9/2/09
Corpus Christi, Texas
From the Caller-Times of August XX, 2009
Business owner shoots at intruder early Wednesday
A man sleeping at his business in the 6700 block of Weber Road fired several shots at a man who busted the front door glass about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
Police later found a maroon Chevrolet Suburban backed up to the shop’s door with a large flat screen TV on the ground, police said in a news release. Police suspect the man attempted to re-enter the store to get another TV when the owner shot at him, the release said. A witness heard the shots and a man shout that he was shot.
About an hour later, a 33-year-old man walked into Bay Area Hospital emergency room with a gunshot wound on his hand, Capt. Todd Green said.
He was placed under police guard pending possible burglary charges, Green said.
The owner’s weapon was taken by police for evidence processing.
Labels: business burglary, TX
5/18/09
Sacramento, California
From the May 18, 2009 Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County sheriff's detectives continue to investigate the fatal shooting this morning of a man they say was breaking into a coin and jewelry.
The suspect was killed by the owner of the store on the 4900 block of Marconi Avenue. The 65-year-old owner has not been arrested, a sheriff's spokesman said.
The district attorney will determine if any charges are filed against the owner, based on results of the sheriff's investigation.
The shop owner was inside the store when the incident began at about 4:15 a.m. Investigators are gathering evidence that will help determine if the shooting was justified.
Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran said two men approached the store, which had been the target of another break-in on April 29. This time, the owner was inside and called the sheriff's department to report two men in their mid-20s and wearing black ski masks trying to enter.
Curran said that as the owner spoke on the phone with department personnel, the person taking the call heard several gunshots.
"Then the business owner said one subject was down in the parking lot," Curran said.
Deputies arrived to find a body in the park
ing lot. Fire department emergency personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene.
Labels: business burglary, CA, senior
4/25/09
Stites, Idaho
From KLEW of April 24, 2009
Kamiah man shot and killed during alleged break-in in Stites
The FBI and Nez Perce Tribal Police are investigating a fatal shooting at that took place at a grocery store in Stites early Thursday morning.
It happened during an apparent attempted break-in
The Idaho County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a 21-year-old Kamiah man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was being withheld until family was notified.
He was one of two men who were reportedly trying to break into the Stites Grocery Store. He was shot and killed during the alleged break-in. The Sheriff's Office says the other suspect ran from the scene. Witnesses say the pair came in through a fan vent in the back of the store.
The grocery store owner, who asked to not be identified, said a man was working on an upstairs computer at the store when he heard a noise. She said that's when one of the alleged would-be burglars "came at" the man who then shot the alleged burglar in the leg. She says when the alleged burglar didn't stop, the man fired a second shot into his chest.
The Idaho County Sheriff's Dispatch Center said the call came in at 3:24 a.m. from the man who had done the shooting, saying he had shot an intruder in the store.
It was unknown if either alleged intruder was armed.
Upon arrival, deputies secured the scene while the Clearwater Valley Ambulance stood by.
The FBI is leading the investigation because the man who was killed is believed to be a Nez Perce Tribal member and the shooting took place on reservation land.
Labels: business burglary, ID
3/7/09
San Diego, California
From Channel 10 of March 3, 2009
Old Town Jewelry Store Owner Stops Robbery With Gun
Two men broke into a jewelry store Tuesday morning in Old Town and were shot at by the shop's owner, police said.
The owner of Celebrity Gems and Jewelry at 2529 Congress St. was investigating a noise around 3:15 a.m. and discovered two men in dark clothing taking merchandise, San Diego police Sgt. Bob Dare said.
One of the men appeared to have a handgun and turned toward the shop owner, who then fired two shots toward the thieves, Dare said.
It was not immediately clear whether either of the thieves was wounded. They fled in a red sport utility vehicle, possibly a Ford Explorer, Dare said.
The jewelry shop owner was not hurt.
Police described the thieves as Hispanic males, around 20 to 25 years old. One was about 5 feet 6 and 145 pounds, while the second was 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 with a thin build, Dare said.
Labels: business burglary, CA
2/19/09
Channelview, Texas
From February 11, 2009 Fox News in Houston:
HOUSTON - A man who Sheriff's deputies say was trying burglarize a home is taken by helicopter to the hospital after he is shot.
The shooting took place after 12 a.m. Wednesday in a business at the intersection of Wadsworth Street and Talcott Street in Channelview.
Harris County Sheriff's investigators have not determined if a clerk or a security guard shot the would-be burglar.
Labels: business burglary, TX
Houston, Texas
From February 11, 2009 KTRK channel 13:
Irvin Horton, 64, was notified by his burglar alarm company of an active alarm at his business at 1012 Avenue Oaks shortly before 3am. When he arrived, he observed a suspicious vehicle occupied by the suspect, parked in the driveway adjacent to his business. Horton also noticed the gate to his business had been forced open and articles had been removed from a locked storage trailer inside the property.
Police say Horton confronted the suspect while the man was inside the vehicle and told him to get out. The suspect refused and made a sudden movement inside the vehicle and reached for an unknown article.
The suspect then started the vehicle and attempted to strike Horton as he attempted to drive away. Horton fired at the vehicle's front tire. The suspect continued to drive away while Horton continued to fire additional shots at the fleeing vehicle. The suspect lost control of the vehicle and struck a concrete drainage culvert at Robertson and Woodard.
The suspect, described only as a Hispanic male, was transported to Ben Taub General Hospital in critical condition from injuries sustained during the incident. Horton was not injured.
Labels: business burglary, TX
12/9/08
Catawba, North Carolina
From WSOC of December 6, 2008
Store Owner Shoots Suspected Robbers
The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said a business owner shot and killed a suspected robber, and hurt another one.
Deputies said it happened at 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Randy Willis, owner of Willis Packaging on Highway 10, went to his store because the alarm was going off. When Willis got there, deputies said he saw a man coming out of his store with a shotgun.
Willis and the robber struggled, and deputies said Willis pulled out a pistol and shot the robber, killing him.
Deputies said another robber, 52-year-old Arnold Ray Jr., had broken into the store. Ray jumped Willis, and Willis shot him as well, this time in the shoulder.
Deputies said the two men had broken into the store through the front window. They also said a woman, Jean Holman, dropped the two men off. Holman is charged with breaking and entering and larceny.
The sheriff’s office said Ray was taken to the hospital. Authorities have not released the deceased man’s name. Authorities said Willis hurt several ribs during the altercations, but did not go to the hospital.
Ray is charged with breaking and entering, larceny, robbery and kidnapping.
Willis was not charged. Deputies said the case will be handed over to the district attorney.
Labels: assault, business burglary, NC
9/2/08
Henry County, Virginia
From the Madison Messenger of September 2, 2008
Robbery thwarted by pharmacist with gun
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who attempted to rob Harder’s Pharmacy in Bassett on Saturday morning.
A white male, with his face partially covered, entered the store on Fairystone Park Highway at about 10 a.m. and demanded that the pharmacist give him all the OxyContin and pain pills in the store, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The pharmacist pulled a handgun and the would-be robber ran out of the store and got into the passenger seat of a vehicle parked across the street, authorities said.
The driver then pulled out and backed up the street toward Riverside Drive, the release states.
The sheriff’s office encourages anyone with information about the crime to call (276) 638-8751.
Labels: business burglary, VA
7/24/08
Mercedes, Texas
From The Monitor of July 21, 2008
Sheriff: Immigrant shot burglar teen
An illegal immigrant tasked with guarding a convenience store shot and killed a teenager who attempted to burglarize it, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said Monday.
Silvestre Delgadillo, 28, remained on the run and authorities had "no idea" whether he fled to Mexico, Treviño said.
Delgadillo, who was convicted in 2005 on a felony drug charge, has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony.
But the actual homicide is complicated by Texas' castle law, which allows people to use lethal force to defend themselves and their property.
Delgadillo is accused of shooting Roberto Garcia, 17, late Friday night.
"He is there to protect his residence - protect the business - under the direction of the owner," Treviño said.
He said he will submit the case to the District Attorney's office, which will then present it to a grand jury. The grand jury will determine whether to charge Delgadillo in connection with the homicide.
Delgadillo, who was deported after being released from prison earlier this year, could also be charged with a felony for illegally re-entering the country.
The shooting occurred late Friday or early Saturday, Treviño said, when Garcia and Ramiro Garza and Eloy Santana, both 17, tried to burglarize Valeria's Drive Thru convenience store by breaking through its roof.
Delgadillo was living inside the business, though, and had been told by store owner Olivia Lopez, 34, to guard it with a gun she provided, Treviño said. Delgadillo shot Garcia during the burglary, hitting him in the lung and artery, Treviño said. The wound killed Garcia within minutes.
Lopez, the storeowner, will be charged with failure to report a felony because she was not candid with police about the shooting, Treviño said. A grand jury would also have to decide whether she could face any sort of homicide charges.
"Ms. Lopez gave a convicted felon a firearm," Treviño said. "That's against the law. She lied to us from the onset of the investigation. That's against the law."
Garcia's accomplices will also be charged with burglary, Treviño said.
**Note**
While there were illegal actions that led up to this defensive gun use, the defense itself was by all appearances justified, hence our use of it here on the blog.
Labels: business burglary, illegal alien, TX
7/10/08
Garland, Texas
From the July 10, 2008 Dallas Morning News:
Garland police say they do not plan to file charges against a 25-year-old man who fatally shot a suspected copper thief this morning.The incident happened shortly before 1:20 a.m. at Bargain Town – Variety & Furniture store in the 5700 block of Broadway Boulevard, police said.
The business owner’s son had been guarding the roof after the store had been recently hit by copper thieves. The son said he confronted a man who had climbed on the roof. The son fired his gun, striking the man in the torso, police said. The man fled, climbing back down the building and collapsing on the ground.
Paramedics arrived to find the man had died. Police said he had a small backpack with tools investigators believe were used to steal copper.
Labels: business burglary, TX
5/29/08
Fort Worth, Texas
From WFAA of May 23, 2008
Guard shoots man at FW grocery store
A man suspected of stealing may have been fatally shot outside a Fort Worth grocery store after he was followed to his car.
The incident began after a Sack 'n Save manager became suspicious of a man exiting the store who he believed was carrying stolen merchandise at around 8:25 p.m., authorities said.
The manager followed the man into the store's parking lot in the 3400 block of Altamesa Boulevard and confronted him as he got into a white truck.
As the manager attempted to detain the man, the suspect began to drive off. A security guard, who had walked outside to check on the manager, said the truck drove straight towards him, which was when he fired a shot at the vehicle. The truck fled the scene.
Authorities later discovered a man was admitted with a gunshot wound to the Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth. The man, who police believe may have been the driver of the white truck, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Labels: business burglary, private security, TX
Sumpter County, South Carolina
From WLTX of May 25, 2008
Store Owner Shoots Robbery Suspects
After a weekend full of robberies in Sumter County, deputies are investigating another incident that they don't believe are related to the other four.
Deputies say that early Saturday morning, two teenagers broke in to Dixon's Grocery on Highway 261 in Rembert.
Authorities say that the owner of the store arrived and was able to shoot two of the suspects with bird shots, who were attempting to steal alcohol. When Sumter County deputies arrived at Dixon's, the suspects had taken off.
An incident report says that Sumter dispatch received a call from 17-year-old Philip Steinle, who said he was on his way to the hospital with two people who had been shot in a neighborhood behind Wal-Mart on Broad Street.
Steinle was pulled over by a city police officer, who discovered that the two passengers had apparently been shot by a shotgun with a bird shot. The city officer was then notified by a Sumter County deputy of the incident at Dixon's Grocery.
One of the teens, a 16-year-old from Hopkins, is at Sumter's Tuomey Hospital in fair condition, while the other, 17-year-old Dontrell Jenkins, was airlifted to Palmetto Richland.
Steinle admitted to authorities that he waited in a car while Jenkins and the 16-year-old attempted to break in to Dixon's. Steinle said that both teens ran back to the car, injured.
Steinle was taken to the Sumter County jail, where he is being charged with burglary and larceny.
Labels: business burglary, minor offender, SC
5/14/08
Orange County, Florida
From WFTV of May 14, 2008
Business Owner Shoots At Suspects After Walking In On Robbery
Orange County deputies are searching for one of two armed suspects who got into a shootout with a man when he caught them burglarizing his business and it happened next to a daycare full of children.
The shootout happened at the All Family Chiropractic Center in Pine Hills (see map) and, with bullets flying into a busy street, investigators said it's amazing no one was hit. The suspects never got to fill their U-Haul with any loot. They ditched it a short distance from the office where witnesses heard the owner exchange gunfire with two men who broke into his business.
"I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was firecrackers early in the morning, but it was not," said witness Parker McPhee.
Orange markers in Pine Hills Road marked some of the bullets made it into the street Wednesday morning. Investigators said the owner was checking out a burglar alarm at his office when he caught two men in the act.
"When they see him, they are armed, and they open fire on him. He also was armed and he returns fire on them," said Jeff Williamson, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies caught one of the men soon after they parked the U-Haul between two houses.
The shootout happened next to the Tiny Praying Hands daycare, where more than 20 kids were already inside. Still, the owner defended her neighbor's decision to shoot back at the burglars.
"I hope they catch the guys who did this. You have a right to protect your business. We get up every morning, work hard and it's not right that people come in and take what we have," Renee Harris said.
Deputies have not identified any of the suspects. Deputies caught one of them, but they're searching for a second man who ran off on foot.
Labels: business burglary, FL
4/30/08
Overland Park, Kansas
From the Kansas City Star of April 30, 2008
Burglar greeted by gunfire
Overland Park police are investigating a business burglary where an employee fired shots at a suspect. But the suspect, who may have been hit, was able to get away.
The incident occurred at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday at Ratliff Guttering Company in the 5000 block of Mackey Street.
Police said a company employee had been sleeping in an apartment inside the business when he heard a loud crash coming from the garage area. The employee grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun and went to the garage area to investigate.
The employee saw the garage door partially open and then saw a man inside near one of the company’s trucks. He then fired a shot and heard the man yell. The intruder then ran towards the garage door and the employee fired again.
Police found blood on the garage floor but could not find the intruder anywhere. They alerted hospitals and other area law enforcement agencies.
Labels: business burglary, KS
4/28/08
Baytown, Texas
From Click2Houston of April 28, 2008
Restaurant Owner Fatally Shoots Intruder
A restaurant owner fatally shot a man who broke into his east Harris County business on Sunday, officials told KPRC Local 2.
Harris County sheriff's deputies said an alarm company notified the owner of 4 Corners BBQ that someone may have been inside the restaurant on Decker Road shortly before noon.
Investigators said the owner went to the business and found a broken window and a man inside.
The owner fired one shot inside the building, fatally wounding the man.
The man's identity was not released.
Detectives said the case would be referred to a Harris County grand jury without charges.
Labels: business burglary, TX
3/23/08
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
From WPXI of March 23, 2008
Suspect Shot In Tattoo Parlor Robbery
A tattoo parlor on the corner of Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue in Dravosburg was robbed at 9:15 p.m. Saturday night.
