Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

Pistol-packing pharmacist scares away robbers

A small sign in the Bob Johnson Pharmacy window says it all: Mike Donahue does not put up with anyone trying to steal from him.

The sign lists a half-dozen people who Donahue says have tried to rob the Crown Hill pharmacy since 1988. “None of them got away with it!” the sign reads. Donahue has security cameras set up, a security system and, as he tells KING 5, he’s armed with a Glock 19 handgun under his lab coat.

This is surveillance video of Donahue chasing a would-be robber out the front door. “When someone comes in to rob my pharmacy or put my patients at risk I have something to help protect us,” he says. He’s pulled the gun on three potential thieves, most recently a few months ago.

Bob Johnson Pharmacy isn’t the only business in the area around 85th St. and 14th Ave. that’s been the target of recent crime. Crown Hill Methodist church was broken into early in the morning on Palm Sunday, and just last week, someone broke into Wild Mountain Cafe.

Labels: business robbery, WA

WENATCHEE — Josh Ray always sleeps with a gun next to him.

"I just feel safer," he says.

Early Monday morning, he felt he had to use it to defend himself.

The 25-year-old Wenatchee man says he was just falling asleep on his living room couch when "my door flew open and there was a man standing there in the doorway and he said, 'Freeze, police.' "

Ray, who says he is an avid viewer of the television reality show "Cops," was not buying it.

"I kind of got real scared and I jumped in the air and put my hands up but it took me only a couple of seconds to know that this guy's not a cop," Ray said. "I know from watching that show that if police are coming to someone's house, they announce themselves before they boot the door open, not afterwards."

The next few seconds would culminate in the wounding of Ray, the death of the man at the door, Scott D. Bates, and possibly the solving of three armed robberies at Wenatchee area pharmacies. Wenatchee police say they suspect that Bates was involved with those robberies, one of which was committed with an accomplice. Wenatchee police cannot confirm what happened inside the residence before they were called.

Ray called The Wenatchee World to say that he was never convicted of three misdemeanors, a statement that was published in stories earlier this week. The only charges listed for Ray in the The Washington State Patrol's criminal data base are the new charges pending against him. After the shooting he was booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on suspicion of possession of less than 40 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a legend drug, Ambien, a sleep aid. No other charges are pending against him in the WSP database.

Ray said he had a pistol on the coffee table next to the couch, but when he jumped up, the movement put him closer to a semi-automatic rifle, which he grabbed. At that point, he said, Bates shouted, " 'Freeze' at least two more times and I pretty much said BS. Those were the only words I ever said to that man."

Ray said Bates then shot him in the thigh and "it hurt really bad and I immediately returned fire. I shot him eight to 10 times. I wanted to make sure I didn't get shot again because he still had the gun in his hand when he was on the ground."

Police have said Bates was shot four to five times. They note that someone involved in a shooting may think they've fired more shots than they really have.

Ray said he thinks he dialed 911 to report the incident, then he took the gun out of Bates' hand and threw it a couple of feet away. He realized Bates, who did not move after the shooting, was dead within a few minutes of the shooting.

He said the gunshots, fired about 1:30 a.m., scared off his 100-pound pit bull named Kane, so he ran outside looking for the dog. A neighbor rounded up the dog later.

Police have said they think Bates came to the Ray home at 616 Fourth St. to steal drugs, but Ray said he did not have any drugs inside his home that would be worth stealing. He admitted to having a small amount of marijuana and a bong on his coffee table.

Police, however, have said a search of the Ray residence turned up prescription narcotics in unmarked containers.

When asked why Bates came to his house, Ray said, "I have no idea."

Ray said he never met Bates but was a friend of William B. "Brett" Cooper, the East Wenatchee man suspected of supplying guns to Bates and of being outside the Ray residence during the shooting. Police have not said why they think Cooper was at the scene. Cooper was charged Thursday with supplying weapons to Bates, who could not legally own them.

Police say Bates used a sledgehammer, about three feet long, to break down Ray's door. It left a big impression on Ray.

"It was the biggest sledgehammer I'd ever seen," he said. "My door was pretty much open with one hit from this huge guy."

Labels: home invasion, WA

A resident trying to protect himself during a home invasion shot and seriously wounded one of two invaders early Monday.

Spokane police said the man underwent surgery at a Spokane hospital for two handgun wounds to his abdomen, and the other suspect ran and remained at large Monday afternoon.

A woman living at the home in the 4100 block of East 16th Avenue called 911 about 2 a.m., reporting that two men had entered the house and that her male roommate was confronting them in another room. The call came in about the same time the roommate fired shots in the other room, said Officer Tim Moses, police spokesman.

Both of the suspects were armed, police said.

Police have been unable to provide a full description of the two suspects, both in their 20s.

Moses said police detectives plan to interview the injured man to learn more about the other suspect and the reason for the confrontation. The home where the shooting occurred was built about 2002 and, according to county records, is owned by a Chattaroy couple.

College students are renting the house, and they had not had any previous problems, the owner said.

In 2002, Butler was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for a bank robbery that resulted in federal charges against a California gang member who worked with Butler and another man, according to previously public reports.

It’s unclear how long Butler was in prison in connection with the bank robbery. But records show he was sentenced in Kootenai County in early March to 10 days in jail or 32 hours in a county work program on one count of frequenting a home where a controlled substance is used.

Taylor, the other suspect, has criminal convictions dating back to 1996 in Pierce County, including charges of second-degree theft, third-degree assault, attempting to elude, and several drug charges. He served 10 days in jail in December after pleading guilty to escape from community custody, records show.

Labels: home invasion, WA

Labels: concealed carry permit, street robbery, WA

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A man wearing only his underpants caught a burglar breaking into his home and held him at gunpoint until officers could arrive, police said.

The suspected prowler was facing serious charges after the alert homeowner caught him in the act and held him at gunpoint early Tuesday morning in northeast Vancouver.

Police said Matthew Morris, 24, was trying to break into the family's cars and possibly their home, when he ended up facing the barrel of the homeowner's gun.

Tuesday, a woman FOX 12 will refer to only as "Sandy" was still shaken up over her family's startling wake-up call.

"We were afraid. I mean, my husband was afraid and I was afraid for my children and for our safety," Sandy said.

After a recent string of car break-ins, including one right next door, Sandy and her husband set out a motion sensor in front of their house.

So when the alarm was activated early Tuesday morning, they didn't hesitate."(We) went to the window and saw the person in between our two vehicles and then trying to look in the front window," Sandy said.

Her husband grabbed one of their guns and ran out to confront the man.

The firearm probably wasn't the only thing to catch the accused burglar by surprise since Sandy's husband was only wearing his underwear.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Federal Way man dies after wife shoots in self-defense

At about 3:55 a.m. Dec. 13, Federal Way police responded to a shooting at the Mariposa Apartment Complex, 28120 18 Ave. S, Federal Way.

A 24-year-old white female called 911 to report she had shot her 40-year-old white male husband. Both are residents of Federal Way.

Upon arrival police contacted both subjects inside the apartment. The unresponsive male was on the bedroom floor with multiple gunshot wounds. South King County Fire and Rescue responded along with paramedics from King County Medic One in an attempt to revive the male, but pronounced him dead at approximately 4:43 a.m. The King County Medical Examiner later responded and took control of the body.

Upon initial interview of the female, she stated she had been separated from her husband for several weeks and that they each had a protection order against the other. The female was later transported to St. Francis Hospital by ambulance for minor head injuries and related pain. After treatment, the female was transported to the Federal Way Police Department for interviewing and is cooperating with the investigation.

Preliminary investigation indicates the shooting was in self-defense. The scene was processed by the Federal Way Police Department with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol Crime Scene Team.

Federal Way police are currently following leads from witnesses and other involved parties in an attempt to further investigate this incident.

The department encourages anyone who has any information regarding this incident to call 911.

Labels: domestic dispute, female, WA

Labels: street robbery, WA

The sheriff's office now says Marcus Bradford would still be alive if he and two others didn't go into the Terrace Heights home with guns last week.

Investigators think the trio intended to steal drugs and money.

It's not to say the guy living at the house, Luis Acevedo, is off the hook.

But the sheriff's office believes he was just protecting his friend and baby last Thursday morning... When Bradford, Khiry Jackson and Lawrence Adams showed up at the door.

Investigators say Acevedo admitted he used to deal drugs with the suspects, but swears that stopped 8 or 9 months ago.

Jackson and Adams now have murder charges thrown on their drug and gun charges.

...

Campbell says it's possible another person's involved.

Cops are looking into it--as well as Acevedo's past.

But they say a pair of gloves found on the victim and in the getaway car indicate this was a burglary.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Would-be teen burglars arrested in Burien

Four would-be teenage burglars had a bad day on Thursday.

First, the owner of the house they were burglarizing came home and chased them out of his house at gunpoint. Then two of the burglars were caught by police within minutes. Finally, the last two were caught after the area was flooded with King County sheriff's deputies, Burien officers and a police chopper.

The incident began when a man returned to his home in the 16400 block of Ambaum Boulevard South after walking his dog and found a burglar in his kitchen.

As the suspect ran for the front door, he was joined by his three other suspects coming from various areas of the house. The homeowner grabbed his handgun and gave chase.

A passer-by saw the fleeing suspects and pointed out the direction they fled to the homeowner and arriving deputies. Plain-clothes detectives coming into the area spotted two of the four and they were promptly arrested.

During the search for the remaining suspects, the Sheriff's Office received a call from a man in Mount Vernon who said his teenage son had just called him and breathlessly related: "The cops are looking for me ... and they've got a helicopter."

Finally, workers at a nearby townhouse spotted the last two suspects skulking along a fence line. Deputies converged and took them into custody without incident.

The suspects, ages 14, 14, 16, and 17, were from Burien, Mill Creek, and Seattle. All were booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of burglary.

Labels: minor offender, residence burglary, WA

Intruder Shot Dead By Kent Man

Police said a Kent man interrupting a burglary in progress shot and killed an intruder when he came home to his East Hill apartment complex, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Police responding to reports of gunshots heard in the 26000 block of 106 Avenue Southeast in Kent spoke to the apartment residents who said that upon arriving home early Saturday night they found an apparent intruder inside their residence.

Authorities said there was a confrontation and multiple gunshots were fired.

The intruder died at the scene. No one else was injured.

No arrests have been made while police continue to investigate.

