood at the side of the building. They were acting as lookouts, police said.

Geddie and Knowles, 18, went behind the apartment, court records said. Geddie kicked open the back door and went in.

The occupants of the apartment — soldier Brooks Boone and his wife — were awakened by the noise, records said. Boone reportedly grabbed a gun from a nightstand beside the bed and fired several shots. Geddie was hit in the chest.

The three who took him to the hospital have been charged with first-degree burglary and conspiracy.

(More)

Labels: home invasion, minor offender, NC

Woman kills man in scuffle

Police are investigating the fatal shooting in southeast Charlotte that might have resulted from a scuffle between a man and a woman.

Details remain murky this morning, but police confirm that a man was shot and killed about 11:15 p.m. Thursday night at an apartment complex in the 1100 block of McIlway Road. That's between Monroe and Randolph roads.

Police said they were called to the apartments and found the body of a man in the parking lot. He had been shot, officers say.

About a half-hour later, police were called to Presbyterian Hospital, where a woman had arrived with a gunshot wound.

During questioning, police quickly determined that the female shooting victim was involved in the death of the man on McIlway Road.

The woman told police that she had been attacked by the man, and a scuffle started. During the fight, she said, the woman was able to pull a handgun away from the man. The woman said she then shot the man.

Police homicide detectives are investigating the case and are asking the public for help. Anyone who might have seen the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers, at 704-334-1600.

The identities of the man and woman have not been released. They have been described only as a black male and a black female.

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

Man is shot at, later charged in theft

The owner of a pizza parlor shot at a man who he believed had broken into his business yesterday, Winston-Salem police said.

The owner, James Daniel Moury, went to Upper Crust Pizza on Silas Creek Parkway after the store’s burglar alarm went off about 4:25 a.m.

Moury confronted a man just outside Upper Crust and, believing that the man had a gun, shot at him, police said. Moury missed. The man ran, but officers caught him in the parking lot, police said.

They have charged Curtis L. Barnett II, 25, with possession of stolen property. A warrant lists an address on Southdale Avenue for Barnett, but his family said he hasn’t lived there in months.

He was in the Forsyth County Jail last night, with bond set at $3,000.

Labels: business burglary, NC

Woman cleared in shooting of husband

The Cleveland County district attorney on Thursday dismissed a murder charge against a woman accused of fatally shooting her husband.

Tina Weaver acted in self-defense when she shot Ronald Todd Weaver, 41, at their Kings Mountain home on Nov. 25, court documents said.

"The dismissal completely exonerates my client from any criminal wrongdoing," said Weaver's attorney, David Teddy.

There was a history of domestic violence between the couple, court documents said, and Weaver's husband had severely beaten her just before the shooting.

Weaver, 40, has been out on $40,000 bond since November.

Weaver, a mother of three, is relieved that the charge has been dropped, Teddy said.

"This has been a heavy burden she's been carrying since November," Teddy said.

Labels: domestic abuse, NC

Swansboro High student, Paul Allen Kuerbitz, 18, of Windy Rush Lane in Cary, was charged with breaking and entering, possession of firearm with altered serial number, possession of a stolen firearm, larceny after breaking and entering, obtaining property by false pretenses, and attempted breaking and entering, the sheriff's office said.

Kuerbitz was arrested after a homeowner who had already been burglarized twice confronted a man attempting to break into his Stella Road home, the sheriff's office said. The homeowner, armed with a shotgun, began to question the man, who ran to a pickup truck and drove away.

The homeowner called county detectives, who traced the truck to Kuerbitz. On Tuesday, the detectives spoke with the high school senior, who was identified by the homeowner as the man who attempted to break into his house, the release said. Three guns stolen from the Stella Road home were recovered during the investigation, the sheriff's office said.

Labels: NC, residence robbery

Cab Driver Shot, Then Shoots Back During Attempted Robbery

3 people could be charged with trying to rob a car driver in East Charlotte. It all happened around 11:30 on Wednesday night. The cab driver pulled up in front of a home on Wilora Landing Road. Three people in the cab attempted to rob the driver. A scuffle ensued and the driver was shot in the ring finger. During the struggle, the cab rolled into the porch of the building. The driver was able to wrestle the gun away from one of the suspects. He then shot that person in the leg and shoulder. The injuries to the cab driver and robber are non-life threatening. All three passengers in the cab are in police custody.