The suspect, who is described as a 6-foot-5-inch 250-pound male of unknown race, escaped on foot with $200. But that's not all the robber left with.
The owner of the business told police that he believes he may have shot the suspect in the back.
Shortly afterwards, police responded to a call from a man who said he was shot in the back at an address 1/2 of a mile away from the scene of the robbery. It is unknown whether these two incidents are related.
Mckeesport police and Allegheny County homicide detectives are not releasing any information about the investigation at this time.
Labels: business burglary, PA
3/19/08
Scott County, Indiana
From the Louisville Courier-Journal of March 18, 2008
Two men wounded at Austin business
Two Scott County men are recovering from gunshot wounds at University Hospital in Louisville after they were wounded last night on the property of a modular home dealership in Austin.
Malcolm Abner, 28, and Michael West, 33, are listed in fair condition today.
Scott County Sheriff John Lizenby said 32-year-old Chester Stacey told officers that he shot the men when they came at him as he investigated what he thought were people stealing things at Countryside Mobile Homes at 2771 E Ind. 256 in Austin.
Stacey is the son of Countryside owner Grover Stacey.
Lizenby said a Scott County officer who had been called to the scene to investigate possible trespassers was talking to the elder Stacey when they heard voices and then heard gunshots in a field on the property.
Officer Joe Johnson found the younger Stacey holding a 9-mm automatic handgun with Abner down in front of him.
West later came out of the field and told an Indiana state trooper that he’d been shot.
Lizenby said this morning that no one has been charged but the investigation is continuing. He said officers are searching for two other men that Chester Stacey said were also in the field.
Labels: business burglary, IN
3/6/08
Smyrna, Tennessee
From News Channel 5 of March 5, 2008
Clerk Defends Self Against Would-Be Burglars
A convenience store employee shot into the parking lot to prevent two men from breaking into the business.
It happened around 4 a.m. Wednesday at the Almaville Market. It is off Interstate 24 in an unincorporated area of Rutherford County known as the Almaville community.
The incident was recorded by the store's surveillance system.
After the men smashed a large rock through a window, a cook picked up a gun and started shooting.
The men thought no one was inside the business.
"I was scared, but I think anger took over," said Donna Blanks.
Blanks is a cook and arrives early to prepare meals for customers.
She said she started to shout and shoot.
"I scared them like they scared me. No quite as much. They got gone," she said.
No one was hurt.
Sheriff's deputies told the woman she acted within her rights to shoot at the suspects as long as she was inside the store.
If anyone has any information about this crime, they should call Rutherford County Crime Stoppers at 893-STOP (7867).
Labels: business burglary, TN
2/26/08
Bakersfield, California
From KERO of February 26, 2008
Motorcycle Shop Owner Shoots At Intruder
Police are still looking for a burglar who may have been shot by a business owner in central Bakersfield Tuesday morning.
The Bakersfield Police Department said an alarm tipped off the owner at about 4:30 a.m. at a motorcycle repair shop on Chester Lane.
Police said when he arrived, he noticed someone inside the garage. They said the man then charged at the owner, who managed to get off several rounds from a pistol.
It's unknown if the man was hit. The man escaped.
Labels: business burglary, CA
2/22/08
Los Angeles, California
From the February 22, 2008 Torrance (California) Daily Breeze:
An intended burglary victim shot at four men breaking into a business in the Harbor Gateway area early this morning.
Los Angeles Police spokesman Richard French said the suspects reportedly entered a building at 18710 S. Normandie Avenue at about 5:30 a.m. Someone in the building, who was described as a victim, fired an unknown amount of rounds at the suspects, French said.
One of the suspects was shot in the hip and taken to a nearby hospital after police arrived. A second suspect was taken into custody, but two suspects got away, French said.
The victim was not injured.
French did not say whether the suspects were attempting to burglarize a marijuana dispensary that is located in that building.
Labels: business burglary, CA
Castle Hayne, North Carolina
From the February 21, 2008 North Carolina Star-News:
About 8:55 p.m. Tuesday, an Inter-Pol guard spotted two men scaling a fence at a business with a history of break-ins, Guarascio said. He declined to name the business, citing confidentiality. But an official with county dispatch said Inter-Pol officers said they were at a business in the 300 block of Chesterfield Road. Guarascio said that address is near his client's business, but isn't where the incident occurred.
Inter-Pol's armed guards, who don't have arrest powers, chased the suspects into the woods, Guarascio said.
When the guards cornered the suspects, one turned and charged at them with what appeared to be a shotgun. After shouting multiple orders, a security guard fired three shots. The incident was over shortly after 9 p.m., but Inter-Pol continued to canvass the area until 11:30 p.m.
Inter-Pol officers returned Wednesday morning but found no blood trails, and no one had checked into New Hanover County hospitals with a gunshot wound, Guarascio said. He's continuing to investigate the incident and search for suspects. And while he will file a report with Private Protective Services, an oversight board with N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office, an outside investigation is unlikely since apparently no one was injured, Guarascio said.
Labels: business burglary, NC, private security
1/26/08
Houston, Texas
From Click2Houston of January 23, 2008
Grocery Store Guard Shoots At Shoplifting Suspect
A grocery store security guard opened fire on a shoplifting suspect on Tuesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Houston police said the guard at the Fiesta store on Hillcroft Street near Bellaire Boulevard spotted the man inside the store at about 6:45 p.m.
The guard was waiting for the man as he left the store, officials said. The man elbowed the guard as he tried to stop him, police said.
Investigators said the guard fired a warning shot as the man ran away.
Police tracked the man down about a block away. An ambulance was called out to treat the man for an injury he suffered when he fell on concrete.
Labels: business burglary, private security, TX
12/27/07
Dallas, Texas
From the Fort Worth Star Telegram of December 27, 2007
Guard fatally shoots intruder in Dallas business
A man who reportedly sneaked into an east Dallas business late Wednesday was fatally shot by a man who was guarding the place, police said.
The shooting was a reported at 9:08 p.m. at the business in the 4300 block of Elm Street, which is east of the intersection of North Haskell Avenue. The neighborhood is a few blocks east of Baylor University Medical Center.
The man who was shot did not have an identification with him, but he appeared to be in his mid 40s, said Sgt. Bruce McDonald, a homicide detective.
A 24-year-old man who was hired to guard the business told police that he heard a garage door opening, but the remote-control opener had been stolen in an earlier burglary, McDonald said.
The guard then confronted the man, McDonald said. The guard said the man approached him in a threatening manner so he shot him with a handgun, McDonald said.
Investigators are trying to identify the dead man by means of his fingerprints, McDonald said.
The case, he added, will be turned over to a Dallas County grand jury which will determine whether or not the guard should face charges for shooting the man. Texas law states that a person can use deadly force to defend themselves or their property.
Further links:
Business Intruder Fatally Shot
Slain burglar had garage door opener from previous break-in at business
Labels: business burglary, private security, TX
11/28/07
Akron, Ohio
From the November 28, 2007 Akron Beacon Journal:
In spite of yelling "APD" (for Akron Police Department), this was not an officer.After several restless nights, Manfreda and his partner's patience was rewarded.
''Six-eighteen. That's when we heard the glass breaking at the rear door and John said: 'It's happening','' Manfreda said.
Manfreda said he was amazed at how swiftly Polen made it from the broken rear door to within steps of the office.
''If I had been alone, I don't know what I would have done,'' Manfreda said.
As it was his partner pulled a gun on the intruder and yelled; ''Freeze APD,'' Manfreda said.
This immediately got Polen's attention, Manfreda said. The homeless man dropped to the ground.
Manfreda said Polen had come equipped with a crowbar, a large wrench, a hammer and a razor.
Manfreda said he was surprised when Polen, with a gun pointed at him, grabbed the crowbar and got to his feet.
''I thought he was going to run, but he didn't. He just said ''shoot me'' and start coming at us. It was like he didn't care about life.
''We had to hit him with the hammer just enough to make him drop the crowbar. We could have shot him,'' he said, ''but nobody wants to kill anybody.''
A relieved Manfreda called police. Within two minutes police arrived to take Polen off their hands.
Edwards said Polen was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.
''At this time, Kevin Polen is charged with breaking and entering and possession of criminal tools,'' Edwards said.
Labels: business burglary, OH
11/2/07
Atlanta, Georgia
From October 30, 2007 WGCL channel 46:
ATLANTA -- A witness fired shots at some burglars at a boutique in Atlanta Tuesday morning, police said.
Police said the burglars broke out a window at the Urban Fusion boutique on Peters Street around 4 a.m.
While the burglars were trying to carry out merchandise, a person living in an apartment across the street saw them and began firing shots.
The men dropped the merchandise and ran away, police said.
Police haven’t said who the shooter was.
Labels: business burglary, GA
10/27/07
Dallas, Texas
From the Dallas Morning News of October 26, 2007
Scrap yard owner shoots burglary suspect in armpit
A scrap yard owner shot a burglary suspect Thursday evening in South Dallas. The wounded man is being treated at a local hospital and is expected to survive. Police are trying to determine his identity.
The business owner told police that he caught the man taking a radiator from his scrap yard in the 4900 block of South Lamar Street. When the owner told the man he was calling police, the suspect dropped the radiator, said he wasn't going back to jail and began walking toward him.
The business owner told police that he fired two shots in the air and that a third struck the suspect's armpit as he climbed over a fence.
The man was caught nearby.
Labels: business burglary, TX
10/17/07
Gary, Indiana
From Merrillville’s The Post Tribune of October 17, 2007
Man shot by owner charged in burglary
A man wounded early Monday has been charged with burglary.
Antoine D. Whitehead, 19, faces up to eight years in jail if convicted of the charge.
Whitehead was arrested at The Methodist Hospitals in Gary where he was being treated for a gunshot wound.
Mustafa Alayah, owner of Dave's Tire Shop, told Detective Dan Callahan he heard noises at his business and saw shadows, then fired his gun.
Investigators found the cash register at the shop had been opened by intruders, court records state.
Labels: business burglary, IN
10/15/07
Dallas, Texas
From Dallas’ WFAA.com of October 15, 2007
Man kills 2 suspected burglars in 3 weeksFrom Fort Worth’s MyFoxFW.com of November 20, 2007
A Ledbetter-area business owner fatally shot a suspected burglar Sunday morning – the second time in three weeks that he killed an intruder, Dallas police said.
James Walton, owner of Able Walton Machine & Welding in the 2000 block of Chalk Hill Road in West Dallas, was alerted to the intruder when his motion sensor system activated about 9 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Mr. Walton, who also lives at his business, went downstairs with a shotgun and fired at a man who had broken in. The intruder was later identified by police as Jimmy Gannon of Ferris.
Police said Mr. Walton also noticed another man outside Sunday. Mr. Walton shot and wounded that man. He escaped, but a witness eventually led police to him. The man, whom police did not immediately identify, was questioned by officers Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Gannon, 37, was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where he died.
Police said Mr. Walton is allowed to protect his property. No charges were filed against him Sunday, though the case will be referred to a grand jury, police said.
"He's got a right to defend his property. What gives a stranger the right to go in and vandalize or burglarize his business?" said Dallas police Sgt. Gene Reyes. "He's within every legal right to do this."
Mr. Walton could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Dallas police Sgt. Andrew Harvey said he doesn't believe anything was stolen from Mr. Walton's business on Sunday.
On Sept. 22, Mr. Walton shot and killed a man he saw climbing through a pried-open window of his business, police said. The intruder was later identified as Raul Laureles. That incident also was referred to a grand jury.
Dallas Man 'Justified' in Shooting Two Burglars on His Property, Grand Jury Says
The owner of a West Dallas machine shop will not face charges for shooting and killing two burglars on his property.
A Grand Jury determined the actions of James Walton were justified.
Walton shot the two men while they were each committing separate burglaries at the shop where he works and lives.
He told FOX 4 that he is relieved the ordeal is over.
Police responded to at least 42 calls for burglaries and thefts at Walton's place before the shootings.
Labels: business burglary, TX
10/14/07
Schenectady, New York
From Schenectady’s Fox23News.com of October 14, 2007
Schenectady Store Owner Shoots Burglary Suspect
A Schenectady shop owner tells FOX23 News that he confronted and shot a man who he says broke into his store early Sunday morning.
Police say the alleged burglar tried to leave the scene of the crime and came face-to-face with the store's owner who was armed with a shotgun.
Investigators tell us that 21-year-old John Sayers of Schenectady is recovering at Albany Medical Center on Sunday night.
Police say Sayers broke into Funn Electronics on Albany Street in Schenectady some time before 6:00 a.m. on Sunday.
The shop owner and his son live above the store.
They tell FOX23 News that they heard glass breaking and went to investigate.
They say that's when they found Sayers inside the building, armed with a wrench.
When the alleged burglar tried to leave, the store owner shot him.
Schenectady Police arrived and arrested Sayers who now faces burglary and criminal mischief charges.
The shop owner's son says he recognized Sayers as a customer of the store.
Labels: business burglary, NY
10/8/07
Grand Rapids, Michigan
From Grand Rapids’ WOODtv.com of October 8, 2007
Photographer shoots, kills intruderFrom the Grand Rapids Press of October 16, 2007
A well-known local photographer shot an intruder to death early Monday morning when the man broke into the gallery, according to police.
About 12:30 a.m. Monday, people who live in apartments above the photography shop on Division Avenue just north of Cherry Street heard breaking glass and a popping sound, and called 911.
Detectives say a man smashed the front window to get in, waking up the business owner who lives just behind the shop.
Allen Stevenson, 43, of Muskegon Heights confronted the owner, Jeff Dykehouse, who then allegedly shot the intruder. Stevenson was dying on the floor when police arrived on scene and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Dykehouse is a well-known Grand Rapids photographer who spearheaded "Emily's Big Picture Project." Dykehouse photographed pediatric Hospice patients free of charge. He lost his own child to leukemia.
Grand Rapids Police Captain Jeffrey Hertel said, "When officers arrived, the individual was inside the business, lying inside the front door. There's broken glass, so there's some indication there was some type of break-in."
Police have not determined how many gunshots were fired and have been talking with people who live nearby. A gun has been recovered.
A neighboring artisan says the gallery's owner has been targeted before.
Stevenson previously was convicted for breaking-and-entering, possessing burglar tools, and receiving and concealing a motor vehicle.
Shooting of burglar ruled justified
Rattled by sounds of a burglar breaking into his downtown photography studio and apartment, Jeff Dykehouse called a neighbor in the early hours of Oct. 8, intending to ask if he could see what was going on from his vantage point.
Before that talk could take place, authorities say, Dykehouse shot and killed Allen Stevenson inside the 120 S. Division Ave. building.
It was the third time in under a year the artist had faced threats from an intruder.
Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth was to announce today he will not file charges against Dykehouse for the fatal shooting. Forsyth's conclusion that Dykehouse, 45, acted in self-defense was based in part on the actions of Stevenson, a 43-year-old convicted felon, and on Dykehouse's prior experiences.