Further links:
Suspected intruder dies in Kent confrontation

Burglar shot dead by homeowner

Kent man who killed intruder had gun permit

Labels: concealed carry permit, home invasion, WA

Dog pack attacks farm animals

A pack of dogs is terrorizing farms in the Rose Valley area, and neighbors have been trying to shoot the animals.

Since late last month, the dogs have killed two llamas and wounded three, according to residents of this rural area southeast of Kelso. Llama owners in the valley say they've heard reports of the dogs attacking a horse, but that could not be confirmed.

Neighbors suspect four dogs -- apparently a German Shepherd mix, pit bull and two golden retrievers -- have been prowling the neighborhood. The dogs appear to be well-cared-for. Yet, people in the valley are astounded by their aggressiveness and they're searching desperately to find the dogs' owners.

"If these dogs are attacking llamas and adult horses what's to say they wouldn't attack children who are waiting for the bus?" said Susan Calhoun, who keeps llamas and other animals on her property in the 900 block of Rose Valley Road. "They're not going to quit killing until somebody keeps them home or somebody shoots them."

Laura Maria, 44, said two of the dogs were on her property not far from Calhoun's Tuesday morning. She shot at them, she said, but they escaped.

"I like dogs," she said later that afternoon. "I shouldn't have to shoot them because their owners are stupid."

The trouble started Thursday, Nov. 29, when Calhoun's neighbors pulled into her driveway and said dogs were attacking Maria's llamas up the road.

Calhoun sprinted into her house, tried to call Maria, then grabbed a .38 pistol and set out to rescue the llamas. She found Maria's baby llama, Spice Girl, laying in Owl Creek. Four dogs stood on the bank.

A pit bull snarled. She fired three shots. All missed, and the dogs ran away.

...

Sheriff's Capt. Mark Nelson said the county's ordinances require people to keep their dogs home if someone complains. Owners can also be cited under a vicious dog law that can trigger fines of $500 for a first offense to $1,500 for a third offense within 12 months. Property owners, he said, can also start shooting if they think it's necessary.

"They have a right to protect their property," Nelson said. "That can include everything from throwing rocks to throwing lead."

Labels: animal, WA

Homeowner shoots suspect taking weapon from house

A teenager was shot in the arm this morning by a Yakima resident who returned home to find his West Valley home being burglarized by two juveniles who were stealing weapons from the house, Yakima police said.

The homeowner was returning home about 10:30 a.m. when he saw a brown Honda Accord he didn't recognize parked in the driveway. Inside, the man saw two teenagers, one of them carrying his rifle.

Police said the homeowner opened fire with a .45 caliber handgun that he was carrying, injuring one of the burglary suspects. It was unclear whether the rifle was pointed at the man, but police said he was defending himself when he opened fire.

The wounded teenager was taken to a Yakima hospital, where his condition was not immediately available. However, police said the gunshot was not life-threatening. The other suspect was arrested by police at the house.

The incident occurred in the 2200 block of South 64th Avenue.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

TACOMA, Wash. -- Pierce County prosecutors have declined to file charges against a 21-year-old man who fatally shot another man at a Puyallup gas station.

The prosecutors say the shooter was justified when he shot 23-year-old Nicholas Cruz, of Eatonville, on October 7 at a Shell station.

The shooter told investigators he was sitting in his car at the gas station when Cruz approached and punched him several times, reportedly after breaking the driver's side window.

Police say the driver has a valid concealed weapons permit. They say he pulled out his .357-caliber handgun and shot Cruz twice.

Police say the men apparently were involved in an altercation of some sort before the shooting.

Labels: altercation, WA

Man swinging bottle shot by driver at Highway 2 rest area

The Chelan County sheriff's office says a man seeking a ride was critically wounded while harassing a driver who stopped at a Highway 2 rest area.

The sheriff's office says 45-year-old Jay Kneer of Renton was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Wednesday night with a head wound.

Investigators say 66-year-old Dennis Shaw of Lynnwood and his wife had stopped at the Nason Creek rest area 14 miles west of Leavenworth where Kneer asked him for a ride.

When Shaw refused, Kneer became angry, followed Shaw to his car and struck his vehicle window with a glass bottle.

Shaw told investigators the attack continued when he pointed a handgun at Kneer. Shaw says he fired in an attempt to scare Kneer and hit him in the head.

The Shaws were not injured.

Labels: assault, WA

Police investigate family shooting

Seattle police detectives are investigating whether a Seattle man was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed his adult son this past weekend.

The shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 4600 block of South Cooper Street.

Spokeswoman Renee Witt said it appeared to be a domestic violence situation, and that the father, 84, had previously complained to other children that the 51-year-old son living with him had been beating him.

"It was pretty sad," Witt said.

There were few details available as to what led to Saturday's shooting, but afterward the father apparently called police himself. He walked outside when officers arrived.

Witt said officers recovered a weapon, which they took as evidence.

The son was found dead in the home. His wheelchair-bound mother, 76, also was in the house and not hurt in the incident.

Police took the father in for questioning, but released him shortly afterward. The case remains under investigation, Witt said.

Labels: domestic abuse, WA

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

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.”

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Labels: animal, WA

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

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

Man involved in Thursday's fatal shooting says it was in self-defense

The man who was involved Thursday's shooting in east Spokane that left a 24-year-old man dead spoke out for the first time on Saturday.

Allan Turnipseed carries a gun with him at all times. But he'd never had to use it until Thursday. He says his life, and the lives of his family, were in danger.

Thursday afternoon's shooting was a small incident that spiraled out of control. That is the story from Turnipseed, the man accused of shooting 24-year-old Joshua Smith.

Turnipseed has not been jailed and is currently a free man. He declined to go on camera, but spoke from his home. He says on Wednesday evening, he witnessed two young men driving down 8th Avenue, one of them tossing a beer can out the window. He confronted the pair, and as he went to call police, they left.

On Thursday, Turnipseed says he was driving down Ferrall when he saw the same Mazda, with the same men inside and Smith driving. Sensing trouble, Turnipseed says he moved his car to block the young men from coming near his home.

He then alleges Smith drove up to the car and said he wanted to take a crowbar to his face, then took a crowbar out and began making threats. Turnipseed says he pulled his .380-caliber gun and tried to make a citizen's arrest. He then stood in front of Smith's car to keep them from leaving. Seconds later, Smith allegedly tried to run Turnipseed over. Turnipseed was hit, and as he clung onto the hood, fired two shots into the car.

Turnipseed believes the men were drinking, and adds that he'll accept any charges that may come. Police say it is illegal to make a citizen's arrest in Washington. The shooting is still under investigation.

Labels: assault, WA

Would-be victim sends armed robbers running in Leavenworth

A 57-year-old Leavenworth man turned the tables on two armed robbers who invaded his home Tuesday.

Authorities say that when two masked men armed with handguns got into the man's home Tuesday night, he confronted them, grabbed one of their guns and shot one in the hand.

The two masked men then fled, said Chelan County Undersheriff Greg Meinzer.

Two men from Snohomish County were later arrested after one of them flagged down an ambulance.

The wounded man, 24, from Everett, was treated at Central Washington Hospital. The other suspect, a 24-year-old Lake Stevens man, is charged with first-degree assault and burglary. The wounded man was not immediately charged.

Meinzer did not release the homeowner's name and says he isn't sure whether the homeowner knew the masked men or if the attempted robbery was a random crime.

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

Pit bulls shot and killed by neighbor

A man who claims he felt threatened by his neighbor's two pit bull-mixes shot and killed both dogs.

The incident happened on the 12000 block of East Broadway. The daughter of the dog owners came home to her parents' house, who were not home at the time. She let the two pit bull-mixes out of the house when she arrived; those dogs got into a neighbors' yard. The woman called for the animals and heard a yelp. Spokane Valley Police say the man shot and killed the dogs with a rifle.

The dogs were burried less than an hour after they were shot. Spokane Valley Police say the neighbor was justified in shooting the dogs if he felt threatened. The daughter of the dog owner tells KREM 2 News she has seen her neighbor point a rifle at the dogs before.

Labels: animal, WA

Dogs attack Spokane Valley residents

A Spokane Valley man was forced to use a gun against a pair of dogs that were threatening his family and innocent bystanders.

On Monday afternoon near East 10th in the Spokane Valley, Jim Hammond was walking his grandchildren back home when the group was attacked by a pair of dogs.

“I just barely got in the door and got it slammed when they hit the door and were scratching at the door.”

Jim Hammond and his grandchildren ran inside his Spokane Valley home to avoid being attacked by two runaway boxers.

“Those dogs charged at the big window,” said Hammond. “You can see the claw marks on the outside, they wanted somebody."

The dogs scratched at Hammond's doors and windows before turning their attention to a couple who was walking down the street.

“Two dogs surround her and start attacking her,” Hammond said.

Faith Yen says she thought she was going to die as one of the dogs latched onto her calf, puncturing her skin, and leaving a bad bruise

“I was thinking these things are the most vicious dogs I've ever seen in my life,” Yen said.

Once Hammond saw the dogs attacking Yen, he grabbed his gun, went outside, and yelled at the dogs to draw their attention to him.

“The one dog probably got within two feet with mouth wide open,” Hammond said. “That’s when I turned loose, gave him a slug in the mouth and apparently it wasn't enough to drop him."

Hammond said that he shot only one of the dogs, but it was enough to send both of them running.

Authorities followed a trail of blood which led them to a spot about a block away where they found the dog that was shot. Apparently, the dog died from the injuries sustained by the gunshot.

More

Labels: animal, WA

EVERETT, Wash. -- Snohomish County prosecutors say they won't charge a 28-year-old man with homicide for his part in a gunbattle that ended with an Everett man's death.

Prosecutors believe 28-year-old Hector Francisco Diaz was protecting himself when he opened fire and shot Raymond O'Gorman five times with a .357 handgun in a south Everett apartment in November.

Deputy prosecutor John Adcock calls the shooting that occurred during an apparent robbery attempt a justifiable homicide.

But Diaz's troubles with the law are not over.

He recently was indicted on eight federal charges for allegedly selling large amounts of methamphetamine to undercover detectives from the South Snohomish County Drug Task Force.

A federal prosecutor says if Diaz is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.

Labels: residence robbery, WA

Deputies investigate Tieton shooting

Yakima County sheriff's deputies said a Tieton man shot his 35-year-old son in the abdomen early this morning in a possible case of self-defense.

