11/4/09
Port Charlotte, Florida
From the October 27, 2009 Sarasota Herald-Tribune:
PORT CHARLOTTE - Two men, armed with a knife and a tire iron, reportedly forced their way inside a Port Charlotte home Saturday night, only to find the occupants had guns.
The botched home invasion robbery ended quickly when one of the suspects sustained a nonfatal gunshot wound to the stomach, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities have arrested one man and intend to charge the other upon his release from a Fort Myers-area hospital in connection to the attempted robbery at the 21000 block of Beaverton Avenue.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. at the home of Peter L. Gilmore, 69, and his 25-year-old son, James S. McGlone.
Two men, later identified as Keith Sowers, 32, of Punta Gorda, and Port Charlotte resident Joshua Eugene Becerril, 29, wearing stockings over their faces, kicked open the front door, deputies said.
Becerril reportedly held Gilmore at knifepoint. McGlone ran into his father's bedroom, where Gilmore kept several guns, and was chased by Sowers, toting a tire iron.
Sowers allegedly hit McGlone over the head with the tire iron before being shot in the stomach.
Labels: FL, home invasion
Goldenrod, Florida
From October 24, 2009 central Florida channel 13:
GOLDENROD -- A home invasion ended with one of the suspects dead and several others injured early Saturday morning.
Seminole County deputies said two men returned to a home on Fernbrook Way, when witnesses said the two were confronted by armed suspects who forced their way inside and opened fire.
That, deputies said, was when one of the victims grabbed a gun and started shooting back.
When deputies arrived, they found Maurice Thomas collapsed in the street. He was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center, but he did not survive.
Three other people were shot, but officials said they were expected to be OK.
A second suspect was found in a nearby wooded area, and faces charges.
Officials said, Mack Brooks, one of the victims found in the home, was also shot during a previous home invasion in Orange County.
Labels: defender shot, FL, home invasion
10/28/09
San Marcos, Texas
From the Statesman of October 22, 2009
Intruder shot in San Marcos
A man San Marcos police said was shot after breaking into a home on Oscar Smith Drive armed with a BB gun, is in stable condition today at University Medical Center Brackenridge, police Commander Penny Dunn said.
Police released no names involved in the shooting as they continued their investigation, Dunn said. No charges have been filed in the case, she said.
Officers were first called at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday from someone reporting a break-in in progress at the back door of a home in the 700 block of Oscar Smith Drive, Dunn said.
One of three people in the home at the time fired several shots at a man Dunn said was armed with a BB handgun. The intruder then fled on foot wounded, she said.
Dunn said police were alerted that a man with several gunshot wounds came to Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos after 10 p.m. Doctors there gave him primary treatment and the suspect was transferred to Brackenridge, she said.
Labels: home invasion, TX
10/19/09
Schroeppel, New York
From the October 18, 2009 Syracuse Post-Standard:
Schroeppel, NY - When Deanna Candee and her son, Adam, returned from a shopping trip Saturday to their Schroeppel home, they suspected something was wrong when they saw the garage door open.Candee’s home had been ransacked. An intruder was still inside.
As her 25-year-old son moved toward the cellar to check out a noise, Deanna, 48, started into the house, said Wilson Candee, Deanna’s father-in-law.
The intruder confronted her and grabbed her by the hair, Wilson Candee said. Adam heard his mother scream, went to her aid and pulled the intruder off. He and the stranger began to struggle.
The fight ended, Oswego County Sheriff’s officials said, when Deanna grabbed her pistol and shot the man.
Phoenix police found Timothy Hartigan, 39, dead in a bedroom when they arrived shortly after 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Sunday, Wilson Candee provided details about the struggle based on his conversations with Candee, his grandson, and investigators.
Candee legally owned the gun with which she shot Hartigan, sheriff’s department officials said.
...
Wilson Candee said the intruder’s motive did not appear to be theft. Money left in a wallet was untouched and no articles appeared to have been gathered for removal, he said.
But he said he was told the house had been thoroughly vandalized with doors broken, glass smashed, and pictures and knick knacks knocked from the walls. Cutlery was strewn along the hallway leading to the bedroom. There also were signs that the intruder had cooked bacon and eggs, he said.
Hartigan had a history of mental illness, according to his former wife, Denise L. Cunningham, and a man answering the phone at Hartigan’s mother’s home who identified himself as Hartigan’s brother-in-law.