Labels: business burglary, MI
9/22/07
Dallas, Texas
From Dallas’ NBC5i.com of September 22, 2007
Business Owner Shoots, Kills Burglar, Police SayFrom the Dallas Morning News of September 22, 2007
Dallas police said a man shot and killed a burglar who broke into his business early Saturday, NBC 5 reported.
The shooting happened at Walton Machine and Welding in the 2000 block of Chalk Hill Road, police said.
Police did not release the deceased man's identity.
There was no word on whether the business owner will face charges.
Ledbetter shop owner shoots, kills intruder
A business owner shot a 43-year-old man he saw breaking into his machine shop early Saturday morning, police said.
About 2 a.m., the owner of Able Walton Machine & Welding, who lives at the site in the 2000 block of Chalk Hill Road, awoke to an alarm sounding, police said. He saw a man, later identified by authorities as Raul Laureles, climbing through a pried-open window.
The businessman fired, killing Mr. Laureles, who records show lives about two miles north of the machine shop.
Homicide investigators responded to the scene. Police plan to refer the case to the grand jury to determine whether the shooter is at fault.
Labels: business burglary, TX
9/21/07
Mesquite, Texas
From the Mesquite Star of September 21, 2007
Business owner shoots burglary suspects
A pair of burglary suspects were foiled Thursday evening by the owner of a business in the 700 block of Rodeo Center Blvd. when he entered the second floor of the building and fired a shotgun at the two suspects after they resisted an order not to move, Mesquite police say.
At about 10:25 p.m., Mesquite police received a call noting a burglary in progress at a closed business. The owner entered the building to investigate voices he had heard inside, the caller indicated.
Upon entering the building, officers heard three shots, police reports say. The owner of the building indicated he had found the two burglary suspects on the second floor. He pointed a shotgun loaded with buckshot at the burglars and told them not to move, police say. One burglar advanced toward the owner of the business and he fired, striking the burglar in his chest and face, police say. After hearing the gunshots, officers went upstairs and found both burglars lying on the floor, police reports state.
Charles Ray Knight Jr., 40, a white male, was transported to Baylor Hospital in Dallas suffering from pellet shot to the face, a punctured lung, and one pellet entered his heart. He is listed in stable condition.
James Edward Jamie Black, 40, a white male, was identified as the other burglary suspect.
Both Black and Knight have lengthy criminal histories. Black, who was found with bolt cutters and copper cable belonging to the business owner lying next to him, was arrested and charged with burglary of a building, a felony, and is being held on $2,500 bond. Knight was on parole from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice until 2017. He was also charged with burglary of a building and his bond was set at $1,500. The copper cable found near black [sic] could indicate it as [sic] the motive of the burglary. Copper theft has risen in the area as the price of copper has soared.
The owner of the building will not face charges in the incident.
Labels: business burglary, TX
9/14/07
Pine Hills, Florida
From Orlando’s Local6.com of September 14, 2007
Owner Sleeping In Gas Station Over Crimes Surprises, Kills Intruder
A gas station owner in Central Florida who was sleeping in his business after a rash of crimes in the area shot and killed a man trying to break into his store early Friday morning, according to sheriff's deputies.
Investigators said someone apparently began to break into the Citgo gas station located at the corner of Pine Hills and Silverstar Road at about 2:30 a.m.
The owner said when he was awakened by glass breaking he grabbed a gun and opened fire, shooting 14 times.
Police said the culprit was able to flee the business after being shot but was found dead after collapsing in a nearby parking lot.
The owner, who did not want to be identified, said he did not regret using lethal force.
"One way or another, he had to go down," the owner said. "His days were numbered. If it were not me, he would get somebody. And if he had a weapon, I would have gone down."
The owner said there have been 14 break-ins in the last two weeks.
Police said the business owner acted in self-defense but were checking surveillance video and still investigating the case.
The owner said he has slept at the station for the last 10 days to stop any crime at the station.
Labels: business burglary, FL
9/11/07
Boise, Idaho
From Boise’s KTVB.com of September 11, 2007
Man shoots at fleeing massage parlor robber
Police are working to figure out what happened during a bizarre string of events at a Boise massage parlor overnight.
Just after 3:00 a.m., someone tried to break into Tokyo Massage on Fairview Avenue near Orchard Street in Boise. When the business owner discovered the robber, the person tried to hide in the bathroom - but got stuck.
The owner called her husband - who grabbed his gun and fired a shot as the robber tried to flee.
Officers say nothing was stolen, and no one was hurt in the botched robbery attempt.
Police say members of the community should call 911, and not take matters into their own hands.
Labels: business burglary, ID
8/18/07
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
From the August 18, 2007 Pine Bluff Commercial:
PINE BLUFF, Ark. - The owner of a Pine Bluff pawn shop shot dead a teenager he suspected to be a burglar, police said.From the Pine Bluff Commercial of September 13, 2007
Taron Hopkins, 15, was pronounced dead at the scene early Friday morning, said Chad Kelley, chief deputy coroner. Hopkins suffered a gunshot wound to the upper body.
Police Lt. Bob Rawlinson said the shooting happened at Chuck Smith's Pawn Shop in Pine Bluff. The store's owner, Chuck Smith, told police he shot the teenager with a .38-caliber revolver as the teen and others tried to break into the store.
Smith was in a small living area at the back of the business when he heard people breaking in, Rawlinson said. Smith told police he fired several shots toward the group.
Several of the people fled, and a tire iron was left behind, Rawlinson said.
"We're going to gather the facts and then present them to the prosecuting attorney to determine whether the shooting was justified or if charges are warranted in this case," Rawlinson said.
SHOOTING OF TEENAGER RULED JUSTIFIED BY PROSECUTOR
Jefferson County’s prosecutor ruled Wednesday that the death of a 15-year-old boy who was shot by the owner of a Pine Bluff pawn shop was “justified under the law.”
Taron Hopkins was shot by Chuck Smith, the owner of Chuck Smith Pawn Shop at 3621 W. Sixth Ave., on Aug. 16 after Hopkins and two other juveniles tried to break into the business at approximately 11:30 p.m.
In a memo to Police Chief John Howell, 11th Judicial District West Prosecuting Attorney Steve Dalrymple said, “The physical evidence of the event was corroborated by the statements of the two youths that accompanied Taron Hopkins in the burglary of the building. Additionally, their two statements support the account of Chuck Smith.”
Smith told police he heard a noise at the back door of the building and, when he opened the back door, saw several individuals standing in front of him, including one holding what appeared to be a tire iron.
“The law is very clear on the use of deadly force,” Dalrymple said in the memo to Howell. “The use of a firearm by Smith was justifiable when faced by an intruder armed with a potential weapon, a tire iron.”
Hopkins was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:15 a.m. of an apparent gunshot wound to the upper body.
“The results are both tragic and deadly,” Dalrymple said. “Also clearly upsetting is the fact that three young teenagers were out and about in the late hours. Taron Hopkins was 15 years of age. It does not require a keen insight to recognize that such an act is an invitation to trouble.
“Both the evidence of the burglary and the statements of the accomplices of the deceased demonstrate that these actions were far beyond a mischievous act of a youth but rather were a planned criminal act,” Dalrymple said, adding that Smith’s actions “are not the subject of criminal prosecution.”
Wednesday afternoon, Dalrymple said he has received the complete case file in the death of Winston Walls Jr., 14, who reportedly kicked in the back door of a house in the Dollarway area on Aug. 23, and was shot by the homeowner, Jimmy Shaw, who had a handgun.
Dalrymple said he is reviewing that file before making a decision on whether the shooting was justified under state law.
Labels: AR, business burglary, minor offender
8/3/07
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Same store robbed again
From Chambersburg’s PublicOpinionOnline.com of August 3, 2007
Store owner shoots robbery suspect
Four months ago, after a series of break-ins at his convenience store, Merlony "Jason" Colaco nabbed a robbery suspect and used his shotgun to hold her at bay until police arrived.
Thursday morning, he confronted another suspect, only this time, he fired.
"I shot that guy, not because he was stealing, but because he came to me and was attacking me," Colaco said. "This was the first time I ever fired a gun. I never even hunted before."
Police said Colaco, owner of Molly Pitcher Mini-Mart of 13640 Molly Pitcher Highway, shot Thomas Philip Candeloro Jr., 44, of Baltimore, after he and two other white men broke into the store at 1:46 a.m. to steal cartons of cigarettes.
When Colaco confronted the men with his shotgun, a fight broke out that resulted in Candeloro being shot, police said.
Candeloro's alleged accomplices reportedly fled, but he was taken to Washington County Hospital, where he was treated and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Police said charges of robbery, burglary, theft and conspiracy are pending against him.
Calaco's store is just off of Interstate 81. For several months it has been the site of several break-ins and robberies.
Colaco's account
Speaking from his store on Thursday afternoon, Colaco said he felt bad about the whole situation and that he was still shaken by it all.
After the arrest of the robbery suspect in April, he thought the crimes were over and he could stop camping out in his
store after it closed at 10 p.m.
But two weeks ago, he said someone broke into his back door and took two cartons of Marlboro cigarettes. Three days later, someone stole 15 to 16 bags of ice from the container in front of the store.
During that same period, he said, someone threw a rock through the window of another area business.
Once again, Colaco had had enough.
As he'd done in the past, he grabbed his shotgun and began sleeping in his office. He listened for sounds and closely watched the security camera. At 1:40 a.m., he heard the sound of the cowbell attached to his door.
He looked at the security camera and saw three men violently shaking the door, trying to get in, he said. Eventually, they made it inside and began to fill two trash cans with cigarettes.
Remembering how he scared a previous robbery suspect and held her at bay, Colaco said he walked out to confront the men while holding his shotgun. But instead of being scared, one of the men approached him as if he didn't care about the gun, Colaco said.
"I had the safety lock on my gun and I became nervous and couldn't remove it," Colaco recalled. "He came toward me and I backed up."
The man turned and ran outside. The second man, who was much bigger than the first, Colaco said, took a trash can filled with merchandise.
"Hold it," Colaco called out to him. But the man simply looked at Colaco and walked outside.
However, when the third man, Candeloro, walked up to Colaco, he showed more aggression, Colaco said. "He lifted the trash can and threw it at me."
Colaco shouted for him to stop. "Hold it," he said. "Or I'll shoot."
Candeloro reportedly ignored the warnings and started walking toward Colaco. "Stop!" Colaco shouted.
He kept coming.
Colaco pulled the trigger, shooting him in his left side, near the stomach.
"I thought I'd missed, because he just walked away. But after he walked through the door, he collapsed." He began yelling for his friends. He tried to get up but fell down.
Pennsylvania State Police called in response to the store's alarm system. "Send an ambulance, I shot a guy," Colaco said.
When he looked outside, he saw Candeloro crawling, trying to walk. He crawled a distance and stood up, only to fall again. "You shot me...I'm gonna sue you!" he told the store owner.
Colaco said he was troubled by the incident. "I felt bad for him," he said. "I never shot anyone before. I never even hunted."
He said he didn't know how much longer he could put up with the crime.
Earlier crime spree
Earlier this year, Colaco was credited with catching Erica Marie Lynch, 19, of 128 S. Jefferson St., Greencastle, after she allegedly broke into his store on March 28 to steal cigarettes for drug money, according to court documents filed with the office of Magisterial District Judge Duane K. Cunningham.
When arrested, Lynch told police that she and her live-in boyfriend, Joshua Lance Ingream, 19, and their friend, James Edward Byrd Jr., 43, Chambersburg, had burglarized "multiple places" in Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Lynch was charged with two counts of burglary and theft by unlawful taking. Ingream was charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft by unlawful taking and two counts of criminal mischief. Byrd, however, was placed in Franklin County Prison. He was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief.
Labels: business burglary, PA
7/31/07
Augusta, Georgia
From the Augusta Chronicle of July 31, 2007
Store owner shoots suspect, police say
The brother of a man charged this month in a nightclub shooting was shot Monday morning by an Augusta merchant who said he caught the teen burglarizing his store.
Derrell Lamar McNair, 14, the younger brother of Darion Antonio McNair, is charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and burglary, according to Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Brandon Beckman.
The older Mr. McNair has been charged with murder in a July 9 shooting at Club Super C's Lounge on Tobacco Road, and remains in jail.
Police said Raheim Michael Badger, the owner of the F.A.M.E. clothing store on Wrightsboro Road, told them he was spending the night in the store because of recent burglaries.
At about 4 a.m. Monday, he said, he awoke to a crash in the front of the business and saw a figure, later identified as Mr. McNair, stealing clothes.
The burglar fired a handgun at the owner, who returned fire, Investigator Beckman said.
Mr. McNair was later found at University Hospital, where he had been dropped off for treatment of a gunshot wound, Investigator Beckmam said.
Police said they believe 23-year-old Jordash Tanksley, who has outstanding warrants for aggravated assault and carjacking in connection with a shooting this year, also was involved in the burglary.
He, too, is wanted for questioning in the Super C's shooting that left 18-year-old Stedmund Fryer dead, Investigator Beckman said.
Mr. Tanksley's father, Clarence Tanksley, 46, of the 2400 block of Madrid Drive,is also wanted for questioning.
Labels: business burglary, GA, minor offender
7/30/07
Evansville, Indiana
From the Evansville Courier & Press of July 30, 2007
Shots fired during liquor store robbery
A liquor store owner fired three shots today at an intruder who entered the store carrying a hammer, an Evansville Police Department report said.
William Shepherd, owner of Apollo Liquors at 1165 E. Riverside Drive, told police he was taking inventory in the store about 3 a.m. when a man entered through a rear door.
The man saw Shepherd, became startled and attempted to leave through a front door that was padlocked from the outside.
He then ran back toward Shepherd, “cornering him into the rear of the store with the hammer in his hand,” the police report stated.
Shepherd “felt threatened and fired a warning shot at the suspect,” according to the report. When he did not leave, Shepherd “fired two more shots at the suspect’s lower legs, possibly striking one of them.”
The suspect then said “you shot me, Mr. Shepherd” before leaving through the same door he had entered, police said.
No arrests have been made.
Labels: business burglary, IN
7/8/07
San Antonio, Texas
From MySan Antonio.com of July 7, 2007
Icehouse owner fatally shoots burglar
Jesse Elizondo had only meant to scare the intruder away.
He had spent the night lying in wait at his business, an icehouse just north of downtown, determined not to let another burglar on his property after a string of break-ins this year that cost him thousands of dollars and put his nerves on edge constantly.
He had been asleep well before dawn Saturday when he awoke to the sound of rustling outside the icehouse, followed by a loud bang. Then he saw a hand coming through a window.
Fearing for his life, Elizondo popped off one quick shot from his Beretta semiautomatic in the direction of the intruder's hand.
Then he heard a man moan.
"I knew I'd hit him," said Elizondo, hours after the man, identified as 24-year-old Michael Adam Eden, died from a gunshot wound to the chest in the icehouse parking lot.
Elizondo later learned the bang he heard was from a rock Eden had thrown through the front window.
"I was scared," said Elizondo, who estimates burglars have broken into his business close to 20 times in less than a dozen years. "It could have been me laying there on the floor."