The shooting took place at 4 a.m. at a home in the 1100 block of Beffa Road in the Tieton area, according to information from sheriff's Chief of Detectives Stew Graham.

Graham said Dennis G. Strain, 59, shot his son, Dennis J. Strain, once in the abdomen after they argued and the younger man charged his father.

The younger man was taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery. Graham said the wound is not considered life-threatening.

No arrests have been made, and the investigation is continuing, Graham added.

Labels: domestic dispute, WA

Shooting appears to be self-defense

A fatal shooting in Everett on Tuesday night may be a case of self-defense, according to a neighbor who heard the gunshots.

The violence erupted in the 2300 block of Wetmore at 8:22 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

Gretchen Galstad said she heard the gunfire and later spoke with a neighbor who witnessed the events unfold in the home where the shooting occurred.

Apparently a man kicked in the front door at the same time another man was leaving the century-old building, Galstad said.

The intruder hit the man with a handgun, went up the front stairs and fired a few shots, she said. Galstad lives in the downstairs unit in the building where the shooting took place.

The man who was struck with the gun, a friend of the building’s upstairs tenant, managed to wrestle the weapon away and shoot the intruder, she said.

Gun wrestled away; intruder is killed

An armed intruder who kicked in the door of a house near downtown Everett was killed with his own gun Tuesday night, a resident said.

Everett police detained and then released a man they described as an acquaintance of a man who rented the upstairs portion of the house in the 2300 block of Wetmore Avenue. The shooting happened in the interior stairwell leading from the front door up to the resident's living quarters, said Gretchen Galstad, who rents the lower unit.

Galstad said the intruder, whom police have not identified, kicked in the door and then encountered the renter's acquaintance on the stairs. The intruder fired at least two shots before the other man wrestled the gun away and shot the intruder with it, she said.

Police spokesman Sgt. Robert Goetz said "probable cause does not exist at this time" to arrest the acquaintance. Goetz said the incident "does not appear to be random" and the investigation is continuing.

Labels: assault, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion, WA

Northside homeowner scares intruder

Police are hoping the public has information on a break-in that led to a shot being fired early Tuesday morning.

It all took place at a house in the 6800 block of North Altamont. Police say the suspect entered the residence, waking the homeowner, who then pulled a gun and told the intruder to freeze. The homeowner then fired a warning shot when the burglar ran.

The only description of the suspect is that he is in his 20s, and wore a white shirt at the time.

Labels: home invasion, WA

Boat owner held two suspects in theft at gunpoint

The man spotted two men carting gear from his boat and then kept them cornered until police arrived, court documents say.

It could have been a scene out of the Old West, only there was no gunplay.

A man whose large fish-processing boat is moored in the Snohomish River in Everett was driving by Christmas Day when he noticed two men on the deck of the vessel.

The men carried orange survival suits, each valued at $400, that had been stored on the boat.

The man knew nobody was supposed to be on the boat, deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said in court papers Thursday charging one of the men.

The boat owner turned around and went onto the dock to confront the intruders.

He yelled and the two men, who dropped the survival suits and tried to hide.

The owner, who carried a firearm, ordered the men to come out of hiding or they would be shot, Dickinson said.

They got the message. They came out and were held at gunpoint while the owner called police.

Police arrested the pair. One of the men, a 40-year-old from Everett, was charged with first-degree vehicle prowling.

One of the men claimed the two had come to the vessel looking for scrap metal and had a large handcart with them to carry items from the ship.

He denied being there to take anything else, but the boat owner and police found several valuable items had been moved and could also have been carted away, Dickinson said.

The man who was charged has a drug-possession conviction as well as one for second-degree possession of stolen property, Dickinson said. He also has 23 misdemeanor convictions.

The man was being held on $10,000 bail.

Labels: business burglary, WA

2 Dead, 1 Hurt In Shooting Near Packwood

Gunfire that killed two people and injured one exploded near this Lewis County community Wednesday, when a homeowner found a visitor from Las Vegas breaking into his gun safe, the sheriff's office reported.

The homeowner said a male friend from nearby Morton arrived in the morning for a visit, along with two women and a man from Las Vegas, Nev., whom the homeowner did not know, said sheriff's Chief Criminal Deputy Joe Doench.

The homeowner told investigators he became suspicious he was being distracted by three of his guests, Doench said. Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, he directed the visitors to another part of the house.

There, he said he found one of the women had broken into his gun safe and was removing weapons, Doench said. She then shot the homeowner once in the ear with a rifle, giving him a superficial head wound.

The homeowner returned fire, killing the woman.

The visitor from Morton received several gunshot wounds to his legs, possibly from stray bullets, Doench said. He was taken to Morton General Hospital, where he died as he was being prepared for airlift to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The names of the dead and the homeowner were not immediately released.

Natalie Brooks, 44, and her husband, Jason Brooks, 38, of Las Vegas, were booked into the Lewis County Jail for investigation of residential burglary.

Labels: defender shot, residence robbery, WA

Homeowner fatally shoots intruder in Federal Way

A homeowner who was roused from sleep by an intruder armed himself with a shotgun, confronted the 31-year-old Federal Way man who had broken into his house and killed him, according to Federal Way police.

Around 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, a man called 911 to report that he had just shot an intruder, said police spokeswoman Stacy Flores.

Detectives went to the house in the 30600 block of 4th Place South, where they interviewed the homeowner and found signs of a break-in, she said.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office today identified Justin Herycyk as the man who died from a shotgun wound to the torso. His death was ruled a homicide.

Flores did not know whether Herycyk was armed when he broke into the man's house.

The case is still under investigation, she said, adding that the homeowner has not been arrested.

Labels: intruder, WA

Police Investigate Home Invasion, Shooting

Authorities are searching for two men they said were involved in a shootout with a Vancouver homeowner Monday night.

Officers said the homeowner surprised two burglars inside his home on Northeast Benton Drive around 7 p.m. The homeowner told authorities that he confronted the burglars and he exchanged gunfire with the two men.

There were no injuries reported.

The men fled the scene and left in a newer model gray SUV-type vehicle, according to police.

Police said it is unknown how many shots were fired, if the two men were hit or who shot first.

Authorities are investigating a possible connection to the shooting. They said a man walked into a Portland emergency room last night with a gunshot wound.

The incident is under investigation.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Jury finds Kansas man not guilty of murder

Willie Rodriguez asked for it, he got it, and a jury Friday exonerated the man who did it.

Deliberating barely two hours, the jury of 10 women and two men acquitted Judd Stephen Hurst of second-degree murder for gunning down Rodriguez, 19, in a gun-waving confrontation last year alongside a dark road outside Toppenish.

In a separate verdict, the jury ruled the shooting was justified under a state law that protects the right of self-defense and ordered that Hurst, 27, receive reimbursement in the form of civil damages. A dollar figure will be decided later.

Yakima County Superior Court Judge Jim Lust signed papers on the spot freeing Hurst from jail, where he had spent the past 14 months awaiting trial. A related gun charge was also dismissed.

Afterwards, Hurst's trial attorney, Ken Therrien, said the verdict was one of the most satisfying in his career. His client earlier had rejected a plea bargain to a charge of second-degree manslaughter.

"He didn't need any prodding," Therrien said of Hurst. "He said, 'I can't take that. That's not what happened.' "

The verdict came as no surprise to those who followed the trial, which began two weeks ago and often seemed more like a coroner's inquest. The jury also rejected a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter.

The shooting on Aug. 28, 2005, culminated a confrontation that began at a party attended by Hurst, who is from Overland Park, Kan., and was visiting friends in the area.

Witnesses testified Rodriguez, a member of a reputed street gang called the Outlaws, became angry when Hurst and a friend offered to give a woman named Angelica Gopher a ride home. Gopher was Rodriguez's off-and-on girlfriend, and they had a child together.

Rodriguez pursued the Hurst car, forcing it off McDonald Road. Rodriguez's 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat with Gopher. Witnesses testified Rodriguez got out and began threatening Hurst and the other occupants of the car with a .25-caliber chrome-plated pistol.

Hurst then grabbed a Glock semiautomatic pistol from under his car seat and opened fire at close range, firing 13 bullets in just a few seconds. Rodriguez was hit 11 times, including five or six times at almost point-blank range after he collapsed to the ground.

(More detail)

Ex-suspect reimbursed for attorney

A former murder defendant was reimbursed $2,000 for the cost of a lawyer under a rarely invoked state law that protects the right of self-defense.

Even so, the money was a pittance compared with the $30,000 in lost wages requested by Judd Stephen Hurst for the 14 months he sat in jail awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

But Yakima County Superior Court Judge James Lust refused to honor the larger sum, noting there was no proof the 27-year-old Hurst actually lost any wages.

The case stemmed from a shooting on a dark road outside of Toppenish the night of Aug. 28, 2005.

The shooting culminated a confrontation that began at a party when 19-year-old Willie Rodriguez became incensed with his girlfriend for getting a ride home from Hurst, who was from Overland Park, Kan., and was visiting friends in the area.

At the party, Rodriguez assaulted his girlfriend and threw beer on her while she was holding the couple's daughter. He then pursued Hurst's car, forcing it off the road and threatening Hurst and other occupants with a pistol.

Hurst grabbed a pistol from under his car seat and opened fire at close range. Rodriguez was hit 11 times, including five or six times at almost point-blank range after he collapsed to the ground.

At trial last year, prosecutors alleged Hurst overreacted to Rodriguez's drunken threats and that any danger posed by the victim was over with by the time Hurst fought back.

But Hurst testified that in the confusion, he didn't realize Rodriguez had put down his gun. Other witnesses tended to corroborate his story. There was no question Rodriguez was drunk and angry. His young daughter was in the Hurst car.

A jury deliberated barely two hours before acquitting Hurst. Not only that, the jury ruled the shooting was justified under a 1977 law that protects the right of self-defense.

In addition, the jury also recommended Hurst be reimbursed for costs. What those costs were, exactly, was a little unclear.

The state, represented by deputy prosecutor Duane Knittle, did not dispute that Hurst's family deserved reimbursement for a temporary $2,000 retainer to local attorney Adam Moore.

The family hired Moore, the dean of criminal defense attorneys in Yakima, in a bid to dissuade prosecutors from filing charges against Hurst in the first place. Prosecutors did anyway.