When Hartigan was taking his medications he was a great guy, a good father to his two children and a good friend to many, Cunningham said. He was artistic and enjoyed drawing and woodcarving, although he did less after he was diagnosed, she said.
“When he was on his medicine he was a good person,” Cunningham said. “He would never have dreamt of doing this.”
Cunningham said her former husband was diagnosed a decade or so ago and recently had been treated at University Hospital.
“His son and I had just gone to visit him ... we actually saw him a week ago today,” Cunningham said.
The hospital released Hartigan on Tuesday, she said. Hartigan’s illness could not be learned Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the hospital declined to comment, citing privacy regulations.
Hartigan was no longer living at the downtown Syracuse YMCA, where he had resided about eight years, Cunningham said, and she didn’t know where he was living after his discharge.
Labels: home invasion, NY
10/17/09
Springfield, Ohio
From WHIO of October 17, 2009
Home invader shot and killed, police still hunting for accomplices
A man was shot and killed during a home invasion attempt late last night, Oct. 15, but police are still hunting for his two accomplices.
Police say three black males wearing hooded sweatshirts and Halloween masks broke into the home at 214 W. Southern Avenue around 11:30 p.m. However, the homeowner wasn't helpless -- he fired at the armed invaders, killing 26-year-old DeMarkis Jones.
The other two men fled the scene. Springfield police are asking anyone with information about the incident or the two suspects to call (937) 324-7680.
Labels: home invasion, OH
10/16/09
Shreveport, Louisiana
From KSLA of October 15, 2009
Suspect shot during break-in found at hospital
Caddo Parish Deputies say they've made an arrest related to an early Thursday morning home invasion.
Investigators say the break-in happened just after 3 am at a home in the 1100 block of Oak Grove Lane. According to deputies, the homeowner was awakened when he heard someone kicking in the front door of his house. The homeowner said he grabbed a handgun, and when the suspect came into the bedroom, the homeowner shot at the suspect several times. The suspect then ran from the house.
When deputies arrived at the home, a loaded AK-47 was found near the front door. About 30 minutes after the shooting, deputies learned that a man showed up at Willis-Knighton Pierremont with gunshot wounds to both legs.
Deputies identified the man as 30-year-old Dion Lewis.
Lewis was treated at Pierremont then later transferred to LSU Hospital. Detectives say Lewis will be taken to jail on a charge of aggravated burglary once he recovers from his wounds.
Two other people were in the house at the time of the attempted robbery - a woman and the homeowner's 17-year-old son. No one inside the home was injured.
Labels: home invasion, LA
Greensboro, North Carolina
From DigiTriad.com of October 14, 2009
911 Calls Reveal Details Of Break-In Suspect Shot By Homeowner
Greensboro police say an 80-year-old man is not facing charges after he shot and killed a break-in suspect early Wednesday morning.
Charles Haithcock called 911 immediately following the shooting of 19-year-old Michael L. Medley who he says broke into his home.
Haithcock: "A man broke in on me and pulled a gun. i shot him and he's laying out in the yard."
911 Operator: "Is he breathing?"
Haithcock: "I don't know. he broke in the window. He pulled the air conditioning out in the living room. And I heard something and he come back to the bedroom. I was in the bed. And I opened the door and he had pulled, what looked like a shotgun, he was pointing it at me."
Police responded to the home on Walnut Street Wednesday morning, which is near Summit Avenue.
When officers arrived, they found Medley, Jr. dead from a gunshot wound.
"The guy ran into the back room, locked his door and shot through the bedroom door and killed him," said Haithcock's neighbor, who did not want to be identified.
At this time, Haithcock is not facing criminal charges. However, police say the shooting incident remains under investigation.
WFMY News 2 has learned that Medley has a criminal record, which includes a conviction for Common Law Robbery.
The apartment where the 80-year-old lives is located near the Greensboro Police Department's Eastern Division precinct.
"The police department is sitting right here, and they still kicked in this door and stole a car from in front of the house," said Haithcock's neighbor. "I would think this was the safest place to be."
Stay with digtriad.com and WFMY News 2 for more updates.
Labels: home invasion, NC, senior
10/13/09
Houston, Texas
From TXCN of October 13, 2009
Homeowner: I shot intruder who was kicking my bedroom door
A Harris County man who shot an intruder in his home said pulling the trigger is the most difficult decision anyone can make.