"It's still sinking in what happened," he said Saturday, staring off, his eyes wet and red. "I took a man's life."
The 4 a.m. incident at T.J.'s Drive-Thru Ice House, at Culebra Road and Colorado, followed four burglaries earlier this year at the location, a patio with blue picnic tables and signs that advertise beer, soda, ice and cigarettes.
Before Saturday, the most recent break-in was June 17, when someone swiped batteries and cigarettes and money from the jukebox, a police report said.
Police found Eden's body, his ankle still in a cast from a recent fracture, several feet from the front door of the icehouse.
Elizondo said that next to the door he spotted a wheelchair that one of Eden's relatives said the victim had been using to help him get around.
Police had not connected Eden to any other break-ins at the property, said San Antonio Police Department spokesman Joe Rios.
No charges had been filed against Elizondo.
Eden's cousin Victor Sanchez expressed outrage when he learned no arrests had been made in his relative's killing.
"He was in a wheelchair," Sanchez said. "How could he rob somebody?
"I know he (Elizondo) was trying to defend his place, but that's taking someone's life."
Texas law allows homeowners and business owners to use force to defend their lives or property. A recent bill signed by Gov. Rick Perry will expand those protections so victims no longer have to retreat before they can fire on intruders or attackers.
The new law, which will go into effect Sept. 1, will also protect property owners from civil lawsuits by the perpetrators or their families.
Elizondo said he plans to continue carrying his weapon. He hopes business will stay healthy and that the icehouse will maintain its reputation as a relaxed and quiet spot for families.
Though he maintained his right to defend himself, he wished he never would have had to make the choice at all.
"I wish I hadn't been here last night," he said.
Labels: business burglary, TX
5/18/07
Rochester, New York
From RochesterHomePage.net of May 18, 2007
E. Main St. shootingFrom the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle of May 22, 2007
A burglar gets more than he bargained for Friday morning when he broke into a store on East Main Street
Rochester police say the owner of "Utility Solutions" called police just before 2 Friday morning to report a burglary and that he had shot the suspect. When police arrived at the store two hours later--they found the 41-year-old suspect with a gunshot wound to the hip. Police say the store owner shot the man when he came at him. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to be ok.
Police did collect the store owner's gun as part of the investigation. They say that gun was registered. They are not yet releasing any names in this case.
Shot intruder is charged
A city man who was shot in the hip after a break-in at a city store last week is facing burglary charges.
Clayton Walker, 41, of 25 Webster Crescent, was charged with third-degree burglary, a felony, Rochester Police Officer Deidre Taccone said Monday.
A 58-year-old man, who owns the involved business, shot Walker in the hip at 1144 E. Main St. at 4:15 a.m. Friday, nearly 2½ hours after a break-in was reported at the store, city police officers said. Walker entered the store and came at the business owner, who was waiting for officers to arrive to search for evidence, such as fingerprints, Taccone said.
Officers have not released the name of the store owner. Officers said he shot Walker with a registered handgun and called 911.
The business owner turned over his gun to officers at the scene.
Walker was on the court calendar for an arraignment on Monday. On Friday, Walker was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.
A hospital spokeswoman said she could not release any information on Walker.
Taccone said officers have not filed charges against the business owner and have referred the case to a grand jury.
Labels: business burglary, NY
5/7/07
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
From Chambersburg’s PublicOpinionOnline.com of May 5, 2007
Our view: Purchase of gun ends thefts at area store
Merlony Colaco got robbed one too many times, and instead of shrugging and moving on, he did something about it.
The Greencastle merchant was mad and not going to take it anymore, so he bought a shotgun and caught a woman he didn't know inside his convenience store.
He also put the kibosh on what police call a recent string of local smash-and-grab robberies.
After his store, the Molly Pitcher Mini Mart, was broken into for the second time, Colaco picked up a shotgun and set up an after-hours stakeout.
In late March, his waiting reaped results when a brick sailed through his store window. Police said Erica Marie Lynch allegedly broke into the store to steal cigarettes for crack money.
Colaco was ready and police said he held her at bay until they arrived.
Thankfully, cool heads prevailed and no one was hurt.
Colaco refused to play the victim. He used his Second Amendment rights to buy a firearm and defend his property, and he did it with common sense.
Things could have turned ugly very easily in the moments before police arrived. Take a twitch, throw in a sarcastic remark, and add in the fact that perhaps Colaco had a bad day, and the result could have been needless bloodshed.
And the Greencastle store owner could have been left with a very serious legal problem.
Law enforcement apparently agreed -- Colaco said they told Lynch, "You're lucky he didn't shoot you."
Lynch was charged with two counts of burglary and theft by unlawful taking. Her alleged accomplices received similar charges. Police believe the three hit other spots in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
All three are awaiting a preliminary hearing May 22 in Franklin County Court.
If the trio are found guilty, it's because Colaco took a leading role in bringing them to justice.
Labels: business burglary, PA
5/5/07
Winston-Salem , North Carolina
From the Winston-Salem Journal of May 5, 2007
Man is shot at, later charged in theft
The owner of a pizza parlor shot at a man who he believed had broken into his business yesterday, Winston-Salem police said.
The owner, James Daniel Moury, went to Upper Crust Pizza on Silas Creek Parkway after the store’s burglar alarm went off about 4:25 a.m.
Moury confronted a man just outside Upper Crust and, believing that the man had a gun, shot at him, police said. Moury missed. The man ran, but officers caught him in the parking lot, police said.
They have charged Curtis L. Barnett II, 25, with possession of stolen property. A warrant lists an address on Southdale Avenue for Barnett, but his family said he hasn’t lived there in months.
He was in the Forsyth County Jail last night, with bond set at $3,000.
Labels: business burglary, NC
5/4/07
Lawton, Oklahoma
From KSWO of May 4, 2007
Pistol packin' grandma stops robbery attempt at her liquor store
Criminals listen up. You might want to think twice before messing with one pistol-packin' grandma. A couple of would-be-robbers found out the hard way when they tried to hold up a west Lawton liquor store. What they didn't know was that the owner, 75-year-old Rosemarie O'Keeffe, was waiting for them-- armed with a gun and ready to pull the trigger. It seems they changed their minds pretty quickly when they realized they were staring down the barrel of her pistol.
O'Keeffe says she just did what she had to do to protect herself and her business. She was behind the register at her liquor store this week, when she saw something that didn't look right. Two men wearing hoodies, with gauze bandages over their faces walking up to her store. "It really made me think an ancient mummy, the way he was covered up, so you know he wasn't doing anything good."
O'Keeffe says it happened very quick. She could see out of the window from her register, saw the two guys walk by, and by the time they got to the door, she had a surprise for them.
"I said, 'Oh my God he's going to rob me. What do I do?' I get up. I grab my gun and I point it at the door. He came in and I said, 'Get out or I'll shoot'."
She wasn't joking. That was all the two masked men needed to see. O'Keeffe says they immediately high-tailed it out the door and ran away through the alley.
"I had them all in my view. I could have shot them. I could have killed them both."
O'Keeffe says her sons taught her how to use a gun, and when she told them what had happened, they couldn't have been prouder. So, is her daughter-in-law Pam Dobbs. "She takes no bull," Dobbs said. "We really need that in today's society. Our society has gotten meaner, so I wasn't a bit surprised because she's very tough."
Believe it or not, this is the second time O'Keeffe has stopped a robber. She says a couple of years ago, she chased another man off with a whiskey bottle. She says she was going to beat him with it.
So far police have not arrested the two men in the most recent robbery attempt. O'Keeffe believes they were likely in their late teens.
Labels: business burglary, female, OK, senior
4/26/07
Fort Worth, Texas
From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of April 26, 2007
Clerk says he fatally shot man trying to rob storeFrom Fort Worth’s CBS11tv.com of April 27, 2007
A store clerk who fatally shot a man Wednesday evening told police officers that the man had tried to rob him at gunpoint, interim Police Chief David Miller said.
The 23-year-old clerk, who was not identified Wednesday night, told police that two men broke into Fabulous Urban & Sportswear in the 3300 block of Mansfield Highway after the store closed, Miller said.
The clerk said he shot one of the intruders in the chest and leg with a gun kept at the store before calling police about 9:20 p.m., Miller said.
The man was pronounced dead at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth at 9:56 p.m., Miller said.
The store's manager, who identified himself as the clerk's uncle, said the robbers' weapons appeared to be Uzis. The man who was shot put his weapon to the clerk's head, he said.
"He did what he had to do," said the manager, who declined to give his name. "It was self-defense."
The manager said he moved to the area because of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, the store has been broken into at least four times, but this was the first armed robbery, he said.
Police were questioning the clerk late Wednesday and had not decided whether to charge him, Miller said.
The second robber was arrested, he said.
DA: Forest Hill Clerk Killed Man In Self Defense
In the attempted robbery gone wrong, a store clerk turned the tables on two men armed with a Tech-9.
Around closing time on Wednesday night, 21-year-old Michael Walker and 21-year-old Andrew Fobbs went into the Fabulous Urban and Sports Wear with intentions to rob it, say police.
Click here to see the store's surveillance video showing the dramatic standoff between the clerk and Walker.
The suspect and the clerk wrestled for each others guns. That's when the suspect let go of his to reach for the clerk's.
As they both fight for control of the weapon, the clerk shot Walker in the chest and leg. Walker later died at the hospital.
Meantime, the other suspect, made a run for it. But he couldn't get out because the door was locked.
The clerk called 911 and kept him there at gunpoint until police arrived.
The clerk won't face any charges because the District Attorney said it was a clear case of self-defense.
Labels: business burglary, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, TX
4/17/07
Ash Fork, Arizona
From Phoenix’ KPHO.com of April 17, 2007
Store Owner Holds Suspected Burglars At Gunpoint
Two Florida men were arrested in Ash Fork after Yavapai County sheriff's deputies found them being held at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Texaco gas station, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said.
Deputies were called to the Texaco around 12:30 a.m. Monday on reports of a burglary in progress.
When they arrived, they said they found the owner of the store holding 49-year-old Juan Luis Ruiz and 38-year-old Angel Borges Sanchez at gunpoint.
The owner told the deputies he'd found the men at the diesel pumps with the service panel off. The men had keys to the panel that no one but a technician should have had, deputies said.
According to deputies, the men said they'd had trouble getting their credit cards to work, but neither man was found in possession of credit cards or any other form of payment.
Ruiz and Sanchez were arrested on charges of felony trespass, possession of burglary tools and third-degree burglary. Bond for each was set at $25,000.
Labels: AZ, business burglary
4/2/07
Riverside, New York
From Long Island’s Newsday of April 1, 2007
Salvage yard manager shoots alleged intruder
A Riverside man was shot in the groin Sunday after he was caught trying to burglarize an auto salvage yard, Southampton Town police said.
The manager of J&V Auto Salvage on South Country Road in Quiogue told police he spotted Albinas Augulis, 55, and one or more other suspects on his property at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Det. Sgt. Randy Hintze said.
Hintze said the manager contacted police, but then confronted the intruder as he waited for them to arrive. He ordered Augulis to the ground, but Augulis continued to approach him, and the manager, whose name was not released, shot Augulis in the groin, Hintze said.
Augulis was taken by helicopter to Stony Brook University Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery and is expected to survive.
He was issued a field appearance ticket and charged with criminal trespassing, possession of burglary tools and attempted larceny.
After the shooting, town and state police searched the area with the assistance of dogs and a helicopter from Suffolk County police, but found no other suspects, Hintze said.
Hintze said police are investigating whether Augulis made any direct threats toward the manager before the shooting. No charges have been filed against the manager.
The attempted robbery was the latest in a recent spate of burglaries at the yard, from which thieves have made away with car batteries and catalytic converters, Hintze said.
Labels: business burglary, NY
3/30/07
Athens, Alabama
From the Decatur Daily of March 30, 2007
Burglary halted with a gun(More)
Athens man captures suspect, accidentally shoots window of neighboring cleaners
After two nights of someone breaking into his downtown business and stealing antiques, Steve Bauer armed himself with a plastic cola bottle and a .44 Magnum and spent Wednesday night at his office.
Bauer's son knew his father was staying the night at the office to protect his property.
"My son was leaving his girlfriend's house about midnight and saw all the cop cars," Bauer said. "He said he thought, 'Daddy's done shot somebody.' "
Bauer, 51, put the cola bottle at the back door so it would make a noise when opened. He laid on a cot in a room adjacent to his office, the gun within reach.
His office, Steve Bauer Properties, is a house on North Clinton Street across from Calvin's Cleaners.
"I fell asleep sometime after 11," he said. "I woke up when I heard the bottle fall. I could hear papers shuffling in my office."
Bauer peeked into his office and saw a woman with a flashlight looking through his desk. He asked the woman what she was doing, and the woman called him by name and replied that she was looking for a house to rent.
Bauer buys, sells and rents property.
"I said, 'Ma'am, it's midnight, and you have a flashlight. I don't believe so. I believe you need to lay down on the ground.'"
Bauer called Athens police. While he was on the phone, he heard someone outside. The woman's boyfriend was in a pickup truck.
"I ordered him to get out and put his hands on the truck," Bauer said. "I told him I had a gun and was on the phone with police, but he cranked the truck and took off."
Trying to shoot at tires
Bauer shot at the truck's back tires. A bullet ricocheted off the roadway and hit a window at Calvin's Cleaners.
"I wish I hadn't shot, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Bauer said. "I thought he was going to plumb get away."
Bauer said police responded quickly.
"I've got to thank them for doing an outstanding job," he said. "Floyd Johnson (lieutenant) was the investigator, and he did a good job. I want them all to know I'm thankful."
An officer handcuffed the woman, who remained on the floor, while others searched for the pickup.
"A .44 Magnum's a big gun," Bauer said. "It probably looked like a cannon to her. I think it scared her into staying put."
Capt. Marty Bruce said officer Jay Looney spotted the pickup at Beaty and Pryor streets and tried to stop the driver. The driver refused and drove to his home at 707 Frazier St.
Bruce identified the driver as 46-year-old Daniel Stubbs. Bruce identified Stubbs' girlfriend as Daphne Watkins, 43, of 1205 Seventh Ave.
Police charged Stubbs with felony driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance for allegedly having four Xanax pills, third-degree burglary, attempting to elude, driving with a suspended license and having an open container.
Stubbs is out of the Limestone County Jail on $8,000 bond.
Police charged Watkins with two counts of third-degree burglary. She is out of jail on $4,000 bond.
Labels: AL, business burglary
3/27/07
Dallas, Texas
From Dallas’ NBC5i.com of March 27, 2007
Police: Business Owner Shoots Burglar In Head
Alleged Burglar Listed In Critical Condition
Police say an east Dallas auto-body garage owner shot back at a burglar, hitting him in the head Tuesday morning.
Following up on an alarm call, the owner pulled into the driveway of his business at about 6:30 a.m. at Hunnicut Road and Lawnview Avenue still wearing his pajamas. The owner got out of his vehicle and saw two men breaking into his business, Underground Bodyworks.