Judge Lust ruled the no-refund retainer was clearly owed to Hurst or his family, although it was uncertain who paid it and exactly who would get the check.

Hurst's trial attorney, Ken Therrien, also made a pitch that Hurst deserved wages he would have earned during the time he was sitting in jail.

"Mr. Hurst is a free man today," Therrien said, "but he lost 15 months of his life."

But Lust ruled that an unsigned statement from a restaurant owner in Seattle just wasn't enough to establish that Hurst had a job lined up. Hurst has since moved back to Kansas.

Labels: assault, WA

Quincy robber shot

Two masked men attempted to rob a Quincy home Thursday night and left only with a bullet.

Two suspects knocked on the door of a home on C Street Northeast in Quincy, bearing a small caliber handgun, according to Quincy Police Chief Bill Gonzales. The person living in the house looked outside to see the would-be robbers and fetched a small carbine rifle before opening the door.

Gonzales said one of the suspects aimed the pistol at the resident, who opened the door. The resident fired twice.

Officers arriving on the scene located a 25-year-old man laying in a gutter near the residence with a gunshot wound to the leg.

"(He) couldn't give a reasonable explanation for how he got shot, but evidence indicated that he may have been involved in the incident," reported Gonzales.

The suspect was not arrested as he was transported to Quincy Valley Medical Center and later transported to Central Washington Hospital for treatment of his wound.

Labels: residence robbery, WA

Assault victim fatally shoots assailant outside Westlake Center

A bizarre case of what appeared to be justifiable homicide rattled the heart of Seattle's swanky downtown shopping district late Saturday morning.

Seattle police are still piecing together what happened, but this much is known: A young man was killed on the crowded sidewalk outside Westlake Center, and the confessed shooter was allowed to walk out of a police station.

The case, according to police and witnesses, began at 11 a.m. Saturday with a 911 call.

Witnesses reported a man in a yellow shirt acting erratically, insulting and threatening passing pedestrians at Pike Street and Boren Avenue near the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, said Seattle police spokeswoman Deb Brown.

A half-hour later, a man matching the same description was reported near Westlake Center. At the same time, a second man, described by witnesses as balding and wearing a leather jacket, was walking through the nearby plaza after finishing his lunch.

Neither man's identity was released by police on Saturday.

The man in the yellow shirt apparently focused in on the second man, saying, "I am going to kill you," Brown said. He then began punching and kicking the second man until the man fell to the sidewalk.

"He was down there, minding his own business. There is nothing to think he was anything but a random target," Brown said.

The victim happened to have a concealed-weapons permit, Brown said, and he was carrying a handgun. He pulled out the gun and fired once, hitting his attacker in the abdomen.

"It looked to me like he shot him in self-defense," said Linda Vu, who was across the street from the shooting, handing out fliers for political activist Lyndon LaRouche. "It's kind of crazy."

The man in the yellow shirt died after being taken to Harborview Medical Center. The King County Medical Examiner was trying to determine his identity, a task complicated by the fact that the man carried no identification.

Several nearby Seattle police officers heard the gunshot. When they arrived at the shooting scene, the victim, sitting on a streetside planter full of purple pansies, handed the gun to them and said, "I am the one who did this," according to Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel.

The man was arrested, but after questioning him and other witnesses, detectives determined they did not have probable cause to book him into the King County Jail. The man was released. Police said they were withholding his name as a crime victim — of the assault.

It will be up to the county prosecutor to determine whether the man will face charges. But Pugel said, "It could be considered justifiable homicide."

Man fatally shot was "dangerous"

A man shot and killed Saturday after authorities say he attacked a stranger in Westlake Plaza was one of 70 dangerously mentally ill people in King County.

Since his release from prison four years ago, Daniel Culotti had been under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and Seattle Mental Health, according to the DOC. As with others who were ruled a Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender (DMIO) after their release from incarceration, the state earmarked $10,000 to pay for Culotti's housing, medications and therapy necessary for his first five years outside of prison.

The Department of Corrections said Culotti, 25, complied with his therapy. However, he failed two drug tests shortly after his release from prison in October 2002 and told his probation officer he had used crack cocaine regularly "to help ease the stress," according to a community custody report filed in King County Superior Court.

"Mr. Culotti also has mental health needs and his history shows that use of drugs can cause him to become psychotic," his caseworkers wrote.

Culotti was sentenced to prison after he assaulted his mother and burned down her Seattle home in 2001.

According to Seattle police, Culotti assaulted a man in Westlake Plaza shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday in what is believed to be an unprovoked attack.

The victim of the attack, identified by police as a 52-year-old man, pulled out a .357-caliber revolver and fired one round, striking Culotti in the abdomen. Culotti later died.

The 52-year-old had a concealed-weapons license and was in legal possession of the handgun, police said. He was questioned by police after the shooting and later released.

(More)

Labels: assault, concealed carry permit, WA

Loveless exonerated in CB shooting

Jon W. Loveless was exonerated Thursday on charges of second-degree murder and was to be released from the Clark County Jail.

On a one-page order, Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Fairgrieve said further investigation was necessary into the Sept. 30 shooting at Westfield Vancouver mall.

Prosecutors reserve the right to refile charges.

Loveless' court-appointed attorney, Therese Lavallee, was headed into the Clark County Jail about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, shortly after a judge had signed the order. She said Loveless will be released after his paperwork is processed.

Loveless, 44, told investigators he shot Kenneth P. Eichhorn, 47, in self-defense after Eichhorn refused to drop his gun.

The two men had agreed to meet at 1:30 a.m. in a parking lot after an exchange over citizens band radio.

According to court records, Loveless said he thought the meeting was in reference to a piece of radio equipment. When he pulled his truck up next to Eichhorn's truck, however, he saw Eichhorn had a gun pointed at him.

After the shooting, Loveless left and went home, then called 911 and turned himself in.

On Wednesday, Fairgrieve indicated he had yet to see evidence that would support a second-degree murder charge. He said the standards police use to arrest a suspect are lower than what prosecutors use to file charges, and by law charges against a person in custody must be filed within 72 hours of the suspect's first court appearance.

Labels: assault, WA

Man acquitted in fatal shooting in Oroville

A man who insisted that he acted in self-defense when he shot another man to death at the home of a mutual friend has been found innocent on all charges after 17 months in jail.

"The grass never smelled so good," Jeremy I. Todd, 26, told The Wenatchee World on Monday after leaving Okanogan County Superior Court a free man.

Todd was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Martin B. Hernandez, 40, at a home in Oroville on March 3, 2005, and Prosecutor Karl F. Sloan asked the jury to find him guilty of first- or second-degree manslaughter if the panel rejected the more serious charge.

Instead, facing as much as 23 years in prison if convicted of murder, Todd was found innocent of all charges.

Todd and Hernandez apparently argued at a bar before returning separately to the residence where the shooting occurred. In his call to 911 immediately after the shooting. Todd said he was sleeping on the couch when Hernandez took his blanket and punched him in the face.

In the call and on the witness stand he said he opened fire with a rifle only after being attacked and cornered.

Sloan argued that Todd made an "irrational and unreasonable" decision to grab, load and fire the gun, and the prosecutor also questioned his account.

While in jail with bail set at $100,000, Todd missed the birth of his son Joey, now 11 months old, as well as his first and second wedding anniversaries, but he told the newspaper he was not bitter.

"I feel bad for leaving all my friends in the (jail's) C Tank," he said. "They're like brothers to me now."

Labels: assault, WA

CR man shot during suspected burglary may face charges

Longview police have requested that Kelly Charles Foster Smith, who is recovering from a gunshot wound, receive a court summons on a charge of second-degree burglary once he is released from the hospital.

Smith, 44, of Castle Rock, was shot near the left shoulder and the bullet exited through the front of the sternum, police said. He was listed in fair condition Tuesday at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland.

Police said that property owner Frank Perry Amadon, 61, called 911 early Monday morning to report he shot a suspected burglar in his warehouse in the 1300 block of Beech Street. Amadon lives in the building, police said.

Police said they found Smith yelling and moaning, lying in a pool of blood at the base of a large metal sheet. Police noted an opening had been made in the wall. Wire was placed near the opening and stacked outside the opening, and die grinders and other equipment were nearby, police said.

The shooting is under investigation.

Labels: business burglary, WA

Bar brawl acquittal might cost state

Jurors find soldier not guilty in fight outside O'Blarney's

A courtroom defeat for Thurston County prosecutors could cost the state as much as $25,000, or more.

That's how much a 22-year-old soldier, Sgt. Matthew Young, could be entitled to in legal expenses after a jury acquitted him of second-degree assault with a firearm.

A Thurston County Superior Court jury ruled Friday that Young acted in self-defense when he wielded a gun to ward off a group of people who accosted him and his girlfriend on Aug. 20, outside of O'Blarney's pub on Martin Way.

In cases where a defendant claims self-defense and is acquitted, the jury is allowed to determine whether the defendant is entitled to legal costs. It happens rarely, and several South Sound lawyers and judges recall it happening once or twice in their careers.

Big load lifted

Not only is he getting his legal bill covered, he also no longer has a potential prison sentence hanging over him, or the prospect of not being allowed to serve with his Army Stryker unit, which is soon heading to Iraq.

He and his attorney say it was a case that never should have been taken to trial.
"(I felt) completely terrible. We tried to provide the prosecutor with all kinds of information that could exonerate me, but it fell on deaf ears," Young said.

Judge Gary Tabor must still decide how much Young should be awarded. The law allows reimbursement for court costs, lost wages and "other expenses."

Young's father, Bob Young, who traveled from Michigan to be at his son's side, said his son's legal fees have topped $25,000.

The state, and not the county, covers the tab. The judgment is forwarded to the state's risk management office and the money typically is appropriated during the next legislative session, attorneys said.

The incident

(Much more detail)

Labels: assault, WA

Family confrontation ends in man's shooting

A Bothell man was reportedly shot in the stomach in Marysville early Monday morning after a confrontation with his girlfriend's family.

The victim, 20, was reportedly shot with a handgun, Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

No arrests have been made.

"We do know who the person is who fired the gun, but some issues have been raised concerning self-defense," Lamoureux said.

The injured man was out of surgery Monday but his condition was unknown, Lamoureux said.

Police and aid crews responded to the incident, reported at 12:02 a.m. at a fourplex of apartments in the 1200 block of Woodgate Avenue in Marysville.