“It’s a weird feeling,” Jorge Guzman said as he walked through his bullet-riddled home on Lima Drive. “I don’t care who it is or who they think they are, when you’re in that position, it’s totally different.”
The break-in occurred in the early morning hours last Monday. Only Guzman and his uncle were home at the time.
The chilling encounter was captured in a call to 911.
“Please, they’re breaking the windows,” Guzman told a dispatcher.
Guzman, who had barricaded himself in a back bedroom with a handgun, described the scene as it unfolded to dispatchers.
“I hear somebody in the house. They’re trying to open the door. Hurry! Please hurry,” he said.
The dispatcher continued to reassure Guzman that sheriff’s deputies were on the way. At one point, Guzman was instructed to lay down his weapon.
“Go and put your gun down because if you hear anything, it’s going to be the deputies,” the 911 dispatcher insisted.
Then, moments later, the sound of gunfire was caught on tape.
Guzman told 11 News he fired the shots because the intruder was trying to kick down the door to his bedroom.
“As soon as he put his foot there, that’s when I shot, because he had a big tattoo on his face and when the lady was telling me that’s the sheriff’s department, when he came into that door I said that’s not the sheriff’s department,” Guzman said.
Guzman said once he shot the suspect, the 19-year-old ran around his home trying to find a way to get out.
Deputies arrested the wounded suspect, along with a woman they say drove his getaway car.
Guzman is just happy to put the incident behind him.
“You don’t know what’s on the other side of that door,” said Guzman.
Labels: home invasion, TX
Brewton, Alabama
From the Press-Register of October 12, 2009
81-year-old man shoots Escambia County home invader to death
An 81-year-old man shot and killed a masked gunman during a home invasion early this morning at a residence north of Brewton, Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said.
The sheriff said the robber had been released from a Nebraska jail just two days before he was killed.
Smith declined to identify the homeowner, but said the man and his wife were in bed in their home along U.S. 31 north of town about 3 a.m. when the intruder kicked in the door to the home and entered their bedroom, demanding money.
Smith said the homeowner managed to retrieve a pistol from the bedside table and pointed it at the robber, who told the homeowner to drop the weapon.
Instead, Smith said, the homeowner fired the gun, striking the intruder in the forehead, killing him instantly.
Smith identified the intruder as Jeremy Paul McCall, believed to be 35 years old. Smith said McCall had a prior record, and had been released from a Nebraska jail about 48 hours before he was killed.
Smith said McCall's body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Mobile for autopsy.
The shooting will be presented to the grand jury, Smith said, but the sheriff said he doubted the homeowner would face any charges.
"The man was in his home, in bed with his wife, and he acted in self-defense," Smith said. "And as far as the wife, she had armed herself with a shotgun by the time I got there."
Labels: AL, home invasion, senior
10/11/09
Albany, Georgia
From WALB of October 5, 2009
11 year old shoots at home invader
An 11 year old Albany boy fired a shot during a home invasion last night.
The boy shot a .357 magnum at a gunman who came into his house.
The 11-year old told Police about 7:15 Wednesday night that several juveniles kicked in the back door at his home in the 200 block of Tremont Avenue.
He said a boy with a pistol came into the house and pointed the gun at him.
That's when the 11-year old fired the .357. He said that scared the home invader off.
The Gang Unit is investigating because they think it could be gang related. They are not releasing the 11-year old's name for his protection.
Labels: GA, home invasion, minor defender
10/9/09
San Antonio, Texas
From KENS5 of October 8, 2009
Alleged home intruder shot by homeowner, dies after car-crash getaway
What started early Thursday morning as a home invasion has ended in the death of the alleged intruder.
Just after 5 a.m., Bexar County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene in the 11400 block of South Foster Road.
Deputies say 24-year-old Cardell Deon Joseph broke through the front door of a home there, and that's when the homeowner shot him once in the intruder's rib cage area.
They say the Joseph then ran from the house and drove away, but he then crashed his vehicle a few blocks away. According to reports, the suspect was still talking after the crash, and asked the homeowners for help.
But, Joseph later died at the scene.
It's unclear whether the crash or the gunshot wound was the major factor in his death.
Bexar County records show that Joseph was in trouble before. He was arresed for evading arrest and possession of marijuana.