One of the men pulled out a gun and started shooting, and the owner pulled out his gun and returned fire, officials said. One of the alleged robbers was shot in the head and was transported to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas where he is listed in critical condition.
The business owner was able to hold the second man at bay until police arrived.
Witnesses to the shooting said several shots were fired and that the business owner did the right thing by returning fire.
"I heard the first shot and I think the burglar shot at him first and he started shooting back. I heard 6 or 8 shots," said witness L.C. Adams. "He was shook up a little bit. He was quiet -- he wasn't saying too much to anybody. He was probably in shock, you know, but, he did the right thing."
Investigators are talking to a number of witnesses to the shooting, including the business owner.
Officials have not said if the business owner will face any charges.
Labels: business burglary, TX
3/24/07
Chippewa County, Wisconsin
From Eau Claire‘s WQOW.com of March 23, 2007
Business Owner Prevents Bar Break-In
Burglars target a local bar after-hours, but they don't get far. The owner fired a shot and ran them off.
It happened early Thursday morning at Reilly's Crescent Tavern. That's north of Cadott in Chippewa County. Investigators say they believe no one was hit by the round because they found a bullet that matches the bar owner's gun.
The sheriff's office says it's the second time tavern owners have confronted a burglar in the last month. Someone broke into a bar in Eagleton last week.
Labels: business burglary, WI
3/20/07
Harris County. Texas
From the Houston Chronicle of March 20, 2007
Burglary suspect fatally shot in Harris County
A man reported to have burglarized an east Harris County steel fabrication firm was fatally shot while an accomplice who may have been injured escaped, the Harris County Sheriff's Department reported.
The report of the shooting came in at 3:53 a.m. and sheriff's homicide investigators still were investigating how the shooting occurred, a spokesman at the department's watch command office said at 5:20 a.m. Who did the shooting and other details of the case were not immediately available.
Kc Steel Fabricators, where the shooting took place, is located near Baytown at 5600 John Martin Road in east Harris County, the spokesman said.
Labels: business burglary, TX
3/17/07
Fernley, Nevada
From the Reno Gazette-Journal of March 16, 2007
Exchange of gunfire during attempted burglary leaves one injured
Law enforcement officials were on the lookout early this week for a Hispanic male in his 20s who was burglarizing a local business when a shooting incident occurred between the property owners and the suspect.
Lyon County Sheriff's Office Deputies were dispatched to 25 Salvage Lane on Sunday at about 10:34 p.m. on a commercial burglary incident that was in progress.
LCSO Detective Jon Mack reported the suspect was removing aluminum car parts and copper wiring from a vehicle located within a storage tank facility grounds.
That night while on the phone with LCSO dispatchers, one of the property owners indicated they had the suspect detained at gunpoint and was in the process of making a citizen's arrest.
At the time, property owner Larry Cavanaugh had detained the suspect with a 12 gauge shot gun, but then a struggle ensued and the suspect was able to obtain the shotgun and fired three rounds, reported Mack.
At the same time Caroline Hagan, property owner, returned fire with a .38 caliber pistol, firing from another location as the suspect left the area said the LCSO detective.
During the gun fight, LCSO Detectives said the suspect shot Hagan in the leg and she was later treated and released from a Reno-based hospital.
Mack indicated Hagan's wound was minor as low base shot gun shells commonly used to shoot small game was used in the shotgun.
It is unknown if the suspect was shot by the property owners gunfire.
Labels: business burglary, NV
3/14/07
Boring, Oregon
From Portland’s KOIN.com of March 14, 2007
Shot Fired At Alleged Metal Thief
A man wanted for methamphetamine possession was caught Wednesday morning allegedly stealing metal from an auto salvage yard.
\
he owner of U-Pull-It says he caught 29-year-old Neal Anthony Lee stealing, fired a shot into the ground and chased him across the highway. Clackamas County deputies say they found Lee a short while later hiding behind a tree and covered in grease.
"There's not any car part out here that's worth a life, but I'm gonna let them know that I'm here and that I mean business. I'm not here to support their habit," owner Ron Barber told KOIN News 6.
Lee was arrested for burglary and an outstanding warrant in Multnomah County for meth possession. He's expected Thursday in court.
Barber says he plans to install an electric fence.
Labels: business burglary, OR
3/7/07
Warner Springs, California
From the March 7, 2007 San Diego Union-Tribune:
WARNER SPRINGS – The owner of Sunshine Summit General Store on state Route 79 shot and wounded two burglars he interrupted in the store early yesterday, sheriff's officials said.From SignOnSanDiego.com of July 15, 2007
The owner, whom authorities did not identify, called the Sheriff's Department about 4 a.m. to report the shooting. He said he was being chased by people in a pickup and that he shot at them, said sheriff's Lt. William Donahue.
Lt. Tim Curran said the owner went to the store to check on a burglar alarm that had been triggered. He confronted the burglars and fired a handgun at them. Later, two people with multiple gunshot wounds turned up at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. Deputies still were interviewing them last night.
Shots in the dark
Even before the night he shot and nearly killed two burglars, Chris Drake was a man who liked to keep a firearm within easy reach.
He and his wife own a general store 20 miles north of Santa Ysabel on state Highway 79, a two-lane road cutting through a landscape of oak trees, vineyards and livestock grazing in fields of golden grass. Cars brake for deer and wild turkeys.
The Sunshine Summit General Store, located in a hamlet of 260 residents, sells everything from lawn tools and hats to cigarettes and hard liquor. A large blow-up of a Coors beer can hangs from the ceiling.
Like many residents of this rural part of northern San Diego County, Drake, 48, owns a gun – several, actually. The nearest sheriff's substation is some 20 miles away. As a business owner, he says, he would feel vulnerable without a pistol tucked into his waistband. The store has been burglarized four times since his wife, Sheri, bought it in 2001.
“I don't think there could be a level of comfort without being armed,” said Drake, who once owned a Long Beach lumberyard and has the leathery complexion of a guy who spends plenty of time in the sun. This particular section of the county, he added, is a bit “like the Wild West.”
Until the pre-dawn of March 6, however, he had never so much as pointed his shotgun or three handguns in the direction of another human being. He had fired his Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver a half-dozen times for practice, but only into a mound of dirt. The five-shot, snub-nosed pistol is notoriously difficult to aim.
…
In early February, exactly 30 days before the events of March 6, thieves smashed through the Sunshine Summit store's glass front door in the middle of the night and stole $11,000 in cigarettes, liquor and cash.
That incident, on top of burglaries in 2006 and 2005, left Drake fuming. He later described a feeling of “absolute ire” at having been “violated.”
…
The early hours of March 6 were clear and frigid, the kind of morning when a person curls up under a second blanket. The moon was bright and nearly full.
At 4 a.m., Drake woke up to go to the bathroom.
The store alarm went off.
To this day, Drake and his wife are amazed at how quickly they mobilized.
In less than a minute, Drake estimates, they grabbed the car keys and the loaded .38-caliber revolver he keeps by his bed. They ran out the door, got into their black Cadillac Escalade, drove around the back of the store and edged into the front parking lot.
He placed the gun on the driver's seat between his legs.
Slowly, he rolled the sport utility vehicle toward the front of the store. There, they saw a Toyota SUV with a hooded figure in the driver's seat.
Drake circled his SUV to the edge of the parking lot, keeping a safe distance. As he did so, two other men lugging merchandise ran out of the store. They got into the Toyota, which took off north on Highway 79.
Drake didn't hesitate. That was his property they were stealing. Hell, these might even be the same burglars who broke into his store the previous month. The February break-in had occurred at the same hour of the morning.
He pulled his SUV onto the highway and stepped on the gas.
The two cars tore down the highway at 100 mph. At least twice, the Toyota made a U-turn and raced past the Drakes' SUV. Each time, Chris Drake swung around and continued the pursuit.
Finally, the two cars stopped and faced each other. According to Drake, his SUV became stuck on the shoulder of the road, where he had pulled over so the Toyota wouldn't hit him. At that point, he said, the driver of the Toyota began ramming the Drakes' front fender and driver-side door.
Drake said he feared for his life. He said he and his wife felt trapped. He was also afraid, he later recalled, that the burglars might be armed and start shooting.
So he grabbed his five-shot pistol, leaned out the driver's window and fired until his gun was empty. Two shots hit the grille of the Toyota, and three went through the windshield.
The three men in the Toyota panicked. “He's got a gun!” one of them yelled as the windshield shattered.
The Toyota sped off into the night.
…
After reviewing the evidence, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office made a decision: The two suspects would be charged with burglary. The Drakes would be charged with nothing.
…
Nonetheless, when asked whether he might do anything differently, Drake replied, “If my wife and I were ever threatened, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot again.”
Labels: business burglary, CA
2/16/07
Sharpsburg, Kentucky
From the February 11, 2007 WKYT:
"The camera showed very clear who it was. You could see a face," said Wayne Karczewski, the store owner.
Thursday night the cameras at the Sharpsburg Super Market captured video of this man walking to the back of the store. Karczewski's office is just out of range of the camera and that's where he was headed.
"It was my change drawer, all the money was gone," Karczewski said.
When Karczewski noticed the missing money he called police and they went to work on trying to identify the man from surveillance video.
"This guy came in and I was just taken aback that someone would return that quickly, Karczewski said.
The same man returned the very next morning and headed straight for Karczewski's office again.
"I immediately grabbed my gun pulled it out of the holster, Karczewski said."
Karczewski confronted the man about the missing money and called 911 all the while keeping his gun out and ready if the man should try to get away.
"It's my stuff. They violated my place. They violated my family. They violated the people who work for me."
When police arrived and interviewed the man he admitted taking the money and told Karczewski he was sorry. While Karczewski says he doesn't hold any animosity against the thief, he says he'll never let someone take advantage of him again.
Labels: business burglary, KY
2/6/07
Jackson, Mississippi
From the Jackson Clarion-Ledger of February 6, 2007
Auto repair shop robbed for 29th time
Owner says he fired shots, may have hit one robber early Sunday
Maybe he hit the guy when he fired his .38, maybe he didn't, but Eugene Miner is fed up either way.
On Sunday, the longtime Jackson business owner was burglarized again, the 29th time that has happened to his auto repair business, he said.
It was the second time in two days. He can't take it anymore.
"I think I hit one of them," he said Monday morning. "He was limping when he was going up that hill there."
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, someone broke into Miner Auto Repair on Fortification Street just east of State Street.
Eugene and Linda Miner had moved back to that location in August after less than a year on South Street. Their shop had been broken into 27 times there, they said.
And so it was sometime between 2 a.m. Saturday and dawn that someone broke into the new shop and made off with tools, a computer, dozens of purses that had been for sale and more.
They ate food in the cooler, left forks and soda cans on the floor, even took off with a trash can.
The Miners figured whoever did that was not finished. The place looked like they'd left in a hurry.
So at 3:30 a.m. the next day, Sunday, the Miners went to the shop, expecting trouble.
"We hadn't been in here 30 minutes when it happened," Linda Miner said.
What happened, according to both Miners, is this:
Two skinny guys in a white 1991 Ford Crown Victoria backed up to the same bay door that had been broken into the day before.
Eugene Miner said he'd fixed the door with metal and wood, and that he knew it was a 1991 Crown Vic because he's in the auto business and knows cars.
A short black man with light skin and a taller black man with dark skin broke through the door with a 2-by-4.
The Miners said they watched all this from the shop's office, adjacent to the repair bay where the burglars were but separated by thick glass.
Eugene Miner said the tall guy crawled on the floor next to an undamaged bay door. The other guy stayed where he was.
"That's when I started shooting," he said.
On that piece of glass between the office and the repair bays are now two small bullet holes with cracks leading from them like streams from a mountaintop lake.
After the gunfire, the men ran. The tall guy up the hill on Fortification, the short guy to the Crown Vic, which he drove away to where he could pick up the tall guy.
Jackson police detective James Cornelius is investigating the case.
He said Monday afternoon that he'd checked the area's hospitals and hadn't found anyone with a gunshot wound who fit the burglar's description.
Still, he said, that doesn't mean the man was not shot. Perhaps it was a minor injury, or maybe he went far away for treatment.
Cornelius said he had no leads he wanted to discuss publicly on Monday but might have some news today.
Either way, Linda and Eugene Miner are getting sick of this.
They said they appreciate the police and didn't want to sound like they were complaining, but something has to be done about crime.
"Right now," Linda Miner said, "we are at our breaking point. We feel like the city should step in and do something. ... We have just got to have some help. We deserve some help.
"You know it's gone too far when we have to take up arms to protect ourselves."
Labels: business burglary, MS
1/27/07
Lawrence, Massachusetts
From the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune of January 27, 2007
Owner foils attempted shoplifting
A man caught attempting to steal two bottles of liquor from a Broadway package store was held at gunpoint by the store clerk until officers arrived, police said.
Officers were sent to Broadway Liquors, 103 Broadway, about 10:10 p.m. Thursday and told the owner, Vipul Patel, to put his gun away.
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Labels: business burglary, MA
1/21/07
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
From Oklahoma City's NewsChannel10.com of January 21, 2007
Security guard shoots man at business
A suspected burglar is hospitalized this morning after being shot by a security guard at an Oklahoma City business.
Police say the man broke into the W-and-W Steel Building near Reno and Pennsylvania Avenue about 6:15 this morning. That's when he got into a struggle with a security guard, who shot the intruder in the neck.
Sergeant Mike Klicka says the suspect's wounds don't appear to be life-threatening, but he was taken to a local hospital. The security guard cut his hand during the struggle, but Klicka says his wounds are also minor.
Police didn't release the identities of those involved.
Labels: business burglary, OK
1/9/07
Dalton, Georgia
From the January 9, 2007 Chattanoogan:
Bradley County Sheriff’s detectives have charged a Dalton, Ga., man as an accomplice in the theft of used auto parts from Dalton Pike Motors last Thursday.
Another man caught stealing auto parts was shot and killed by a man who lives on the property.
Investigation of the incident revealed Randy Osborn, 43, of Dalton was removing auto parts from the business when barking dogs alerted Rick Powers, officials said.
He confronted Osborn, who he said came toward him with a knife so he fired a .22 caliber rifle. Osborn was pronounced dead at the scene.
Michael David Hagan, 48, of Dalton went to the Dalton Police Department the next day to report his involvement in the incident, it was stated.
Labels: business burglary, GA
12/29/06
Everett, Washington
From the Everett Herald of December 29, 2006
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
12/28/06
Dante, Virginia
From the Bristol Herald Courier of December 28, 2006
Maples: 'Now I’m glad I didn’t kill him'
Jim Maples woke early to the sound of breaking glass and knew trouble had come to his store.
He never expected, however, that within minutes, he’d have to shoot his wife’s second cousin and then stand guard until police arrived.
Maples sleeps in an apartment at the back of Midway Grocery, and just after 2 a.m. Wednesday, he heard one of the building’s front windows shatter.
When he got to the front of the store, 12-gauge shotgun in hand, he saw Jason G. Pruitt standing over the safe, trying to open it.