Before the shooting, a confrontation had occurred between the man and his girlfriend, Lamoureux said.

"When the boyfriend brought the girlfriend home to where the father and uncle lived, they confronted the boyfriend," he said.

After the man was shot, he was rushed by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and his condition was critical going into surgery, Lamoureux said.

His current condition was not available due to medical privacy laws, he said.

Lamoureux said that witnesses and the girlfriend's uncle were taken to the police department for questioning.

Labels: domestic dispute, WA

TACOMA: Man attacks city councilman in parking lot, threatens to kill him

Tacoma police were looking Wednesday for the driver of a late-model black Jaguar who attacked Tacoma City Councilman Rick Talbert in the parking lot of a downtown dry cleaner.

Talbert, 40, said he was hit in the face and back and pushed into his pickup during the altercation shortly before noon Tuesday.

The attacker threatened to kill Talbert and was reaching behind his back as if for a gun when an armed clerk came out of the cleaners and ordered the man to back off, Talbert said.

Talbert said he had no idea who the man was or what prompted the assault. He doesn’t believe the attacker knew him or knew that he was a city councilman.

“It’s the most bizarre thing that’s happened in my life,” he said.

The trouble started a few blocks away as Talbert was driving to the cleaners. The man began honking at Talbert and followed him to the business, Talbert said.

Several people witnessed the attack and Talbert took down the license plate from the man’s vehicle.

“We feel fairly confident that an arrest is imminent,” Tacoma police spokeswoman Tracy Conaway said Wednesday.

Talbert said his jaw was sore Wednesday morning but that he wasn’t seriously injured.

Labels: assault, WA

FORKS -- Clallam County sheriff's deputies are investigating a fatal shooting Tuesday morning that they think was an act of self-defense.

One man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a gunshot wound to the head, and died, Clallam County Undersheriff Rich Sill said Tuesday night.

The altercation occurred at about 10:50 a.m., according to a PenCom 9-1-1 dispatcher.

Initial reports from the scene at 41 King's Ranch Road on the east side of Forks said the dispute between the two men involved a knife and a pistol.

The shooter was being interviewed by Sheriff's detectives, Sill said.

He did not release the names of the two men.

"There is a lot of investigation involved and they are just taking their time," Sill said.

Labels: altercation, WA

One wounded, one at large following attempted home invasion

One man was shot and wounded and a second is at large following an attempted home invasion in North Spokane Saturday night.

The incident happened around 8:30 pm at the Rosewood Club Apartments located at Standard and Magnesium in North Spokane.

According to investigators on the scene, two suspects, armed with a knife and a pellet gun, tried to force their way into one of the apartments.

The resident of the apartment, armed with a small-caliber automatic pistol, shot one of the intruders, striking him twice in the chest and lower torso.

The suspect who was shot fled the apartment and got as far as the sidewalk in front of the apartment building before he collapsed.

The second suspect fled the scene and is still at large.

The injured man was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The resident is talking and cooperating with the investigators and says that he doesn’t know who the suspects are and why they were trying to get into his apartment.

Labels: home invasion, WA

Suspect injured in burglary attempt

One burglary suspect is nursing his wounds after a South Hill homeowner caught him and two other robbers rummaging through his garage.

It happened Tuesday morning when police say a man was awakened by a noise and confronted the thieves. Police say one of the suspects, Ron Walker, 17, opened fire with his pistol and the homeowner fired back.

Walker was later found hiding in nearby bushes and when he allegedly refused to show his hands, a police dog broke his forearm and bit his face. Walker was back at the crime scene Monday, sporting a splint and 15 stitches, helping police locate the pistol he ditched.

Investigators feel the homeowner's use of deadly force was justified.

Police also arrested Phillip Chen in connection with the crime. A third suspect is still at large.

Labels: minor offender, residence burglary, WA

An unpaid bill for $20,000 worth of sex acts apparently led to a confrontation Monday that injured a Wollochet Bay-area man and left one of his suspected attackers hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

Pierce County prosecutors Tuesday charged two men with assault and burglary for going to Terry Riggs’ home and beating him because he hadn’t paid his escort service bill, court documents say.

Prosecutors said Riggs, 57, was acting in self-defense when he shot one of his intruders, but likely will face a felony charge today for a marijuana-growing operation sheriff’s deputies say they found in his home.

...

Riggs told detectives he had been paying a woman for sex for more than a year. He said the woman came to his house on New Year’s Eve and gave him a $22,000 bill for services rendered. He refused to pay and called the woman’s mother.

The woman told Riggs if he didn’t pay, her friend “Smokey” and another man would make him, he said. The woman left, but called Riggs later and warned him never to call her mother again, or “those guys” would get him.

Riggs told deputies that sometime after 8 a.m. Monday, he heard a knock on the door and saw two men in ski masks, one with a handgun. He said he grabbed his own gun and fired a shot after the door was forced open. Riggs said he was pushed to the ground and beaten, court documents say.

“Something is ridiculous about the whole thing,” Sorensen said. “There’s something obviously unusual about the dollar amount that we’re talking about here. It is hard to believe that someone in that line of work would be willing to extend that kind of credit.”

Labels: assault, home invasion, WA

Police say last week, two men muscled their way into Bob Bowjuhlee's home in North Spokane, but before they could take anything or hurt Bob and his wife, the 65 year old shot at the pair.

Police say the gunfire prompted one of the thieves to run out of his shoes. A fake snakeskin sneaker recovered at the crime scene is now on it's way to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for DNA analysis. Detectives are also submitting the blood left behind when the burglar cut himself on broken glass or was actually shot by homeowner.

Labels: WA

Suspect Killed in Failed Robbery Attempt

Kootenai County sherriff's deputies were called to Lew's Smoke Shop at 6891 W. Seltice Way inside the Stateline Village Shopping Center at approximately 10-minutes before 8:00pm Monday. Tha'ts [sic] when the store clerk called to report that he had shot an attempted robber. When the officers and medical personnel arrived, they found an adult white male, wearing a ski mask, lying dead on the floor of the store, with a weapon inside the waist of his pants.

The shooting is under investigation and the identities of the store clerk, and the robber have not been released.

Convenience store clerk who killed robber won't be charged

A Stateline convenience store clerk who shot and killed a robber will not be charged.

Kootenai County prosecutors say 47-year-old Jeffrey Hayes was justified in shooting Joseph Kalani Hatchie, who confronted Hayes with a pellet gun in December.

Authorities say Hatchie was trying to hold up Lew's Smoke Shop in Stateline when he held the plastic BB gun to Haye's chest and demanded cash. Police say the gun looked like a real firearm.

Hayes pulled his own gun from beneath the counter and fired at Hatchie, striking him ten times.

Hatchie, a father and stepfather to seven children, lived in Greenacres, Washington, with his wife, Kim.

Labels: business robbery, WA

MARYSVILLE, Wash. A Northern California man is dead after authorities in Marysville, Washington say he was shot during a burglary attempt of a home.

Eric Michael Davidson of Fort Jones died Saturday in a Washington hospital after being shot in the head.

...

Police were called to the home around 4:00 Saturday morning by residents who said Davidson was trying to break into the house apparently to get money he believed his former employer owed him.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Kent Police Search For Robbery Suspects In Jewelry Store Holdup

Three suspects entered Kent Jewelry and Loan on 624 W. Meeker in Kent Tuesday evening and told the sales person to get on the floor. The 40-year-old salesman dropped to his knees as one of the suspects put a gun to his head.

The owner of the Jewelry store stepped from behind a display rack with his pistol and fired one shot at one of the suspects standing by the door.

The three suspects fled the store. Nothing was stolen.

Two of the suspects were described as black males, the third is of an unknown race. The three suspects appeared to be in their mid 20’s. Each suspect wore a mask.

Labels: business robbery, WA

Mall shooting victim drew own pistol, family says

Parents of the man most seriously wounded in a shooting rampage at a shopping mall said Tuesday that he drew a pistol and confronted the gunman before being shot.

Brendan “Dan’’ McKown, 38, was hit twice in the abdomen on Sunday, when a gunman opened fire on crowds in the Tacoma Mall.

Doctors at Tacoma General Hospital believe McKown may have suffered permanent paralysis because of spinal damage, hospital spokesman Todd Kelley said.

Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said detectives don’t know if McKown simply brandished his handgun to show the gunman he was armed, or if he was preparing to fire the weapon. Witnesses told the family McKown was shot after he pulled the gun.

Roger McKown, 63, of Yelm, called his son a hero and said he has been licensed to carry a firearm for years.

“Dan has been one that always believes in protecting other people, and he put his life on the line for other people,’’ he said at a hospital news conference.

Recovery Continues For Mall Shooting Victim

A man who tried to stop a shooting rampage at a mall in Tacoma, but ended getting shot five times, is on an incredible road to recovery.

"He hit me repeatedly with an assault rifle at point blank range and he blew my spine out," says Dan McKown.

You may have heard of McKown, the hero inside the Tacoma Mall who put his life on the line to try to stop a gunman on a shooting spree.

Spend a little time with McKown, who does standup comedy, and you will get to see his big sense of humor.

However, he is now trapped in a new life and trying not to let the daily struggles with a wheelchair get him down too much.

McKown would not be in this position had he not been at work on Nov. 20. He managed a store inside the mall and was chatting with a friend when he heard gunshots.

"Bam, bam, bam, bam, high rate of fire, people wer diving for cover," he says.

That is when McKown pulled his pistol, the gun he has carried for 17 years, not imagining he might actually have to use it. That is, until he came face to face with Dominick Maldonado, who had a rifle.

"I said - 'Young man, I think you need to put your weapon down.' He apparently didn't appreciate that and he brought his gun around. I drew and right as I aimed at his head, he hit me in the spine," McKown says. "Each blow is throwing my arm back into the air and I'm just praying to God, something really un-Christian, just please let me kill this guy before he shoots somebody else."

As McKown was bleeding and believing he was going to die, police say Maldonado took hostages, keeping officers and paramedics outside for another hour and twenty minutes.

"I tried to be a hero, but I don't think I succeeded," says McKown.

However, everyone who meets McKown believes he did succeed and is proving it every day by proving doctors wrong.

Doctors told McKown he would never walk again and even though it is painful, the baby steps he is taking are huge steps toward regaining the feeling and movement in his legs.

"It increases his independence," says Physical Therapy Assistant Kristy Hegnauer. "It's what he wants to do. Everybody wants to be back up on their feet and walking again. He's meeting that goal."