The Bexar County district attorney's office will review the case.
Labels: home invasion, TX
10/2/09
Sutter County, California
From the Appeal-Democrat of September 29, 2009
Armed homeowner thwarts burglary suspects
Three suspects arrested in Sutter County after an attempted home burglary ran into the worst of luck — a homeowner with experience fighting off intruders.
Two women and a man, all Sacramento residents, broke into an isolated house at about 2 p.m. Monday in the 3900 block of O'Banion Road west of Yuba City, according to Sheriff J. Paul Parker. The owner, David Massey, armed himself with a handgun and discovered one woman in his kitchen while the other woman and the man fled out the back door, Parker said.
The suspects got into a Ford Explorer parked on the circular driveway outside and drove it toward Massey, but he fired six shots toward the vehicle just before it rolled onto its side, the 63-year-old homeowner recalled Monday night.
"They drove right across the center of the (driveway) circle towards me, and I yelled at them to stop and fired five rounds into the radiator to make them stop," said Massey. "The car was not three feet from me when it went by; they almost took me out.
"I was in fear of my life. They wouldn't stop, so I shot."
The passengers abandoned the Ford and ran through a flooded prune orchard, but deputies arrested them within a mile of the house. Both women were treated at Rideout Memorial Hospital from injuries sustained in the acc dent, according to Parker.
The sheriff's department identified the detained women as 31-year-old Tiffany Abila and 27-year-old Angelina Walters, and the male suspect as 26-year-old Marcus Campbell. Parker said authorities likely would pursue burglary charges against the three and said others may be pending.
Detectives have recovered jewelry boxes and other items from the Explorer and are checking whether the suspects are linked to any burglaries in the area, the sheriff's department said.
Massey's last encounter with suspected burglars also ended in gunfire. On July 2, 2008, deputies arrived at his house after he reportedly fired his handgun at a suspected burglar fleeing in a pickup and held another alleged robber at gunpoint.
"I wasn't a hero; I just did what I thought I had to do. I just wish I got both of them," he said at the time.
Massey called Monday's incident the sixth theft and third break-in at the home he has owned since 1992, and admitted its remote location has made it a "sitting duck" for would-be thieves. Despite the string of thefts, he declared he would keep the home and was hopeful another house under construction nearby will dissuade at least some thieves in the future.
"Most people in the world are good people, but there's an element out there that doesn't remember 'Thou shalt not steal,'" he said Monday night. "I moved out here for the serenity; I don't know how serene it is today."
Labels: CA, home invasion, residence burglary
West Chester Township, Ohio
From Cincinatti.com of September 30, 2009
Man fires at would-be robber
A resident wrestled with a would-be burglar Wednesday, then fired a shot that may have hit the fleeing man’s pickup, officials say.
Edward Honerlaw, 55, of the 8200 block of West Chester Road, reported he was home alone around 2 p.m. when an intruder kicked in a rear door – so he armed himself with a handgun, a news release said. After a tussle, the suspect fled; Honerlaw fired at the truck.
West Chester Township police have arrested Kyle P. Lightner, 22, of Bannon Court in Middletown. He has been charged with one court of burglary, a second-degree felony.
It was unclear Wednesday evening when Lightner may appear in court.
The incident was reported around 2 p.m.
As of 3:30 p.m., officers were still on the scene gathering information, Wilson said.
Authorities described the suspect as a white man, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, about age 35, with a scruffy beard, wearing a white hoodie sweatshirt.
He fled in a tan pickup truck, Wilson said.
Labels: home invasion, OH
9/22/09
Indianola, Illinois
From the Chicago Tribune of September 22, 2009
Ill. homeowner kills armed robbers
Police say an eastern Illinois man shot two people to death after they forced their way into his home and tried to rob him.
Vermilion County Sheriff Pat Hartshorn says the two masked men held the homeowner on the floor at gunpoint Monday night and choked him while demanding money. The sheriff says the alleged robbers were 22 and 17 but didn't identify them or the homeowner.
Hartshorn says the men let the homeowner go when his wife said she had expensive jewelry upstairs. While the men focused on a jewelry box, the homeowner grabbed a handgun and shot them.
Hartshorn says another 17-year-old waited in a pickup outside. He drove away but was arrested a short time later.
Indianola is about 10 miles southwest of Danville.