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

Gastonia Man Says He Shot Intruder Through His Door

A Gastonia homeowner says he shot a man through the door of his Log Cabin Road home early Tuesday because the man was trying to break-in.

"I just wasn't going to allow (the break-in) to happen. I had no idea what his intentions was and I wasn't going to find out," he said.

The homeowner, who didn't want to be identified because he's still frightened, says he was sitting in his house when some time after midnight one of his young children heard something at the front door.

"My oldest child alerted me that there was someone on the porch trying to get in," he said.

He grabbed his pistol and started walking to the door, but before he got there it began to open.

"I saw the door open and I began to fire. I purposely aimed down. I didn't want to kill nobody," he said.

The intruder came very close to getting inside, but instead ended up running to a car waiting nearby.

"I fired over their heads and scared them off," the homeowner said.

Police say a short time later the intruder was dropped off at Gaston Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds to one leg. He had to be flown to Carolinas Medical Center for treatment.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether the homeowner fired in defiance or self defense. Gun laws in North Carolina say homeowners are justified using any degree of force if they believe the intruder is a threat or think the intruder intends to commit a felony.

Labels: home invasion, NC

Man shot in leg during fight

A Maxton man was shot in the leg early Wednesday morning during a fight with his estranged girlfriend, according to sheriff's Deputy Eric Gavighan.

Michael Joseph Mollo, 45, was shot after he forced his way into Ruth Ann Jones-Moreno's Papas Drive home and held her against her will for more than three hours, Gavighan said.

Mollo was threatening Jones-Moreno with a large fork when she fired a shotgun at him, Gavighan said. Mollo underwent surgery Wednesday night.

No charges have been filed.

Labels: domestic abuse, NC

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. -- Police say a man who robbed a gas station in February while wearing boxer shorts over his head tried to rob the same store again Saturday night.

According to the Enquirer Journal, police said Michael Thompson put on boxer shorts again when he tried to hold up the BP on Idlewild Road in Indian Trail.

Officers said this time the store clerk ran after the man and shot out two of his car tires. Police were able to apprehend the suspect.

Labels: business robbery, NC

Would-be victims take on robber

Outnumbered and outgunned.

That's how one would-be robber found himself when he barged into a family's home on Timothy Street in Dudley late Sunday and attempted to deprive them of out of their hard-earned dollars.

Instead of leaving the home a couple of dollars richer, the would-be robber found himself behind bars and in need of medical attention.

Wayne County sheriff's deputies responded to 111 Timothy St. after receiving a call. Deputies were told there had been a home invasion at the location and one of the suspects was in custody.

When they arrived they found one of the robbers identified as Andre Ahmond Lewis, 24, of Genoa Road, Dudley, being held down by one of the residents.

The victims, Santo Garcia Ramirez, 57, and Victor Alfonso Ramirez, 22, who lived in the home, and Rurin Pedis, 36, of Indian Springs Road, Mount Olive, told deputies two black males entered the home and robbed them out of $40, Wayne County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Rick Farfour said.

The men wore bandanas as they entered. One toted a handgun and the other bore a shotgun, he said.

"Before leaving, one suspect turned to fire the shotgun," Farfour said.

That's when the three victims turned the tables on him, officials said.

One of the victims grabbed the shotgun after it jammed, overpowered the shooter and held him down until deputies arrived, Wayne County Sheriff's Lt. Tom Effler said.

Lewis received a few scratches and bruises during the scuffle, officials said. He was charged with first-degree burglary and robbery with a dangerous weapon and placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.

Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion, NC, residence robbery

Employees of Fayetteville Man Shot in Botched Home Invasion

Two men have been arrested in connection with a home invasion of their employer in Fayetteville Friday night that left both suspects with gunshot wounds.

Cumberland County sheriff’s detectives arrested Paul Euston Kent Jr., 20, of 5384 Wichita Drive in Fayetteville and Carlos Francisco Mozzo, 18, of 317 Summerhill Road in Fayetteville, and charged them with attempted first-degree burglary and robbery with a deadly weapon.

Investigators said the men allegedly entered the home of James Wiggins, 66, of 3411 Cumberland Road shortly after 8:00 p.m. Both suspects were wearing black ski masks, dark clothing and had a handgun in their possession, authorities said.

Wiggins told detectives his dog began to bark and he spotted the men approaching the home. Wiggins went to his bedroom, retrieved his gun and began shooting at the men when the backdoor of his home was forced open, investigators said.