"I told him to put his hands on the window so I could see them," Maples said in an interview.
Pruitt complied but then quickly turned back toward Maples.
"So I fired a warning shot," Maples said. "Then he came at me, and so I shot him."
He later found out that he and Pruitt were kin, although they’d never met before.
"Now I’m glad I didn’t kill him," said Maples, 61.
The blast caught Pruitt in the shoulder, police said. He dropped the hammer and knife he’d been carrying and fell to the floor, Maples said.
The store owner stood over Pruitt and told him to lie still until police arrived. Having tested Maples’ mettle once, Pruitt decided this time to follow instructions.
The would-be robber did have the gall to ask for a cigarette while he waited, Maples said.
"I said, ‘fat chance,’ " Maples said. "I ain’t giving nobody who broke into my store a cigarette."
By the time deputies arrived, Pruitt’s two accomplices had fled, but he fingered them in an interview. Steven Hurd, 26, of Dante, and Kari Breeding, 24, of St. Paul, were arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to commit vandalism and breaking and entering, Dickenson County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Scott Stanley said.
Pruitt was airlifted to Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport for surgery. He was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and arrested immediately, Stanley said.
He faces charges of breaking and entering, vandalism, felony possession of burglary tools, conspiracy to commit vandalism and conspiracy to break and enter.
Stanley said Maples is unlikely to face any charges because he shot Pruitt in self-defense.
"He saved us a little bit of work," Stanley said.
Maples has operated the store since July and sleeps there as a means of protecting his investment, he said.
"We’re not in the best neighborhood," he said.
He just hopes he won’t develop a reputation as a quick draw.
"It’s like the Old West," Maples said. "You shoot somebody and then everybody has to test you.
Labels: business burglary, VA
11/16/06
Knoxville, Tennessee
From the Knoxville News Sentinel of November 16, 2006
Lawmaker turns into lawman for the day
Burchett nabs teens he says were breaking into warehouse on Amherst
State Sen. Tim Burchett says he caught a group of youngsters during a break-in Wednesday, held them at gunpoint and fed them chocolate-chip cookies until Knox County sheriff's deputies arrived.
Burchett said the youths had knocked the lock off a warehouse on Amherst Road where he keeps old motorcycles and parts and gone inside when he "snuck up" through nearby woods to the building about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
"I got four of them. One got away," said Burchett, adding that deputies told him the fifth had been arrested later. "I think that's pretty good. I'm sick of crime. I'm sick of being a victim. I've been staying up at night trying to catch these guys."
Martha Dooley, spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, confirmed that arrests had occurred at Burchett's warehouse, but no report had been filed late Wednesday and she could not provide details.
Burchett said that three motorcycles and a security camera had been stolen from the warehouse over the past two weeks and he thought, since the burglaries apparently occurred after school hours, that school-age teens might be involved.
He said he had previously stood watch, sometimes with a friend or his father, without success. On Wednesday, he learned that Karns High School had been closed for the day because of a plumbing problem and decided to try again to catch the youths in the act.
Burchett said he called 911, told the person answering that he was armed and planned to apprehend the suspects.
"The lady said, 'Are you going to shoot them?' and I said, 'No, I'm not going to shoot some kid over a dad-gum motorcycle'."
The state senator, who said he holds a conceal-carry permit, had a recently purchased 9 mm Glock pistol and a .25 automatic Keltec as a "backup," according to his account. He said he brandished the larger pistol and told the youths to "put your hands up" and then to "put your hands behind your head."
"One of them said, 'Well, which one do you want - hands up or behind the head?' and I said, 'Either one'," Burchett said.
He said they waited about 15 minutes "in the rain and mud" for deputies to arrive. During the period, he said, the youths began talking - one of them basically admitting to the break-in - and he gave them some of the cookies that a friend had given him earlier in the day.
Burchett said he understood from the deputies that one of the youths was 18 years old and the others were juveniles. He said he intends to press charges, fearing that if punishment is left to parents "they might take away the GameBoy for one afternoon."
Burchett said he had "almost been obsessed" with catching the burglars and had "staked out" the warehouse on several previous occasions.
"It was an exhilarating experience" to finally catch the culprits, he said.
Labels: business burglary, concealed carry permit, TN
10/29/06
Kingsport, Tennessee
From the Kingsport Times-News of October 28, 2006
Business owner fires shot at burglar, suspects flee
A business owner who decided to stay at his establishment overnight had an unwelcome visitor early this morning.
According to the Sullivan County Sheriff's Department, Kenneth Harville, owner of Kenny's Bait and Tackle on state Highway 75, was awakened by the sound of breaking glass about 3 a.m. He reached the front of his store as a white male was climbing through a broken window near the cash register.
The burglar then started yelling to someone outside the business that someone was in the store. As the suspect crawled out the window, Harville fired one round towards him.
According to police, the unknown white male got into a light colored vehicle that someone else was driving and fled towards Blountville. Though several officers responded, they were unable to locate the vehicle or suspects.
Labels: business burglary, TN
10/23/06
Amarillo, Texas
From Amarillo’s NewsChannel10.com of October 22, 2006
Armed Man Shot During Attempted Armed Robbery
An armed man attempting to rob a local car lot... Ends up being shot himself that's according to Amarillo Police.
Officers tell us shortly after 1:30 this morning the owner of Jimbat Autos confronted an armed man breaking into one of his cars.
Police say the suspect started assaulting the owner and that's when he shot the suspect in the groin area.
The suspect was taken to the hospital after being apprehended.
The owner of the car lot was not seriously hurt.
Labels: assault, business burglary, TX
10/18/06
Lewisville, Texas
From the Lewisville Star of October 18, 2006
Burglar suspect shot to death
A man suspected of burglarizing Toyota of Lewisville, at 1547 S. I-35E in Lewisville, was found shot to death in the parking lot of the business shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Police said a preliminary investigation indicates the person had been shot by an employee of the dealership when discovered inside burglarizing the business.
The man was transported to Medical Center of Lewisville where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the incidents. No names are being released at this time.
Labels: business burglary, TX
10/16/06
Tampa, Florida
From Tampa Bay’s BayNews9.com of October 16, 2006
Taking law enforcement into his own hands
Police say someone broke into the Pestos Italian Grill on North Tampa Street in Tampa early Monday morning.
A man living above the restaurant heard the commotion, grabbed a gun and confronted the suspect. He ordered him to the ground, but when the suspect refused and walked toward the man with a wine bottle, he fired a shot.
The burglar was not hit and managed to take off with the cash register, which was later found abandoned a couple of blocks away. The suspect was last seen running north on North Highland Avenue. He is described as a white male, 40-60 years old, with gray, shoulder-length hair, and was last seen wearing a short-sleeve dark shirt and dark pants.
Labels: business burglary, FL
10/13/06
Irvine, California
From the Los Angeles Times of October 13, 2006
Parolee Is Held in Attempted Irvine Burglary, Shootout
A man once dubbed the "Mission Impossible Burglar" for slicing through the rooftops of high-tech businesses and using ropes to climb down and pilfer laptops and computer parts may have been at it again in Orange County, authorities said Thursday.
Steven J. Krueger, 42, is being held following an exchange of gunfire Tuesday with two security guards in the parking lot of an Irvine technology company where police say he had attempted a burglary.
Krueger, a parolee, surrendered Wednesday after a 90-minute standoff with police, who had located him in an unincorporated residential area near Covina.
The security guards, whose names were not released, said they observed a "suspicious individual" in the parking lot of the unidentified company in the 400 block of Goddard about 5:15 a.m., Irvine Police Department spokesman Lt. Rick Handfield said.
The guards said the man opened fire as they approached.
One guard returned fire as the suspect, alleged to be Krueger, jumped into a rented Dodge Caravan occupied by an unidentified male passenger.
The driver then accelerated toward the second guard, who shot at the car, Handfield said.
Items left at the scene led to Krueger's identification, he said.
The incident is under investigation and authorities are looking for the passenger.
Krueger, convicted in 1998 of burglaries, had recently been released from prison, Handfield said.
Labels: assault, business burglary, CA
9/26/06
Thomasville, Georgia
From Albany’s WALB.com of September 25, 2006
Store owner fights back against burglarKALB's title for the accompanying video: Citizen exercises gun control - Jimmy Washington hit what he aimed at: a criminal inside his property.
A close call with a burglar's bullet a few months ago prepared Jimmy Washington to defend himself and his Southside Foods store in Thomasville. Over the weekend, a burglar struck again, but this time he didn't get away.
Neighbors near Southside Foods were surprised to hear its owner was bold enough to take justice in his own hands when someone broke in. "I was very much shocked to hear what happened, because I couldn't believe that he shot him, or whatever," said Neighbor Precious Smith.
Owner Jimmy Washington who spoke with us off camera said he was watching TV inside his home, which is connected to the store, around 3:00AM Sunday, when he heard a noise.
Washington called police then decided to check his store. "He actually heard something happening, like glass breaking, so he goes to investigate. He had his gun [a pistol] with him and he goes to the store," said Thomasville Police Sgt. Ricky Singletary.
It was in the tiny area near the store's front door that the intruder brushed Washington's right leg that's when he fired. "He was shot in the leg, the liver, and one of the bullets is in his lung," said Singletary.
Fifteen minutes, later police found 22-year-old Terrance Smith on a nearby porch. He's charged with burglary.
Georgia law allows you to defend your property, so Singletary said that no charges will be levied against Washington.
"He had to protect himself, this is his home, his home is part of the store so he had to do what he had to do, I mean I feel bad for him because his life was at stake," said Precious Smith.
While some have called Washington a hero, he wants no part of that. He told us he just wants to feel safe inside his home and store.
Terrance Smith remains hospitalized. He was released from jail earlier this month after serving 16 days for burglary.
Labels: business burglary, GA
9/8/06
Dallas, Texas
From the Dallas News of September 8, 2006
Police ID suspect fatally shot during burglary
Authorities on Wednesday identified a burglary suspect who was fatally shot the day before by a tire shop owner as Wilfredo Muro, 21, of Garland.
About 8 p.m. Tuesday, the owner of Longhorn Tire & Wheel at 10801 Ferguson Road at Shiloh Road shot Mr. Muro while checking out a tripped burglar alarm at the shop, police said.
Mr. Muro died in Baylor University Medical Center's emergency room. Authorities plan to refer the case to a grand jury to determine if the shooting was justified. Police said the shop had been burglarized several times in the past, but it's unclear whether Mr. Muro was a suspect in those cases.
Records show that Mr. Muro has a previous arrest on a charge of misdemeanor theft.
Labels: business burglary, TX
8/25/06
Geneva County, Alabama
From Dothan’s WTVY.com of August 24, 2006
Geneva Woman Shoots Intruder
Police are looking for a man reportedly shot by a one-armed, 75-year-old Geneva County woman during a burglary attempt.
At around 11:00PM Wednesday night, Catherine Tate says her burglar alarm indicated someone trying to get inside her bait shop.
The business is next to her home.
Tate says she found a man trying to get inside and refused to stop.
She says her business has been broken into several times in the past.
"When I heard the office alarm I came and grabbed my flashlight and gun. Then I came and saw him by the door. I shot him with this, a 38-caliber gun. I hit him. Yeah, I know I hit him," said Tate.
The suspect is described as only a small framed black male around 150-pounds.
Authorities are checking area emergency rooms to see if anyone matching that description comes in with a bullet wound.
Labels: AL, business burglary, female, senior
8/10/06
Longview, Washington
From the Longview Daily News of August 8, 2006
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
7/26/06
Floyd County, Kentucky
From Lexington’s WKYT.com of July 25, 2006
Man Accused Of Murder Is Cleared
A Floyd County man accused of murder is cleared after a grand jury did not hand down an indictment.
Police say former Luv Homes Manager Mike Kirk shot and killed a man at the dealership in March of last year.
Kirk claimed the man, Ronald Dillon, was breaking into the business.
Kirk said Dillon told him he had a gun, but police didn't find a gun on Dillon after the shooting.
The grand jury report says they think Kirk shot Dillon out of self-defense because he believed his life was in danger.
Labels: business burglary, KY
7/17/06
Beavercreek, Oregon
From Portland’s KGW.com of July 16, 2006
Beavercreek storeowner shoots alleged burglar
A storeowner shot and wounded a 16-year-old in the back side after he tried to rob his Beavercreek store Saturday night and helped nab another man, sheriff's deputies said.
The alleged burglar remains hospitalized and a second suspect, Jamal James Shihadeh, 18, was charged with first-degree burglary, said Detective James Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
Bail was set at $50,000. Shihadeh is scheduled to be arraigned at 3 p.m. July 17th in the Clackamas County Circuit Court.
Police said Robert Finke, the owner of Clarks General Store on South Beavercreek Road, and a neighbor heard breaking glass around 11 p.m. Saturday night and ran to the store, confronting two burglars inside.
The owner held one suspect at gunpoint inside the store, then ordered him to the front porch of the store where he told him to empty his pockets with items stolen from the store, Strovink said.
Shihadeh, who had initially fled the burglary scene, returned to the store and said he was armed with a gun. Both suspects ran from the store, with Finke and his neighbor Travis Wilber in hot pursuit.
Investigators said one of suspects fired several rounds from a weapon, but no one was hit.
Finke, who was armed with a shotgun, shot the 16-year-old suspect once in the rear end with a buckshot load type of ammunition.
The suspect was later airlifted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.
When Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene, Shihadeh was found and taken into custody.
Finke and Wilber were not injured.
Labels: business burglary, OR
7/13/06
Shreveport, Louisiana
From the Shreveport Times of July 13, 2006
Business owner kills suspected burglarFrom Shreveport’s KTBS.com of August 2, 2006
A suspected burglar was shot dead shortly before midnight Wednesday at a tax business in the 4500 block of Rightway Avenue in Shreveport. And police say the owner of the business where the shooting occurred, a 74-year-old who lives next door, will not be charged.
An alarm company called the business owner to report that it had detected motion in the building located between Drexel and Woodford streets. The business owner armed himself and went to check it out, not calling authorities at that time, police spokeswoman Kacee Hargrave said.
The business owner found a suspected burglar hiding in a bathroom in the back of the business and fired one shot, fatally wounding him, Hargrave said.
Police were summoned to the scene at 11:45 p.m., records show.
Authorities found hunting and fishing equipment, including guns, in a pile in the business as if they were being rounded up to be taken, Hargrave said.
The business owner "is not going to be charged. But the case will be sent to the DA's office for review, as is standard in cases of justifiable homicide," she said.
Hargrave would not identify the business owner. "We don't release names of people unless they are charged."
And all authorities know about the dead man is that he is a black male in his upper teens to early 20s, Hargrave said.
D.A.: Business Owner Justified in Shooting Burglar
Shreveport business owner was justified in shooting and killing a burglar he caught in his business last month, Caddo District Attorney Paul Carmouche said Wednesday.
The district attorney's office reviewed the shooting and determined no charges should be filed against 74-year-old Dudley Hay.