Labels: home invasion, IL, minor offender
9/21/09
McDonald, Pennsylvania
From WPXI of September 18, 2009
3 Men Force Their Way Into McDonald Home, Homeowner Chases Them Out
Police said three men who forced their way into a Washington County home were greeted by a homeowner with a shotgun.
“It’s not a very nice thing to happen in McDonald, because McDonald is a very quiet town,” said neighbor, Don Feigley.
Police said the homeowner, Joseph Tokarksi, who was one of several people in the house, came down the steps with the weapon in his hand.
“I’m prepared to do what I have to do to protect my home and my family,” said Toarski.
“I’m all for that. I think anybody should be allowed to defend themselves in their homes and defend their neighbors, if they want to,” said Feigley.
Police later caught two suspects whom they indentified as 19-year-old David Carlisle, of Cannonsburg, and 20-year-old Jermell McCullough, of Mt. Pleasant.
Both are being held in the Washington County Jail, each on $50,000 bond.
McDonald police are still looking for the third suspect.
Labels: home invasion, PA
Syracuse, New York
From WSYR of September 20, 2009
Police say home invasion victim acted in self defense
The man who shot and killed two men Saturday in North Syracuse will not face any charges. Police say the man was acting in self-defense.
Jeffery Bush was in his home with friends when two men broke into Bush's home on Elm Street around 1:00 am Saturday. Police say those two men were indentified as Thomas Lashomb and Wade Brown. One of them attacked Bush, but he was able to get away, grab a gun and shoot the two men, killing both of them.
Bush’s neighbor, Joel Wardle, was surprised by the events in his neighborhood.“It's crazy; this area is pretty safe, so for something like that to happen around here, that's kind of odd,” said Wardle.
North Syracuse Police say the men knew each other, but they are not yet sure why the suspects targeted Bush at his home Saturday.
Labels: home invasion, NY
9/20/09
Lake Worth, Florida
From the CBS 12 of September 17, 2009
Naked 91-year-old holds burglar at gunpoint
This next homeowner is a force to be reckoned with. He's 91, he was buck naked, but he and his dog decided to go after a would be burglar. He held the man at gunpoint until police arrived. Deputies say they found the would be burglar on the back porch by the pool drunk and trembling, probably not how he thought it would all go down. He got more than he bargained for when he decided to mess with this elderly man and his trusty rottweiler mix. 91-year-old Robert Thompson and his 5-year-old dog Rett tag-teamed a thug trying to break into their Lake Worth home Friday night.
Thompson said, "I think the guy was scared to death, he was screaming."
Thompson jumped out of bed, totally naked he went to go check things out with Rett by his side.
He said, "I started to let him out the door and he was so anxious he got caught in the door."
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office 26-year-old Jose Pascual was the man on the porch. Rett pinned Pascual, but this purple heart World War Two Veteran wanted back-up.
Thompson said, "I went in and got my cell phone and dialed 911 and got my gun."
Thompson says Pascual was coming toward him so he fired a shot. Authorities say he held the drunk intruder at gunpoint until deputies arrived, but he's giving his best bud Rett all the credit for the happy ending.
He said, "He's the hero."
Pascual was arrested, Thompson was taken to the hospital. One of the shots he fired ricocheted giving him a minor battle wound. He hopes the bad guys learned a lesson about messing the boys at 504 North C Street.
"If anyone violates my home they better be careful, that's all I got to say," said Thompson.
Thompson tells us that he has been living alone since his wife passed away 10 years ago, and that having Rett around makes life easier. The suspect in this case is facing burglary charges
Labels: FL, home invasion, intoxication, senior
9/16/09
Wellington, Florida
From WPTV of September 11, 2009
Homeowner who shot intruder identified
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is investigating a late night shooting at a residence in the 1400 block of The 12th Fairway.
A homeowner claims that two suspects broke into his residence just before 11:00 p.m. Thursday. One of the alleged intruders was shot during a struggle.
The person who was shot ran away but later turned up at nearby Wellington Regional Medical Center. He was then transferred to the Delray Medical Center, where his condition is not known.
The second suspect also fled, but remains at large despite a ground and air search.
Friday afternoon the sheriff's office identified the homeowner as Jonathan A. Babilonia.