"Where do miracles start and where do they end?" McKown asks. "People keep saying it's a miracle. Yeah, it's completely a miracle. The question is, does the miracle let me walk scot-free afterwards?"

That is why McKown believes he is still in the middle of his miracle and whether he walks on his own again or not, he says would do it all again because even the worst days are worth it if his experience somehow turns a troubled young man to God.

"It'd like to think there was a reason I didn't shoot him," he said. "I'm hoping that there was a higher authority that gave me the instinct to put the gun back in my jacket because I'd rather not be crippled for no reason."

As for his future, McKown hopes to get back in to comedy and is even planning a tour with his comedy troupe once he feels a little better.

As for his accused shooter, Maldonado's trial begins in April and McKown says he plans to be there.

Labels: assault, concealed carry permit, defender shot, WA

Homeowner Catches Suspects

Yakima Police were called to 84th and Summitview Avenues early Saturday morning. A homeowner had two burglary suspects held at gunpoint. Eighteen-year-old Tyler Walters and 20 year-old Rudy Delgado of Yakima, have been charged with theft, malicious mischief and possession of stolen property. Police say the two broke into a car. When the armed homeowner confronted them they tried to run him down with their own car. He fired a few shots at the car. No one was injured but one of the shots came close enough to cut through the shirt one of the suspects was wearing.

Labels: assault, street property theft, WA

CEO fired gun with intruder lurking

Marchex chief saw man at his home; he cites separate threats

Madison Park is a quiet, leafy neighborhood where some of Seattle's wealthiest residents own multimillion-dollar mansions on Lake Washington.

But on the evening of Sept. 24, a disturbance occurred involving the chief executive of a publicly traded Internet company and a 33-year-old man who was said to be lamenting the demise of a relationship with a girlfriend.

A little after 9 p.m., Marchex Chief Executive Russell Horowitz, a Seattle Internet pioneer who co-founded Go2Net in the 1990s, fired his semiautomatic handgun into the air after the unidentified man allegedly dug up dead flowers in his yard and confronted a security guard.

The police report said that Horowitz, 39, took the action because he has received two death threats in the past six months. Tuesday, Horowitz told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he has received threats, but the police officer mistakenly characterized them as death threats.

"There have been threats that have led to security concerns," said Horowitz, who declined to disclose details.
…

Given the circumstances on the night of Sept. 24, Horowitz said that he reacted appropriately. According to the police report, Horowitz saw the man on his video surveillance system digging up the flowers. He then grabbed his handgun and went to investigate. Before firing into the air, Horowitz told police, he believed that the suspect was reaching into a backpack -- possibly to retrieve a weapon.

"If I hadn't been very concerned about the personal threat to the security person who was there and myself, I would have never taken that action," Horowitz said Tuesday. "The last thing I would ever want to do is be in a situation where the threat of a gun exists. ... I decided to take the risk and fire it into the air, rather than at anyone. It was a decision meant to disarm, as opposed to harm."

After the gunshot was fired, the man fell to the ground and skinned his hands and knees. A witness said that the incident occurred about 100 feet from Horowitz's house and that the man ran away.

Discharging a firearm is a crime in Seattle if there is a likelihood that humans, domestic animals or property will be jeopardized.

According to the police report, no one was arrested and no one was seriously injured. Rich Pruitt, a spokesman for the Seattle Police Department, said the incident would most likely be reviewed by detectives. He could not provide further details on the status of the case.

Horowitz said he was told by police that he acted within the law.

Horowitz is a licensed gun owner and after the incident the 9 mm handgun was returned to his possession. Horowitz said he did not know the individual who had wandered onto his 2.3-acre property. Horowitz called 911 shortly after the incident, as did a neighbor and the suspect.

Labels: intruder, WA

Two shot during Tacoma robbery attempt

Two people were taken to a Tacoma hospital Thursday morning after a shooting during a robbery attempt an auto supply store.

Tacoma Police say a man walked into the Schucks Auto Supply store at 72nd and Portland and began putting gasoline into a mini motorcycle on display in the store.

A clerk confronted the man, who pulled a gun and attempted to rob the store. A customer then pulled his own gun and told the suspect to drop his gun. Shots were fired and the suspect was hit.

A store clerk was struck by an errant round.

Police were investigating.

The condition of the two people taken to the hospital was not immediately known.

Two injured in gunfight that interrupts robbery

A Tacoma man who went to an auto parts store to help a friend fix her car Thursday found himself trading gunfire with a would-be robber, shooting the gunman several times, police said. A clerk at the store was hit in the crossfire.

Both the 21-year-old man who witnesses said tried to rob the store and the clerk – a woman in her 30s – are expected to live.

The man who pulled out his gun to stop the robbery – Joe Phillips – was not hurt. Phillips, the father of a 12-year-old daughter, was interviewed by detectives Thursday morning and released. There are no plans to arrest him, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

“When someone points a gun at you, you have a right to defend yourself,” Fulghum said. “From what we hear, he told the guy to put down his gun. He gave him warnings.”

(More--mostly previously reported detail)

Labels: business robbery, WA

Man fires gun, stops break-in at grocery store

A man armed with a handgun stopped an attempted burglary suspect early Tuesday from breaking into Littlerock Grocery, the sheriff's office reported.

The perpetrator was equipped with a hand truck to haul out whatever he planned on stealing, authorities said. He also carried bolt cutters to cut a chain around the door.

He took the tools with him as he fled in a dark-colored pickup, Thurston County sheriff's Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Kimball said.

"It's not unusual to have a smash-and-grab. But it seems to me to be a little more elaborate, a little more 'obvious' would be the word to use," Kimball said.

The attempted burglary was reported about 3:20 a.m. by a neighbor who noticed the perpetrator's pickup in a parking lot across the street. A few minutes later, he saw the perpetrator in front of the store at 6410 128th Ave. S.W., Kimball said.

The 41-year-old neighbor fired one warning shot with a .38- caliber revolver into the ground.

"Which, at 3 in the morning, would get anybody's attention," Kimball said.

The perpetrator heard the shot and ran to his pickup. The neighbor then pointed the gun in the perpetrator's direction and ordered him to stop, Kimball said.

But the perpetrator ignored him. He tossed the hand truck into the pickup and sped off south on Littlerock Road, without turning on his headlights.

Investigators think he had the hand truck to carry out an ATM machine inside the store.

Labels: business burglary, WA

Ice Cream Man Pulls Gun On Would Be Robber

An ice cream man used a gun to scare off a potential robber in Vancouver and police say he did the right thing.

He's a salesman who packs heat along with his ice cream.

"This is the third year I've been in business," Chris Sanders said.

Along with his ice cream, before heading out, Sanders also grabs his gun.

"It's a Keltek 380," Sanders said.

It may seem odd for an ice cream man to be armed, but Sanders says the gun came in handy last Saturday.

"Right up here at the top of this bridge is where the guy flagged me down," Sanders said.

He pulled over, but instead of ice cream the man wanted a ride. Sanders said no.

"As he was walking away he turned and ran towards my vehicle trying to go in through the sliding door which was locked. At that point I grabbed for my 380, chambered around. Then he'd already come in the window. I pointed it at him and he said, 'Oh s***,' and he takes off running," Sanders told KOIN News 6

Police arrested 20-year-old Brandon Kearney and charged him with robbery. They say he had a knife on him.

Investigators say Sanders, who has a valid concealed weapons permit, acted appropriately.

"You have an individual, who can at some points I'm sure carry large sums of money, who might feel he's vulnerable in some of the areas," Officer Ron Stevens said.

"I felt a threat. It was pretty much instinctive. I needed to protect myself," Sanders said.

Sanders knows his vehicle attracts children, that's why he says he keeps the gun out of sight and reach of any of his customers or in this case, crooks.

"I guarantee that's not what he was expecting. That just goes to show you don't mess with the ice cream man," Sanders said.

Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, WA

Watchman fires at car

What was initially reported as a "drive-by shooting" early Monday morning turned out to be a shot fired in a quite different circumstance.

Longview police were dispatched a few minutes after midnight after a young man called from his home in Longview, reporting that someone in a brown van shot at his vehicle when he and two passengers were driving around in the area of the Mint Farm.

"There wasn't any warning," the 22-year-old driver said Monday evening. "There aren't any 'no trespassing' signs out there."

"We saw a muzzle flash, and the windshield bust open," he said. "When I got home, I discovered a huge hole in the hood, and the windshield broke from a fragment. But from the angle, it looked like he was firing directly at me, not at my hood."

Police found a bullet hole in the vehicle, Detective Jim Duscha said.

Police checked out the Mint Farm area and spoke with the night watchman of a truck-driving school, Duscha said.

The watchman told police that he saw a vehicle driving recklessly in the parking lot and cutting cookies on the property. He said he thought the vehicle was going to run him over, so he fired his handgun, Duscha said. No one was injured.

"I think they at least owe me a new windshield," the driver said.

Police made no arrests. The Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney's Office is reviewing the evidence.

Labels: assault, WA

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A man pulled a pistol on a car prowler here Tuesday morning and held him at gunpoint until police arrived, KIRO TV News reported.

Police credit the man with solving a string of car prowls and helping to recover more than $4,000 in stolen property.

Chuck Estes awoke Tuesday to find the roof of his wife's convertible slashed and her stereo system stolen.

Estes told KIRO TV News South Sound Bureau Chief Richard Thompson that, "One thing I can't stand in life is a thief."

Estes said he was driving through his neighborhood when he spotted a vehicle suspected in the theft from his wife's car.

Estes had a .44-caliber Magnum Smith and Wesson pistol with him. He approached the suspect's car, drew his gun and ordered the teenaged occupant to put his hands on the dashboard.

Estes called police who arrested the 16-year-old boy. They also arrested a 21-year-old man they say was an accomplice nearby.

Estes didn't keep the gun -- a revolver with a 6-inch barrel -- pointed very long, he said. He holstered it immediately after determining the suspect didn't pose a threat, he said.

"I made it very clear to stay in the car and that he was not at risk and that I was not a threat," said Estes, 40, who has a concealed weapon permit.

It was about 4 a.m., and Estes was on his way to work when he noticed someone had sliced into his wife's convertible to steal her stereo and speakers. He didn't think he had time to deal with it right away.