Kent suffered a gunshot wound to the lower portion of his right eye. He was treated and released from Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and was placed in the Cumberland County Detention Center under $50,000 bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

Mozzo’s injuries included a gunshot wound to a leg and one to the midsection of his body. He was transported to Duke Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment Saturday for the non-life threatening injuries. Investigators said Mozzo will be transported back to Cumberland County to face charges after his release from the hospital.

Authorities said both Kent and Mozzo were employed by Wiggins, who told investigators he owns a roofing business.

Labels: home invasion, NC, residence robbery

Man Won't Face Trial For Statesville Slaying

A man charged with murder in the shooting death of a Statesville teen will not go to trial on the charge.

The Statesville Record and Landmark reports Kevin Turner told police he shot and killed 17-year-old Shannon Lackey in self defense at a party in January. Investigators did not believe him and charged him with murder.

But a grand jury has decided there was not enough evidence to proceed to a trial.

(Original Story)

Labels: home invasion, NC

ASHEVILLE — An attempted robbery turned into an exchange of gunfire Wednesday night, police said, ending with the would-be robber dead and the victim wounded.

Ahmad Qushawn Shivers, 17, was wanted in another shooting in August and on four other charges. Police believe he started the shooting that broke out in front of an Erskine Street apartment building that led to his death.

Frederick Martin, 20, was shot in the arm, an injury that police said wasn’t life-threatening.

No charges had been filed Thursday morning.

Labels: minor offender, NC, residence robbery

Relatives Targeted by Home Invaders

Thursday morning, a Pender County man woke up to three men breaking through his door and demanding money.

One day after the crime, his wall is pock-marked with gun-shot holes. The victim says they fired a .45 caliber six times. He ran to his closet, grabbed his shotgun and fired back.

Just minutes earlier, his cousin, who lives next door, also faced the three masked men. They demanded money and information, then assaulted him.

The sheriff's department and the victim say they still don't know why it happened. Authorities are searching for three men in a burgundy van.

But the victim says he's not waiting for authorities to find the men who invaded his home. He's ready to move, because he fears for the lives of his young daughters.

Labels: home invasion, NC, residence robbery

Thwarted Thief

Clerk Pulls Gun On Would-Be Robber At Morganton Convenience Store

A pistol-wielding clerk told police she she chased away a robber Monday night.

Officers would not release her name Tuesday.

Burke County Sheriff's Detective Rodney Norman says a man came into the Shop and Save on N.C. 18 North about 10:30 p.m. Monday and asked the 34-year old female clerk if she was alone.

Norman says the clerk had noticed the man around the store earlier in the evening, and thought something was amiss.

He says the clerk told police the man slid her a note across the counter that said "Give me the money from the drawer or you're dead."

The clerk told the man she couldn't read English, Norman says.

She told the detective the man then got angry and pounded on the register until it opened.

Norman says the clerk pushed the register drawer closed before the man could get any money from it.

She then pulled a small silver handgun from under the counter, Norman says. The man ran from the store when he saw her cocking the weapon, the detective says.

The clerk had pushed a button that automatically calls police, Norman says. He says she did that after the man in the store asked her if she was alone.

Labels: business robbery, NC

DA says shooting was self-defense

A Gastonia woman who shot and killed her ex-husband will not be charged with a crime.

Linda Friday just told WCNC that the district attorney decided the shooting was self-defense.

This weekend, Christopher Shane threatened to strangle Friday with an electrical cord and threatened to kill another man with a butcher knife.

Friday says she hid a gun in her wheelchair.

“It was either my life or his; I had to choose, and I did,” Friday said.

Labels: domestic abuse, NC

Robber Shot, Killed By McDonald's Employee In West Charlotte

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney will now decide if a McDonald's employee will face charges for shooting and killing a robbery suspect.

Police say 20-year-old Donte McFadden tried to rob the McDonald's on Freedom Drive in west Charlotte around 10 p.m. Thursday when both a worker and McFadden pulled out guns. The two exchanged gunfire, hitting a woman working in the restaurant. McFadden was also shot.

Medic transported both took both McFadden and the restaurant employee to Carolinas Medical Center. The worker is expected to recover, however, McFadden died shortly after arrival at the hospital.

Investigators say there were other employees inside the restaurant, but they were not hurt.

Labels: business robbery, NC