Hay went to his business in the middle of the night after a burglar alarm alerted him to trouble at the tax-service and gun-cleaning and repair shop located next door to his house on Rightway Avenue.
Hay got a gun and went to investigate on his own and found a man hiding in a bathtub, Carmouche said. Hay said 19-year-old Eric Bryant of Shreveport stood up and confronted him, so he fired one shot.
"We feel it very clearly fits under the justifiable homicide statute," Carmouche said. "The business owner was convinced it was 'him or me.'"
Hay did not call police after the alarm company call, deciding to go check on it himself. Carmouche said there had been false alarms at the business before.
"The alarm company called him and asked if they should call police. He said, 'Let me check it first,'" Carmouche said, not that is not unusual in cases of repeated false alarms.
Louisiana's shoot-the-burglar law allows property owners to defend themselves.
In the 28 years Carmouche has been district attorney, his office has never prosecuted a property owner who shot a burglar inside his home or business. The ones who were charged had shot people who were outside their home and posed no threat.
Labels: business burglary, LA, senior
7/12/06
Houston, Texas
From the Houston Chronicle of July 12, 2006
Houston businessman fatally shoots suspected burglar
A downtown business owner fatally shot a suspected burglar and wounded a second men [sic] early this morning after they broke into his warehouse, Houston police said.
The owner was asleep inside Liquid Logos in the 2000 block of Commerce about 3 a.m. when the two men forced their way into the business.
"The (owner) was startled and armed himself and confronted both suspect [sic]," Officer Gabe Ortiz, a Houston police spokesman said.
One of the men charged at the owner, who opened fire, fearing for his life, police said.
"The (owner) discharged his weapon and struck both suspects," Ortiz said.
Officers discovered the slain burglary suspect lying face-down on the floor of the warehouse. The other man fled but was arrested at nearby Minute Maid Park, police said.
The fatal shooting remains under investigation, police said.
Labels: business burglary, TX
6/30/06
Columbus, Ohio
From June 30, 2006 channel 4 in Columbus:
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police said a store clerk shot and killed a man who tried to rob him early Friday.More detail from the June 30, 2006 Columbus Dispatch:
The shooting occurred at about 4:30 a.m. at the Express Market Drive-Thru, located at 900 East Fifth Ave., NBC 4’s Ana Jackson reported.
An 18-year-old carryout employee fatally shot one of two intruders who broke into the store on E. 5th Avenue early today, police said.
Eric M. Ford, 28, was pronounced dead inside the Express Market, 900 E. 5th Ave., at 4:37 a.m. It appeared he was shot once in the upper body, homicide Det. Jay Fulton said.
Police identified the other suspected burglar as Lawrence A. Ford, 38. He was arrested about two blocks from the store after fleeing on foot and was charged with aggravated burglary and murder.
“Because the person in custody was participating in a felony in which someone was killed, he can be charged with murder,'' Fulton said.
...
A release from police said the man fired in self defense, but Fulton said the Franklin County prosecutor's office would review the case to determine whether to pursue charges against the employee.
He said the employee spent the night in the business, which closed at 1 a.m., to clean and restock shelves, and had a bed in the store's office where he slept.
The burglars broke the lock off a security gate, then smashed the front door glass to enter the store.
Fulton said it appears the employee came out of the office and fired a handgun when he was confronted by a masked man with a crow bar behind the store's counter.
Labels: business burglary, OH
6/10/06
Houston, Texas
From Houston’s ABC13.com of June 10, 2006
Store owner fights back against burglars
A suspect is in custody after a store owner walked in on him in the middle of a burglary.
It happened on the North Freeway near Little York in northwest Houston. Police say the owner raced back to his store Friday night after an alarm went off. The owner and the suspect shot at each other. No one was hit.
A police K-9 unit found the suspect hiding nearby.
Labels: business burglary, TX
4/24/06
Blacksburg, South Carolina
From the Gaffney Ledger of April 17, 2006
Business owner fires shot at burglary suspects
A property owner shot at two burglary suspects fleeing from his business, according to a report at the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.
Two people were taken into custody about five hours later when they were spotted coming out of a wooded area near Tessner's Garage, said Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Leigh Caldwell.
Eric Parker Lanier, 25, of Smyrna, and Wesley Scott Brazell, 18, of York, are each charged with petty larceny and remain at the Cherokee County Detention Center. Caldwell said more charges are pending in connection with the incident.
Billy Tessner, 58, of Blacksburg received a call just after 4 a.m. Friday from his alarm company reporting that the alarm at his business had been tripped. When he arrived at Tessner's Garage at 491 Moss' Crossing in Blacksburg he saw two people run to a gray Mazda, the report states. He told police whoever was driving the vehicle tried to run him over as they fled. Tessner fired two shots at the Mazda, striking the vehicle's radiator and left front tire.
The vehicle traveled about a mile down the road and stopped, the report stated. The bloodhound tracking team searched for the two individuals but was unable to locate them.
At 9:30 a.m. witnesses saw two people leaving a wooded area near Munchie's convenience store at Moss' Crossing and Highway 29, police said. Police arrested the two suspects and transported them to the Cherokee County Detention Center.
According to the report, five radiators were missing from the garage.
Labels: business burglary, SC
2/26/06
Charlotte, North Carolina
From the February 13, 2006 Charlotte Observer:
The 911 call sounded like a burglary attempt had turned out badly for the burglar: A man was fatally shot early Sunday in a northwest Charlotte plumbing business plagued by break-ins.
But the 42-year-old who was shot dead at the business in the 3600 block of Tuckaseegee Road used to work there. His ex-wife runs the shop. And, police say, his former stepson shot the gun.
It's not entirely clear what happened in the dark morning that led to the death of Joe Scott Odell. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have not charged his former stepson, Elijah Hackett. It will be up to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office to decide whether to press charges in the slaying, said Sgt. Lisa Mangum.
Last year, at least four people were killed in the Charlotte region after authorities said they tried to break in or rob businesses. Only one of the four shooters was charged; the other cases were ruled to be self-defense.
But because those involved in this case knew one another, it is a complicated investigation that police are still trying to unravel.
Labels: business burglary, NC
2/24/06
Des Moines, Iowa
From the Des Moines Register of February 24, 2006
Landscaping employee has company's back
A Lounsbury Landscaping employee stopped a burglar in his tracks early in the morning on Feb. 19.
The employee lives above the business, 6000 Raccoon River Drive, and told police he could hear something downstairs. The employee grabbed his gun, a .45-caliber Colt series 80, and went into the business. He saw that a man had pried off the window but was not yet inside.
The employee detained the man - including firing a shot in the air when he thought the man began walking toward him - until police arrived. Police arrested the would-be thief, a 40-year-old West Des Moines man, and charged him with second-degree attempted burglary.
The man told police he had broken into Lounsbury Landscaping looking for money, according to reports.
Labels: business burglary, IA
2/7/06
Westerlo, New York
From the February 7, 2006 Albany, New York Times-Union:
WESTERLO -- A New York City man has been charged in connection with the theft of nearly two dozen firearms that were stolen last month from a rural gun store in southern Albany County.
Most of the guns have been recovered, including some that were found in New York City in the possession of suspected street gang members there, authorities said.
Richard M. Mwazi, 20, of Queens, is accused of smashing a window and stealing 21 guns from the Southwings Gun Shop on Route 405 on Jan. 22. The burglary took place a week after another burglary at the store in which three handguns were taken, and Mwazi is a suspect in that break-in as well, police said.
Mwazi's mother, who works for the United Nations, has a summer home on Sleepy Hollow Road in Athens, not far from the gun store, authorities said.
During the second burglary, the store's owner fired a shot at Mwazi's car as he fled, striking the vehicle, and that would later help Albany County sheriff's investigators confirm that he was involved in the heist, sheriff's officials said.
Labels: business burglary, NY
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
From February 4, 2006 NewsOK.com:
"What's up, fool?" David Anderson said as he opened fire with a .45-caliber pistol.
Show Video
The startled intruder scrambled through the broken door of Anderson's northeast Oklahoma City business and hit the streets -- but not before taking a bullet.
Friday's shooting still is under investigation, but so far, police said, Anderson is thought to have acted in self-defense, firing his weapon to protect his business from at least one would-be burglar.
Shannon Johnson, 17, was struck once in the leg, police Lt. Stan Van Nort said. He was treated at a city hospital, then arrested on a complaint of second-degree burglary.
About 1:20 a.m., someone broke into the Clean As A Whistle clothing store in the 1800 block of NE 23, police Sgt. Gary Knight said. Police found a broken glass door and searched with a police dog, but didn't turn up any suspects.
Anderson, 44, said the broken door prevented him from securing his store, so he decided to spend the night inside with his "buddy," the .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol.
About 7:30 a.m., a pounding noise awakened him. Someone was outside.
"I'm like, 'I know these fools aren't this stupid,'" Anderson said. "But by the time I got up and got my 'buddy' and started making it to the door, the door came flying open and he came running in."
Anderson said he ducked behind a clothes rack and watched the intruder approach a pair of white-and-gold Air Jordan basketball shoes.
Labels: business burglary, minor offender, OK
1/27/06
Spartanburg, South Carolina
From Spartanburg‘s WSPA.com of January 27, 2006
Spartanburg Store Owner Shoots Intruder
A store owner stands up against an armed intruder in Spartanburg County. And the alleged burglar ended up in the hospital.
The shooting happened early Friday morning at The Little Goodie Shop on North Church Street. Spartanburg County Investigators say two robbers broke in, one of them shot by the owner.
Officials say the other suspect still on the run. Investigators say they are looking for lavender four door Ford Taurus.
Labels: business burglary, SC
1/4/06
Denver, Colorado
From the Denver Post of January 4, 2006
Police: Man shot after bar break-inFrom the Denver Post of January 5, 2006
A man was seriously wounded in a shooting at the Funky Buddha early Tuesday while the downtown bar was closed.
The man broke in to the bar at 776 Lincoln St., and one of four people who were inside at the time shot him about 4 a.m., police said.
It's unknown if it was an employee who shot the man and if there was a relationship between the shooter and the man who broke in, police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez said.
The names of the people involved were not released.
No arrests were made, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.
The bar is owned by Regas Christou, who owns several nightclubs in Denver.
The wounded man was taken to Denver Health Medical Center.
Co-owner held in bar shootingFrom the Denver Post of August 1, 2006
The criminal charge comes in connection with a burglary at the Funky Buddha earlier this week.
The co-owner of the Funky Buddha bar is facing a criminal charge of first-degree aggravated assault in connection with the shooting of a burglar earlier this week.
Christakes Christou, 60, is being held at the Denver County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Denver police said he shot Dwayne Stepp, 44, about 3 a.m. Tuesday during a burglary inside the bar at 776 Lincoln St.
Stepp, who was shot in the abdomen, is expected to survive.
He's being treated at Denver Health Medical Center and is facing a burglary charge when he recovers.
Police spokesman Sonny Jackson declined to say whether investigators believe Christou acted in self-defense, but emphasized the charge Christou faces indicates an aggravated assault.
Business owners do not fall under the protection of Colorado's "Make My Day" law that allows homeowners to defend themselves if they encounter an intruder, Jackson said.
Christakes Christou has a prior arrest record for a third-degree domestic violence assault in 1994 and a misdemeanor assault arrest in 1998.
Stepp appears to be a transient, according to court records, and has a lengthy criminal record that includes arrests for drinking in public, shoplifting, trespassing, assault, possession of drug paraphernalia and loitering.
Attempted-murder charge tossed in shooting of alleged bar burglarStill More:
After watching surveillance tapes from the Funky Buddha restaurant, a Denver judge orders the co-owner to stand trial for first-degree assault.
A Denver businessman who said he shot a burglar in self-defense inside his restaurant won a crucial victory Monday when a judge threw out an attempted-murder charge against him.
County Judge Aleene Ortiz-White said that Dwayne Stepp, 44, who broke into the Funky Buddha bar at 3:11 a.m. on Jan. 3, repeatedly advanced toward co-owner Christakes Christou.
The judge, who twice watched surveillance-camera tapes of the encounter, said Stepp and Christou were in close contact during the confrontation. Although armed with a pistol, Christou, 60, did not fire, she said.
Instead, Ortiz-White said, Christou pushed Stepp back twice. Only on the third occasion, when Stepp again was right in his face, did Christou shoot, wounding Stepp in the abdomen.
The judge, however, did order Christou to stand trial for first- degree assault, leaving it up to a jury to decide whether Christou intended to "cause serious bodily injury" to Stepp by shooting him.
Defense attorney Larry Pozner said that had the incident occurred in a home, Christou would have been able to shoot Stepp under Colorado's "make my day" law without any repercussions. But Pozner said the law doesn't apply to businessmen confronted in their businesses.
During the day-long preliminary hearing, Pozner also hammered Denver detectives and prosecutors, contending that they had failed to look into Stepp's lengthy criminal background. Pozner said that over the years, Stepp has been arrested more than 50 times in four states and used seven different names and three different Social Security numbers.
Among Stepp's most recent arrests, Pozner said, was at the Funky Buddha, where he was arrested Aug. 26, 2005, for walking in the back door, taking a bottle of bourbon from a liquor cabinet and then walking out.
(More)
From the Rocky Mountain News of August 1, 2006
Lounge-shooting tape disputedFrom the Denver Post of November 7, 2006
Funky Buddha owner Christakes Christou's fate could rest on what jurors can make out of the shadows.
Prosecutors contend a surveillance video seized by police shows the bar owner lying in wait for a man who had been breaking into his club then shooting the almost cowering intruder.
On Monday, however, after repeatedly viewing the tape, Denver County Judge Aleene Ortiz-White disagreed with that interpretation.
The judge found there was enough evidence to order Christou to stand trial on a charge of first-degree assault but told prosecutors they could not proceed on an attempted murder charge.
Christou, 60, is accused of shooting Dwayne Stepp, 44, a transient with a record of more than 50 arrests in the past 10 years, whom Christou told police had broken into his Funky Buddha Lounge on four previous occasions.
The surveillance video shows a man forcing his way into the front door of the bar at 776 Lincoln St. and being confronted by a man who emerges from a back room.
The rest of the video is in dispute.
(More)
Funky Buddha owner sentenced in shooting
The owner of a Denver bar who shot a burglar pleaded guilty Tuesday to tampering with evidence, and received a deferred prison sentence with no prison time.
Christakes Christou, 60, was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault after he shot Dwayne Stepp, who broke into Christou's Funky Buddha Lounge, 776 Lincoln St., at 3:11 a.m. Jan. 3.
A judge threw out the attempted first-degree murder charge earlier. Christou still faced the assault charge, which carries a sentence of 10 to 32 years on conviction.
But prosecutors agreed Tuesday to dismiss that charge in return for his plea to tampering with evidence, a class 6 felony. The tampering charge stemmed from an allegation that Christou picked up a gunshell casing at the shooting scene and put it in his pocket.
Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney's office, said prosecutors agreed to the plea bargain because "we didn't believe there was a reasonable likelihood of conviction had we gone ahead with the first-degree assault charge."