But as he headed down the street, he noticed two younger males climbing into a Volkswagen Rabbit loaded with electronics and other equipment. He thought it seemed suspicious and decided to stop. One suspect ran.

Holding his flashlight and gun, Estes approached the driver's side window and ordered the suspect to put his hands on the dashboard. Then he called 9-1-1.

"Hopefully that's the last time I'll have to pull it out of the holster," Estes said.

Labels: concealed carry permit, street property theft, WA

16-year-old, woman arrested in connection with auto break-in

A teenager was arrested early Friday morning after he was interrupted breaking into a car.

A resident in the 900 block of East 53rd Street looked out his kitchen window just after 6 a.m. Friday and saw a large white car parked on the street, with someone breaking into his neighbor’s nearby car.

The resident got a gun and confronted the 16-year-old boy who was rummaging through the car. The white car, with three of the teen’s friends inside, left.

A stereo, a set of speakers and about 200 CDs were missing from the car.

Another neighbor followed the white car to a residence and reported its location to police.

Officers searched the property and found the speakers, stereo and some CDs in a garage. A 22-year-old woman sleeping in the garage was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property. The boy was arrested outside the first home.

Labels: street property theft, WA

Thief Held at Gunpoint in Spokane Valley

A would-be burglar chose the wrong store to break into in the Spokane Valley over the weekend.

Deputies arrested 24-year-old Brian Dukes early Sunday morning at the Fitness Fanatics store on East Trent. Deputies say Dukes broke a window to get in the back door. He then disabled the security system by pulling it off the wall.

The store's owner and a security specialist were notified. The security specialist who is a former ATF agent went to the store armed with a rifle. He held Dukes at gunpoint until authorities arrived.

I was browsing the web this morning and came across your reference to a story from Spokane. I am the "security specialist" referenced in the article. I think this is an example of the media wanting to downplay the importance of civilians using firearms for useful purposes. I am not a "security specialist" but just a computer geek. I didn't have a rifle, I had a Glock 26, the store is cluttered and there are racks of merchandise all over the place so a rifle would not be the ideal choice of weapons. I was an ATF SA many years ago. The perp was armed with a large knife.

Mike Scalera
Spokane, Washington

Labels: business burglary, WA

Argument ends in fatal shooting

A 22-year-old man who had been arguing with his girlfriend was shot and killed early Saturday after another man overheard the argument and tried to break it up, police said.

It happened about 2:40 a.m. at an apartment in the 4300 block of South Union Avenue in Tacoma, said police spokesman Mark Fulghum.

Richard Matthews, who recently moved into his girlfriend’s apartment, pulled a gun on the man who tried to intervene, Fulghum said.

But the would-be peacekeeper, identified by police only as an approximately 30-year-old Tacoma man, also was carrying a gun.

He fired “numerous” shots at Matthews before Matthews could get off a shot, Fulghum said.

Matthews was pronounced dead at the scene, Fulghum said.

No other injuries were reported.

Police officers who happened to be nearby heard the gunfire and arrived soon after the shooting, Fulghum said.

The shooter was cooperative with officers, Fulghum said. Detectives interviewed him and let him go. It will be up to prosecutors to decide whether to charge him with a crime.

Based on what police saw, “This guy just had a quicker draw,” Fulghum said. “The prosecutor will make the decision, but it looks like he didn’t have much choice.”

Labels: assault, domestic dispute, WA

Alleged Burglar Fired On

A would-be burglary suspect is behind bars thanks to some quick thinking neighbors, and one armed with a pistol.

Lashonda Fuchs -Baker is facing residential burglary charges after allegedly trying to break into at least three homes Wednesday morning. One resident fired a warning shot to scare her.

Spokane County Sheriff's deputies were able to track Baker to a home and coaxed her out after about an hour.

Deputies say Baker admitted she was in possession of stolen property and could face additional charges.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Neighbor shoots suspected car prowler

Suspect is in critical condition; shooter's case is under investigation

A 38-year-old car prowler suffered two gunshot wounds and was fighting for his life Thursday after he swung an aluminum bat at a gun-wielding neighbor, police said.

The confrontation occurred just before 5:20 a.m. in the alley behind 3318 W. Walton Ave., Spokane Police Sgt. Gary Warren said. The neighbor told police that he heard suspicious noises, grabbed his .22-caliber pistol and went outside to investigate.

The neighbor, whom police did not name, found the car prowler straddling a mountain bike as he leaned into a black Chevy pickup. The prowler, identified by police as 38-year-old William D. Keele, had used the bat to smash the passenger-side wing window to get inside the truck, Warren said.

"He was inside the truck," Warren said of Keele. "He comes out with a bat … takes a swing and misses. The homeowner has a gun. He doesn't miss."

Warren said Keele has three active warrants for his arrest.

The neighbor, who was in his 50s, fired three shots. One hit Keele in the chest, one hit his foot and one shot apparently missed, Warren said. The neighbor had not been charged in connection with the shooting.

"The state doesn't condone you shooting people for stealing property," Cpl. Jim Muzatko said. "But if someone threatens you, you don't have to wait to become a victim. You don't have to wait until someone hits you with a bat. You do what you do to protect yourself."

(More)

Labels: assault, street property theft, WA

UPDATE: Citizen nabs bank robbery suspect

Deputies have a bank robbery suspect in custody after some quick thinking by a Kelso man.

Cowlitz County deputies got a call from the resident in the 4400 block of Kalama River Road just after reporting they had a person matching the bank robbery suspect on their property. The homeowner held the person at gunpoint until deputies arrived.

The suspect was been identified as Steven W. Driffill, 56 years of West Valley Utah.

Driffill is suspected of robbing a bank in Northeast Portland Tuesday, then leading officers on a chase into Clark Couty, when he disappeared near Kalama. Driffill is also a suspect in two other bank robberies in Oregon.

He was soaking wet and armed with a pistol at the time he was arrested. Police think he was in the Kalama River shortly before being taken in to custody.

Labels: fugitive, WA

Police Say Homeowner Shot Suspected Burglar

Police say a deadly shooting in Vancouver early Friday morning started when a homeowner confronted a man inside his garage.

The shooting happened just before 2:00 a.m. in the 1800 block of S.E. 176th Place.

"We had a homeowner report that he heard noises in his garage," said Officer Ron Stevens with the Vancouver Police Department. "He went to investigate those noises and when he went into the garage, he was confronted by a male subject who was armed. The homeowner shot the subject and the subject died at the scene as a result of his injuries."

Police say that although the suspected burglar was armed with a handgun, the homeowner was not injured in the incident.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Man killed in Tacoma during melee, struggle over rifle

A man was shot to death in Tacoma on Sunday morning in what police said appeared to be a case of self defense.

The incident took place at a house in the 2500 block of South L Street, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

A man who was staying in the house as a guest told officers there was a knock at the front door about 9 a.m. He answered and found a man on the porch asking to speak to a woman who lives at the home, Fulghum said.

The guest said he would get the woman, who apparently was in her bedroom, Fulghum said.

The man who dropped by followed the other fellow into the house. When they arrived at the woman's bedroom door, the man sucker-punched the guest in the head, Fulghum said. A fight then broke out between the two, and the woman who lives in the house and the guest's wife eventually joined the melee, Fulghum said.

At one point, the guest and his assailant spotted a rifle lying nearby and began to struggle over it, police reported.

During the struggle, the guest pulled the gun's trigger, firing one shot that hit the other man and killed him, Fulghum said.

Police took the guest to a local hospital where he was treated for injuries suffered in the fight.

He and the two women were then taken to police headquarters downtown where they were interviewed and released, Fulghum said.

"Nobody has been arrested at this point," he said. "There doesn't seem to be anything malicious. It looks like he was protecting himself."

Labels: assault, WA

Store Owner Talks About Shoot Out

Police say pair of masked robbery suspects walked into this market and pulled guns on the man behind the counter. That clerk was also owner, Uriel Barjas. He says they got away with some money but not before he fired three rounds.

"I acted like I was going to lay on the ground, but instead grabbed my gun," says Barjas. "I straightened up and fired."

Police don't know if the suspects were injured.

It's not the first time Barjas has come face to face with criminals, either. There's been a string of robberies in the area. Store owners are getting together to talk about how to arm themselves.

Labels: business robbery, WA

Before one of his former shoeshine boys attacked him with a screwdriver Wednesday, Longview barber Keith Chuinard thought the man was acting strangely.

Luther "Luke" Moore, 31, came by Vision City Barber Shop at 1311 Hudson St. shortly after noon and asked Chuinard, the owner and his former employer, to play chess.

"I thought nothing of it -- he came around to visit once in awhile," said Chuinard, 70, who said he taught Moore to play the game.

Chuinard noticed that Moore, whom he described as "smart" and "good at" chess, wasn't playing well.

He said Moore got up to use the bathroom twice. After returning the second time, Moore attacked Chuinard, who had his back turned, with Chuinard's own Philips screwdriver, Chuinard said. He said he was stabbed several times in the arm and back.

By 3:30 p.m., Chuinard, who was taken to St. John Medical Center and treated, was back at work. Moore was in custody after police tracked him down at a nearby apartment building.

"He attacked me, I think, with the intent to kill," Chuinard told a Daily News reporter later in the evening. "I didn't know he had punctured me. I grabbed his wrist and slammed him up against the wall. Then I tripped and I was on my back, and I kept kicking him, fighting him off. I got up, and I got a gun out of the drawer here" behind a barber's chair, he said.

Chuinard said Moore ran out of the shop when he saw the gun, a .38 caliber handgun.

Labels: assault, WA

Shooting followed long feud

Gunman had restraining order against slain man accused of threats

A 49-year-old man shot and killed in a neighborhood southeast of Rainier had been accused in the past of making threats and vandalizing the property of the man who gunned him down.

Scott J. Keith, of 15117 McIntosh Lane S.E., died early Friday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle from multiple gunshot wounds. Keith was wounded about 200 yards from his home, on the property of a family with whom he had feuded during the past few years, Thurston County sheriff's Capt. Dan Kimball said.

The shooter, Donald Skewis, 44, and his wife obtained a restraining order last year against Keith after they outlined in court a log of vandalism to their property, intimidating behavior and threats they alleged Keith and his family had made toward them.

The restraining order was in place when Keith approached Skewis around dusk with a baseball bat on Skewis' property on McIntosh Lane, just off 148th Avenue. Skewis ordered him to stop and fired his .357 revolver several times when Keith came toward him, Kimball said.