Labels: FL, home invasion
Klammoth Falls, Oregon
From KPTV of September 9, 2009
Man Shoots Intruder Armed With Bat
Police say a man shot an intruder who was armed with a baseball bat Tuesday night.
Mark Farrell, 24, of Beatty, entered Jim Westman's house armed with a wooden baseball bat, said Klamath Falls Sheriff Timothy Evinger in a news release.
Farrell attempted to assault Westman with the bat and Westman fired one round from a .22-caliber rifle, which hit Farrell in the right forearm. Farrell continued to assault Westman after he was shot, Evinger said.
Roxann Klobucar, Westman's mother, was able to wrestle the bat from Farrell. Klobucar hit Farrell several times in the head until he was subdued, Evinger said.
Prior to entering the house, Farrell damaged Westman's vehicle with the bat, Evinger said.
Evinger said the motive appears related to a theft from Farrell about a month ago.
Farrell was transported to a nearby hospital. He is expected to face charges of burglary, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
Detectives are continuing to investigate.
Labels: assault, home invasion, OR
El Cajon, California
From the San Diego News Network of September 15, 2009
Home invader shot, killed by apartment resident in El Cajon
El Cajon police Teusday investigated the fatal shooting of an intruder at an apartment complex in the East County city.
A man armed with a handgun knocked on the door of an apartment at 1499 Broadway shortly before 5:25 p.m. Monday, then forced his way inside when someone opened the door, according to El Cajon police Lt. Tim Henton.
An occupant of the apartment armed himself with a shotgun and shot the intruder, who died at Sharp Memorial Hospital at 6:30 p.m., Henton said.
Police did not immediately speculate on the motive behind the intrusion.
The intruder’s name was withheld pending family notification.
Labels: CA, home invasion
9/9/09
Decatur, Alabama
From the Decatur Daily of September 9, 2009
Teen burglary suspect killed
On Tuesday morning, 14-year-old Ta’veon Tashawn Mason should have been at his desk at Austin High School, but he and two friends skipped school.
Police said the ninth-grader died in a Southwest Decatur backyard from a single gunshot wound. A press release said a resident shot him inside the house during a burglary at about 10:30 a.m.
Noel Mclean at 1432 Fifth Ave. S.W. said he shot Mason. He said he was awakened by the intruders and he shot out of fear.
Lt. Jonathan Green, public information officer, said Mason was one of three teen boys suspected in the break-in.
Police said the trio broke a window at the back of the house and entered.
“The homeowner was asleep inside and was awakened by the intruders,” said Sgt. Rick Archer, supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit. “He retrieved a handgun and confronted them.”
Archer said the man fired one shot, striking Mason, and the two other teens fled the house. Outside the home, a white sheet covered Mason’s body as it lay in the grass near the window where police said the break-in occurred.
Officer David Shutt caught a 16-year-old male soon after the shooting, and detectives found the third teen, 14, at his home later Tuesday afternoon, Archer said. The 14 and 16-year-olds are Austin High School students, but the 16-year-old is in the alternative school program, sources told The Daily.
Police charged both teens with second-degree burglary, booked them into Decatur City Jail and later transferred them to the Tennessee Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Tuscumbia. They will soon face a detention hearing, Archer said.
The Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville will perform an autopsy on Mason’s body, police said. Sharpley Funeral Home in Decatur will handle arrangements.
Detectives questioned the homeowner about the shooting, but Archer said police did not file any charges in connection with Mason’s death.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
Labels: AL, home invasion, minor offender
9/8/09
Orange County, Florida
From September 8, 2009 WFTV channel 9:
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County homeowner says he shot a man in self defense late Monday night.
The man told deputies he came home just before 11:00pm Monday night and found another man in his home on Faculty Drive.
He says the man hit him in the head with a pipe and stabbed him. The homeowner then got his gun and shot the man.
Labels: FL, home invasion
Kansas City, Missouri
From KMBC of September 7, 2009
Intruder Shot At Northland Apartment
olice said an intruder was shot during an attempted break-in at a Northland apartment complex early Monday morning.
Officers were called to the Wild Oaks complex at Highway 152 and Flintlock Road shortly before 3 a.m.
Police said a man was trying to break into an apartment when the woman inside grabbed her gun and fired at the intruder through the door.
The man pulled out his own gun and fired back.
The intruder was hit twice and was taken to a hospital. He is expected to recover.
The woman was not injured.