Denver District Judge Shelley Gilman gave Christou a deferred sentence. Christou will not, under the plea agreement, have to pay restitution to Stepp.
The deferred sentence means the case will be dismissed as though it never happened if Christou doesn't break the law in the next two years.
(More)
Labels: business burglary, CO
1/2/06
Fredonia, Kentucky
From the Evansville (IN) Courier & Press of January 1, 2006
Man wounded in gunfire with burglar
A homeowner was injured when he exchanged gunfire with a burglar at his Fredonia home early Saturday.
Larry W. Yancy, 56, was shot in his left calf when he confronted a burglar in the stairwell of his home shortly before 3 a.m.
He was treated for his wound at Caldwell County Hospital and released.
Kentucky State Police reported that Yancy was asleep when he was awakened by noises coming from downstairs in the residence. Taking a pistol with him, he went to investigate and he encountered an intruder.
The intruder fired several shots at Yancy, police said, and Yancy returned fire. The intruder ran into a garage and out of the residence on foot. At that time, another person was also seen fleeing on foot.
Nothing was taken from the home, police said, and it was unknown whether either suspect was hit by Yancy's shots.
The intruder Yancy encountered in the house was described as a white male, dressed in all black clothing, including a black jacket with a hood. He was also wearing a mask and gloves. The second suspect was also reported to have been dressed in black or dark clothing.
Labels: business burglary, defender shot, KY
12/24/05
Buffalo, New York
From Syracuse’s WSTM.com of December 24, 2005
Man holds accused bank robber at gunpoint for police
A bystander chased and held a 16-year-old girl at gunpoint yesterday after Buffalo police say she allegedly robbed a bank.
Police say the Niagara Falls man was a customer at the Bank of America branch. He followed the girl in his car and detained her until police arrived.
Akeysha Palmer has been charged with bank robbery.
Police said the man had a permit to carry a handgun.
Labels: business burglary, concealed carry permit, NY
12/7/05
Byron Township, Michigan
From December 6, 2005 Grand Rapids Press:
BYRON TOWNSHIP -- Two men remained hospitalized after both were shot in the face, apparently during an attempted burglary of a business.UPDATE: January 10, 2006 WOOD channel 8:
The two were shot around 11:30 p.m. Saturday at 8027 S. Division Ave., an industrial building that houses an excavating and trucking company. Kent County sheriff's deputies were called to that address on a report of a burglary. By the time they arrived, the two men had been shot.
One of the suspects, a 24-year-old Grand Rapids man, was being held at gunpoint, Sgt. Roger Parent said, and the other had fled.
Minutes later, the second suspect, a 32-year-old Kentwood man, was found hiding behind a BP gas station on 84th Street and U.S. 131. Both were wounded in the face by shotgun blasts.
Authorities declined to say who fired the shots or release details of the shooting. Parent said he does not expect the shooter to be charged with a crime.
Charges will not be filed against a Byron Township business owner who shot two men suspected of stealing from him.From Grand Rapids’ WOODtv.com of January 10, 2006
Kenneth Richards and Adam Beall were shot in the face in early December when deputies say they tried to steal from a vehicle at the business in the 8000 block of South Division Avenue.
The prosecutor has ruled the shooter was acting in self-defense. But, the business owner could still be in some trouble as he was on probation and should not have had a gun.
Business owner not charged for shooting at thieves
Charges will not be filed against a Byron Township business owner who shot two men suspected of stealing from him.
Kenneth Richards and Adam Beall were shot in the face in early December when deputies say they tried to steal from a vehicle at the business in the 8000 block of South Division Avenue.
The prosecutor has ruled the shooter was acting in self-defense. But, the business owner could still be in some trouble as he was on probation and should not have had a gun.
Labels: business burglary, MI
Tucson, Arizona
From Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star of December 7, 2005
Theft victim takes wild ride; man held
A gun shop owner trying to defend his property went for a wild ride after a thief got away with a shotgun — with the owner on the hood of his getaway car, police said.
James Albert Lange, 55, went to the Frontier Gun Shop, 3156 E. Grant Road, on Tuesday morning and asked to look at a shotgun. But he stole the gun and fled in a car, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
The armed owner of the gun shop chased after him, but Lange tried to run down the store owner with his car, he said. The store owner got on the hood, holding on with one hand and pointing a gun through the windshield with the other, witnesses told police.
Lange swerved onto East Grant Road, dropping the owner into the street and pulling out in front of traffic, witnesses told police. The owner, face bloodied, walked back to his shop as Lange sped off.
Police said one of the witnesses followed Lange.
Officers caught up with Lange at his home a few blocks away at the Seneca Village Apartments, 3201 E. Seneca St., and arrested him as he came out of an apartment, Robinson said.
They found the shotgun still in his car.
Lange was charged with aggravated assault and felony shoplifting and booked into the Pima County jail.
Labels: assault, AZ, business burglary
11/2/05
Macon, Georgia
From the November 1, 2005 Macon Telegraph:
Police will not charge a Macon man who shot a burglary suspect in the arm Friday night on Houston Avenue, Macon police said.
Hubert O'Neal, 39, was shot twice in the arm and charged with burglary, according to a police report. He told police he was shot during a drive-by shooting, the report stated.
The shooter, Robert Nichols, 60, told police that he saw a man in his fenced-in yard shortly before midnight Friday, the report said.
Nichols told police that he followed the man to the side of the house and the man came at him, the report stated.
Nichols said he shot six bullets at the man, who jumped the fence and ran away, the report stated.
Nichols said his television had been taken from his house, and he discovered it covered in blood on the outside of the fence, the report stated.
Macon police detective Jim MacDonald said because Nichols had a reason to fear for his life and was in a confined area of his home, he will not be charged in the shooting.
Labels: assault, business burglary, GA, residence burglary
11/1/05
Battle Creek, Michigan
From the Battle Creek Enquirer of November 1, 2005
Store owner shoots, kills burglar
A burglar was shot and killed early today at the Northside Deli and Convenience Store when confronted by the owner.
Battle Creek police said Joshua Lind, 19, of Battle Creek was shot and killed about 4:37 a.m.
Police said Lind broke into the business at 65 Calhoun St. and was confronted by the owner, Randy Carson, who had been staying the basement. Lind was shot once with a shotgun and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The store was closed at the time.
Police are interviewing Carson and their investigation continues.
The incident was the ninth involving convenience stores in Battle Creek and Emmett Township since Oct. 24.
Carson’s store was also the scene of an attempted robbery Saturday in which Carson and the robber exchanged gunfire. Carson was not hurt.
Police said the man in this morning’s incident does not appear to be the same as those involved in earlier holdups.
Labels: business burglary, MI
St. Louis County, Missouri
From the St, Louis Post-Dispatch of November 1, 2005
Guard fires shots at would-be clothes thief
A guard at the Sierra Vista Plaza shopping center at Bellefontaine and Larimore roads in north St. Louis County fired several shots at a burglar who tried to steal clothes from a store early Monday, police said.
The guard noticed the burglar about 1:45 a.m., stepping out of a broken glass window of Wutu Fashions with an armload of clothes, police said. The guard, who works for SSI Global, told police the burglar dropped the clothes and ran to a burgundy Mercury Sable, then pointed a gun at him. That's when he fired.
It was unknown whether the burglar was hit. Police found a small amount of blood in the getaway car, recovered a few blocks from the plaza.
Labels: business burglary, MO
9/21/05
Olympia, Washington
From The Olympian of September 21, 2005
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
9/19/05
Roberts County, South Dakota
From the Aberdeen American News of September 19, 2005
Business owner shoots teens in Roberts County
A Saturday morning shooting in Roberts County has left two teenagers injured.
According to the Roberts County Sheriff's office, the owner of the Circle K resort at Lake Traverse awoke just before 5 a.m. Saturday to the sound of two juveniles breaking into his business.
The owner, Kenneth Holicky, lives behind the business.
Authorities said Holicky yelled something to the two boys and then went into the house and retrieved his shotgun.
Two shots were fired, and both boys were injured, said the sheriff's office.
One boy was flown to a hospital in Fargo, N.D., and the other's condition was not clear Sunday night as of press time.
The sheriff's office said the boys were aged 14 and 15. It was not clear which one was sent to Fargo.
Labels: business burglary, SD
9/17/05
Roberts County, South Dakota
From Sioux Falls‘ KSFY.com of September 16, 2005
Roberts County Shooting
Two South Dakota teenagers were shot early Saturday morning after they allegedly broke into a Roberts County business, and police say the man who pulled the trigger owned the business.
It happened at the Circle K Resort on Lake Traverse in northeastern South Dakota about 5:00 am. The Roberts County Sheriff's Office says the store owner lives behind the business.
Police say he woke up and heard one of the boys trying to get into the building. Then the owner reportedly fired at least one shot from a shotgun, hitting both of the teenagers. One of the boys was treated locally, the other was flown to a Fargo hospital. His condition isn't known. No charges have been filed, but the investigation continues.
Labels: business burglary, SD
9/16/05
Rochester, New Hampshire
From the New Hampshire Union Leader of September 16, 2005
Neighbors say man was shot, killed during break-in
A Fremont man was shot to death about 1:45 a.m. yesterday at a home at 80 Pine St. in a case that neighbors say may be connected to a string of break-ins.
Bryan J. Gaedtke, 21, was carried in a body bag from the single-family house a block from the Rochester Fairgrounds. State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte's office is investigating the case with Rochester police; they disclosed few details yesterday.
But neighbors said they believed a resident of the home shot Gaedtke because he broke into the house in the middle of the night. A second-story window screen in the rear of the house was damaged.
Authorities would not comment on who shot Gaedtke or what type of gun was used, but said no charges have been filed in connection with the death.
…
Gaedtke had brushes with the law before, including charges in Durham District Court for simple assault, criminal trespassing, criminal mischief, operating after suspension and conduct after an accident. He also had a license revocation in 2003 for driving while intoxicated.
Gaedtke also appeared in local news last year after a domestic dispute with his father, Larry Gaedtke of Lee. The younger Gaedtke told police his father had marijuana at the family's house. Police confiscated 1 pound, 9 ounces of marijuana from the Lee home and charged the elder Gaedtke with a Class B felony of possession of drugs with intent to distribute.
Labels: business burglary, NH
9/14/05
Minneapolis, Minnesota
From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune of September 14, 2005
Nick Coleman: He knows the streets and he knows trouble
A guy in a white shirt almost became a historical footnote about 4:30 last Sunday morning. He almost was the first guy to get himself shot by a candidate for mayor of Minneapolis.
"I'm in the dark, holding a gun on him and telling him to get on the ground, but he keeps backing away from me," Mark Koscielski was saying. "Then the guy points at his shirt and says, 'I have a white shirt on, and it'll get dirty if I get in the mud.' And I say, 'It's going to get red if you don't get on the [expletive] ground.' "
In the end, the guy got muddy, and he got arrested, too, charged with attempting to break into Koscielski's Guns & Ammo, at 2926 Chicago Av. S. That was just one of three attempted break-ins at the store in the past two weeks, during which time there has been a rash of burglaries near the corner of Chicago and Lake Street.
(More about Koscielski's problems with local zoners)
Labels: business burglary, MN
9/3/05
Detroit, Michigan
From August 29, 2005 channel 4 in Detroit:
Police are searching area hospitals for a man who tried to rob a Detroit tire shop twice Sunday.
The man broke into the Advance Tire store located in the 8000 block of Livernois on the city's west side at about 5 a.m., according to Detroit police. Police said the owner and officers responded to the break-in, but the robber was gone.
The man returned at about 7 a.m., but the owner was armed, Local 4 reported. The store owner fired a shot, police said.
Police believe the suspect was wounded because of blood found at the rear of the store where the shooting occurred. The man fled the scene, according to police.
Labels: business burglary, MI
9/2/05
Cleveland, Ohio
From Cleveland‘s NewsNet5.com of September 1, 2005
Homeowner, Burglar Killed In Shootout
Woman Calls 911 During Burglary
Two people are dead after a burglary and shootout on Cleveland's east side Thursday.
A girlfriend hiding in the closet of the house made a 911 call at 4:39 a.m. about intruders in the home on East 113th Street, NewsChannel5 reported.
Police said the owner of the home, Ombray Thomas, shot a burglar and then he was shot, too.
Labels: business burglary, defender killed, OH
9/1/05
New Orleans, Louisiana
From the September 1, 2005 New York Daily News:
I went looking for the Big Easy yesterday. I found Dodge City instead. Looters ran wild, some desperate for food and water, others just taking advantage of a chance at free cigarettes and beer.
In the Carrollton neighborhood, two armed men - self-appointed sheriffs in a white pickup - confronted them. Spotting thieves who had commandeered a forklift and smashed into a Rite Aid store, the two men fired above the looters' heads and ran them off.
Labels: business burglary, LA
8/30/05
Warner Robbins, Georgia
From the Macon Telegraph of August 30, 2005
(Scroll down)
Pawn shop employee, burglary suspect exchange gunfire
A pawn shop employee escaped injury in an exchange of gunfire with a burglar late Friday night, Warner Robins police say.
Warner Robins police Lt. Bobby Brantley said the suspect also was not hit and fled with a stolen handgun.
The suspect was interrupted by the employee who arrived at the Northside Pawnshop at 1313 Green St. just before midnight.
The suspect was described as a white male, mid-20s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 165 pounds with tatoos on both arms.
According to a Warner Robins police news release, the employee responded to the business alarm, which automatically calls his residence when the alarm is sounded. The employee was fired upon as he entered the store and he returned fire. The employee fled the pawn shop and called 911. The suspect also fled.
Labels: assault, business burglary, GA
8/26/05
Charleston, South Carolina
From Charleston’s The Post and Courier of August 26, 2005
Store owner takes law into his own hands
Intruder suffers shotgun wounds at business that has been frequent target of crime
Cecil and Jerry Reynolds were fed up with people breaking into their tire store.
About 4 a.m. Thursday, Jerry "did what the law allows him to do," Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon Jr. said.
Reynolds, 49, shot a man in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun. It happened outside Reynolds Tires when an alleged burglar drove into him with a stolen car. Charles-ton County Sheriff's officials said.
After he was shot, driver Clayton Brown swerved the stolen black Volvo and crashed near the store. Brown, 38, was at Medical University Hospital in critical condition Thursday night.
Jerry Reynolds didn't want to talk Thursday about what happened.
"I'm proud of him," said his father, Cecil Reynolds, 78. "He's a pretty levelheaded guy."
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Ralph Hoisington told sheriff's authorities that Reynolds will not be charged, Clark said.
Historically, South Carolina case law has upheld the use of deadly force as a defense when a person's life, home or business is threatened.
In 2001, then-Attorney General Charlie Condon instituted a home-invasion policy that protected citizens from prosecution if they were defending themselves against intruders.
Cannon doesn't recommend that every business owner take the law into his or her hands, but he said Reynolds had every right to protect his property.
Brown will be charged with second-degree burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle, police said.
Passenger Tajuana Ford, 25, of Charleston, faces similar charges.
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Labels: assault, business burglary, SC