What prompted the deadly confrontation Thursday was still under investigation, he said.

"There was a history of issues between the shooter and the deceased," Kimball said.

He said Skewis was questioned but is not likely to be charged with a crime because the shooting appears to have been in self-defense.

Investigators found that in addition to the baseball bat, the victim had a footlong, sheathed knife tucked into the back of his pants. His blood was found on Skewis' property.
(MORE)

Labels: assault, WA

Man wounded in knife fight

A man with a “Crocodile Dundee” knife decided that flight was better than fight when his opponent pulled a .357-caliber pistol Monday, Spokane Valley Police said.

The quarrel began, police said, at a small apartment complex at 10625 E. Trent. A Spokane woman and a California man are co-owners of the complex, police said, and the woman had hired her brother-in-law to do electrical work at the building.

The California man came to the site Monday and found that the work failed to meet state building codes, police said. He complained to his female partner, who summoned the brother-in-law, Bradley E. Cooper, 19107 E. Riverside.

As Cooper, 33, and the California man argued over the quality of the work, Cooper pulled what officers described as a “Crocodile Dundee” knife, which was 1 1/2 feet long. He struck the California man in the head with the knife, police said. Uncowed by the Spokane man's bold but somewhat primitive technique, the California man retrieved the .357 from his car, police said. Cooper then opted to leave, police said.

A description of his vehicle was broadcast and Cooper was stopped a short time later at Trent and Pines by Washington State Patrol Trooper Dan Derrick.

Police booked Cooper into jail on a felony charge of second-degree assault. The California man didn't require medical treatment.

Labels: assault, WA

Burglars get surprise from homeowner

When pair kick in the door of home, they are met with shot from pistol

Two burglars found a farmhouse Monday in Spokane County that appeared to be an easy target.

But when they kicked in the door, the two 20-something burglars became targets themselves.

Elroy Dusbabek, 45, told Spokane County Sheriff's deputies that he fired a shot over the heads of the fleeing men who raced away in a purple car.

"Near as we can tell, he didn't hit the bad guys," sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said of the one shot from Dusbabek's .22-caliber semi-automatic target pistol.

The incident started about 1:30 p.m. Monday when the two men approached Dusbabek's home in the 8600 block of North Five Mile Road, Reagan said.

Dusbabek "is usually at work at this time of day," Reagan said. "It was just luck of the draw that he happened to be here today."

The two white males -- one with short brown hair and a flannel shirt, and the second with a shaved head and stubble beard -- knocked on Dusbabek's front door.

"Deciding he didn't want to be bothered by salesmen, he did not answer the door but instead went to an upstairs window to watch," Reagan said in a news release.

Dusbabek heard one of the men walk around to the back of the house. But moments later, both men got into a purple Hyundai-type car and drove away.

Minutes later, Dusbabek heard the rear screen door being opened. As he walked to the back of the house, the door crashed in, Reagan said.

"He yelled, and they took off running," Reagan said. "He cracked off a round to send them on their way."

Dusbabek told deputies that he aimed over the heads of the men and in the direction of the abandoned brick building that formerly housed the Five Mile Elementary School.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Business owner shoots, injures would-be robber

A would-be robber attempting to hold up Western Jewelry and Coin in West Seattle yesterday was confronted with the owner's own handgun and fled the store, shot in the chest.

Gilbert Dorland, 42, had seen shoplifters swipe his antique watches and custom jewelry before, but he had never confronted armed robbers. At 4:19 p.m., two men wearing bandanas over their mouths walked into the store in the 4200 block of Southwest Alaska Street, guns drawn.

"Nobody move," they said before Dorland drew his own handgun and fired, said Matt Tomlinson, a friend who had left the store only minutes before and spoke with the shaken store owner afterward.

"He was definitely broken up," Tomlinson said. "He called me and said he'd just shot somebody. He was being robbed and he shot. He was scared to death."

Police interviewed Dorland and said no charges would be filed.

"It appears to be a completely legitimate use of force," police spokeswoman Deanna Nollette said.

Labels: business robbery, WA

Yakima Man Confronts Burglar

Jose Esparza says he first noticed a strange man trying to pull down the fence in his back yard, but, he says he disappeared after he confronted him. Esparza says he was walking down the hallway when the same man came out of his daughters bedroom holding a toy gun and threatening him.

Esparza says it was a frightening experience not only for him, but also his five year old daughter. He says was hoping the man would cooperate...and he did once Esparza pulled out a real hand gun.

28-year-old Roy Corbray was arrested for the break-in. Police say he was on drugs at the time. Corbray is expected in court tomorrow where he'll face burglary and malicious mischief charges.

Labels: assault, home invasion, WA

Deputies respond to shots-fired call

Sheriff's deputies rushed to a shots-fired call in Hazel Dell early Thursday, but the person who fired the shot turned out to be a bail bondsman.

About 1:25 a.m. Thursday, officers were sent to the Windsor Estates Apartments, 7912 N.E. 18th Ave. They learned that agents from A Affordable Bail Bonds had fought with and detained a wanted felon who was armed with a gun. In the process, an agent fired a shot into the ground.

The wanted man, Daniel Gene Hoffman, was taken to the Clark County Jail on suspicion of an earlier first-degree assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a sheriff's bulletin.

His girlfriend, Misty Iverson, was arrested for a previously issued warrant.

Sheriff's Cmdr. Tony Barnes said he was aware of no plans to charge the bail bondsman with a crime for discharging a gun in a restricted area.

"We'd prefer they didn't fire guns, even if into the ground, but there's no controlling legislation over bail bondsmen," Barnes said.

Labels: fugitive, WA

Burglary Suspect Arrested After Earlier Shots Fired

An attempted burglary, gunfire, and a suspect on the run. It all started at a house at 26th and Havana Thursday morning.

It all started just before 7am Thursday morning.Sheriff's deputies rush to a home at 26th and Havana, after the homeowner tries to stop a burglar.Sheriff Mark Sterk said, "He confronted the suspect, ran, struggled, pulled shotgun. At least one round went off."

The suspect got away, witnesses say in this white commercial van. A short time later deputies responded to a home on south Ferrell near 8th, where the suspect allegedly dumped the van. "He went in the house, told them he'd been shot, and needed to borrow the car, he left in the green Cadillac," Sterk said.

About four hours later that green Cadillac was tracked to a home near 6th and Conklin. Officers surrounded it and called for the suspect to come out.

Forty-four year old Phillip Moore appeared, dressed in a suit, yelling out to officers down the street, before finally surrendering. The sheriff says there's strong evidence tying Moore to the Havana burglary. "He does have a minor injury to one of his legs, so it does tie him to the information we've got," Sterk said.

Moore is in jail, facing first-degree burglary and firearm charges. But detectives say given the crime scene is spread out over three neighborhoods, this investigation is far from over.

Labels: residence burglary, WA

Man shoots, kills dog that charged at family

A man gunned down a pit bull Monday after he said is charged to within a foot of him and his family. The man's family had been repeatedly menaced by the dog, Bellevue police Officer Michael Chiu said.

The shooting occurred in the 1600 block of 171st Avenue Northeast about 6 p.m., after the man's wife and child tried to leave their house and were hemmed in by the dog in the driveway.

When the animal approached them at their vehicle, the mother told her child not to move and used her cell phone to call her husband in the house. They then got inside their van.

The husband came out and the dog charged him. The man jumped in his pickup and retrieved his handgun, Chiu said. The man left the pickup and approached his wife's van. The family had tried to return to the house when the dog charged back at them from across the street.

That's when the man shot the dog, which died in the street.

No charges have been filed in the dog's death. "It appears to be self-defense," Chiu said.

Police had warned the dog's owner hours earlier because of complaints from other neighbors.

Labels: animal, WA

Bullets fly in holdup of Beacon Hill store

Grocer grazed, but he wounds robber; customer shot, too

Between errands yesterday, Christine Gonzalez decided to swing by the Latin American grocery that her husband, Tony, has run on Beacon Hill for 11 years, just stopping by to chat on an ordinary Thursday afternoon.

But this time was different.

"I walked in to see a man holding a gun on my husband and asking him for all the money in the till," she said last night.

And then it got worse.

"All of a sudden, there were guns being fired and all hell broke loose," she said, "and I'm terrified, and I'm thinking he's going to shoot Tony."

He did shoot Tony, the bullet grazing Gonzalez's left hand between his ring finger and little finger.

But Tony shot back. The robber, wounded, fell by the door, then staggered down the sidewalk before collapsing, scattering money in the street, Christine Gonzalez said. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center and likely will survive, police said.

A customer in the store also was hit by a bullet, in the cheek, Christine Gonzalez said.

Neither the holdup man nor the injured customer was identified by police. The robber, who police said dropped his handgun at the store, has not been charged. A 23-year-old Burien man was arrested in an alley behind the store as a suspected accomplice, police said.

...

After a rash of holdups at mom-and-pop stores was reported in the newspapers a few years ago, Tony Gonzalez bought a gun for protection at work, his wife said. But, although other businesses in the neighborhood have been held up, he never had to pull his weapon -- until 2:15 p.m. yesterday.

Labels: business robbery, WA

Josh Lenoue had stepped onto his front porch when he heard noises coming from the woods near his neighbor's property.

It was after sunset, and he could see lights that flickered off from the trees when he walked by to investigate.

Lenoue hurried back to his house, grabbed a flashlight and a .22-caliber handgun, summoned his German shepherd and went back outside.

As he crept closer to the area at 5:55 p.m. Wednesday, three men appeared out of the darkness, approaching him.

The 29-year-old commercial truck driver pointed his gun and ordered them to the ground.

It turned out that Lenoue had observed car headlights. He had interrupted three men who, according to police, were taking parts from a stolen car.

"As soon as I shined the flashlight on them, I knew what was going on," Lenoue said Thursday, saying the men told him they were repairing the car for a friend.

Lenoue used his cell phone to call 9-1-1 while he watched over the three men, drawing Thurston County Sheriff's deputies to his neighborhood in the 8100 block of 61st Avenue Northeast, near Tolmie State Park. Deputies arrested three male suspects.

The sheriff's office doesn't encourage citizens to take matters into their own hands, sheriff's Capt. Dan Kimball said. But, without Lenoue's intervention, deputies probably would have had little success in tracking the thieves, he said.

Labels: street property theft, WA