Labels: female, home invasion, MO
9/4/09
San Marcos, Texas
From the Houston Chronicle of September 4, 2009
2 teens killed trying to break into home
A man shot and killed two teenagers and wounded another when they tried breaking into his home early Friday, police said.
A fourth teenager was arrested and is expected to be charged with aggravated robbery.
Three of the four male teenagers who tried breaking into the home were armed, one with a handgun and two with pellet guns that looked like more powerful weapons, San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams said.
One of the three college-aged people who lived in the rental home opened fire on the teens with a .40-caliber Glock pistol, killing two 16-year-olds and wounding another suspect. A 17-year-old suspect fled the scene but was captured and arrested after returning to the scene to check on his friends, police said. He's expected to be charged with aggravated robbery, Williams said.
The wounded suspect was taken to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin with non-life threatening injuries, Williams said. Officials say the wounded suspect is also expected to be charged.
Police did not identify the suspects or those who lived in the home. None of the residents were injured. One was a Texas State University student.
Williams said the shooter appeared to be acting in self-defense and "there doesn't appear to be a crime" related to the shooting.
The suspects are from Luling, about 20 miles southeast of San Marcos, Williams said. It does not appear they know those living at the home, he said.
The shooting happened shortly before 2 a.m. Friday. Police responded to a 911 call about a home invasion and shots fired.
"If you feel threatened, you certainly have a right to defend yourself," said Williams.
San Marcos is about 30 miles south of Austin.
Labels: home invasion, minor offender, TX
9/3/09
New Orleans, Louisiana
From August 31, 2009 WDSU channel 6:
Carlos Calderon, 39, and Luis Calderon, 26, were found dead around 11:15 p.m. Sunday in an apartment at 1132 Carondelet Street. Two other men, a 38-year-old and a 31-year-old, were found in the apartment with multiple stab wounds.
The Calderon brothers lived in the same building and had been involved in an argument with the two survivors earlier Sunday, police said. Later that night, the brothers -- armed with knives -- forced their way into the other men's apartment, police said.
The roommates also armed themselves with knives and a handgun, and they managed to defend themselves by stabbing and shooting the men, police said.
Homicide detectives and representatives from the District Attorney's Office met Monday and determined that the men's actions were justified.
Labels: home invasion, LA
Lake Worth, Florida
From the August 10, 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
LAKE WORTH - No one was injured when a shotgun was fired during a home-invasion robbery in which the victims fought back and managed to wrest away one of the guns early today, according to the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.
The home invasion and scuffle involved three robbers and seven unidentified residents in a home west of Lake Worth.
Three of the residents had just arrived home from a nightclub in the 1400 block of Hillcrest Drive shortly after 2 a.m. when three suspects emerged from the back yard. One of the men was brandishing a shotgun and the other a silver handgun.
The suspects pistol whipped one of the victims and forced him to stay down, the Sheriff's Office said. But that victim was able to get away.
The suspects then barged into the home, where another four people slept, and confronted another one of the club-goers for money. When he declared he had none, they instead took his cell phone, watch and 32-inch gold necklace, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.
The suspects then woke up one of the sleeping residents who fought for control of the shotgun. It fired, lodging pellets into a bedroom wall, Barbera said.
Meanwhile, as the two other suspects went around the house screaming "where is the money at?", one of the victims was able to grab the handgun. Also, another victim managed to get an 8-inch knife and began chasing the suspects.
That victim may have cut one of the suspects, Barbera said. At that point, the suspects left the house and headed south on Hillcrest Drive possibly in a four-door, blue, older model Toyota or Honda.
The suspects' faces were partially covered with black bandanas. The investigation continues.
Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, FL, home invasion
9/2/09
Nashville, Tennessee
From WSMV of August 30, 2009
60-Year-Old Shoots Teen Robber
Police said a 60-year-old man shot a teenager who tried to rob his home Saturday night.
Metro police said the break-in happened on Lindy Murff Court in south Nashville.
The 60-year-old resident shot one of the two robbers in the chest. Later, the two robbers showed up at the Shell station on Haywood Lane in Antioch, asking for help, police said.
The wounded man claimed he had been robbed and shot during the robbery.
Paramedics rushed the wounded man to the hospital, and he is expected to survive. The other man has been arrested. Police have not released their names.
Labels: home invasion, TN
Hillsborough, North Carolina
From the News Observer of September 2, 2009
Man fired to defend himself, police say
Police do not expect to charge a 65-year-old Faucette Mill Road homeowner who shot an intruder Friday night.
"At this point we believe he was acting in self-defense," Lt. Davis Trimmer of the Hillsborough Police Department said Tuesday. "He was alone in his house. He came out and found three men in his living room."
The case will be reviewed by the district attorney's office, Trimmer said.
Christopher Jerome Williams, 19, of 626 Wildaro Court in Hillsborough, was shot in the chest at 11:34 p.m. He is doing well after surgery, Trimmer said.
Police charged Williams and Audricus Southerland, 18, of 316 Lakeshore Drive in Hillsborough, with first-degree burglary. They were found a few minutes after the incident at a relative's home, less than a mile away.
Police arrested two more suspects Monday night. Brandon Borden, 20, of 548 Homemont Ave., and Artimus Stewart, 20, of 179 Torain St., were charged with first-degree burglary. They and Southerland were being held at the Orange County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, Trimmer said.
Police are not releasing the name of the homeowner. He told police he heard the door to his residence being forced open. He got a pistol and found three people standing in his living room. He fired one shot, hitting Williams. After the shooting, he saw four men running from his home.
North Carolina law recognizes people's right to defend themselves, others or their homes.
In cases of defending one's home, the law allows the use of deadly force against an intruder to prevent entry and to terminate unlawful entry if a person thinks doing so will prevent death, injury or the commission of a felony.
"I think they are more difficult cases to prosecute," said John Rubin, professor of public law and government at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government who has written a book "The law of self-defense in North Carolina." "The law provides a lot of protection to the homeowner," he said.
Labels: home invasion, NC
Fort Mill, South Carolina
From WCNC of August 20, 2009
Fort Mill homeowner fires shot at intruder
One minute a Fort Mill father was watching cartoons with his 2-year-old son. The next minute he was aiming a pistol at an intruder.
It happened in the Avery Lake subdivision off Steele Street in Fort Mill just after 8 p.m. Wednesday.
"Even today I feel sick to my stomach," the victim told NewsChannel 36.
It was just a regular Wednesday night, the 24-year-old said, when he suddenly found himself defending his and his son's lives.
"I heard the glass shatter," he said.
The man asked not to be identified to protect his family's safety.
"When I heard the noise, I called 911," he said.
The noise was a burglar who had bashed in the back sliding glass door with a boulder from the yard. Police believe the intruder thought no one was home.
The homeowner -- a former police officer who left law enforcement for the ministry -- hid his son in a closet and grabbed his pistol.
"I yelled a warning at him to leave. He didn't do it. He came walking toward me and I shot at him," the victim described.
The man said in all his time on the force he never once had to shoot at a suspect.
"If I hadn't pulled the trigger I don't know what would have happened to myself and my son," he said.
The intruder got away. Fort Mill police traced his tracks to a nearby school. Investigators said they hope surveillance cameras there may have video that will help them make an arrest.
Labels: home invasion, SC
Charlotte, North Carolina
From WRAL of August 26, 2009
NC man, 76, shoots youth, 15, after home invasion
Police are unraveling a home invasion and burglary that began at an elderly couple's home and ended with a 15-year-old suspect shot to death on a nearby street.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said robbery and homicide investigative units are working to sort out the Saturday incident that began when four young men pushed into the upscale brick home that C.L. McClure, 76, shares with his wife in northeast Charlotte's Newell community.
"I'm not in any condition to talk" about the incident, McClure, a retired building fireproofer, told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
Police said four teens entered McClure's home Saturday. McClure was bound with duct tape and his wife held at gunpoint. The robbers left with some jewelry and a wallet.
McClure's son, Larry, who lives next door, said his father broke free and after checking that his wife was OK guessed at the robbers' route out of his neighborhood. C.L. McClure grabbed a pistol, got into his dark green van and pursued the crooks, Larry McClure said.
"He thought they might have been driving, and he wanted to get a tag number," Larry McClure said.
Larry McClure said his father told him he was in his van when he saw one of the suspected robbers and thought he was armed. C.L. McClure fired his pistol when the teen turned toward him, his son said.
Marcus Fluker, 15, died later at Carolinas Medical Center. Police said they didn't recover a gun from near his body.
Officers took C.L. McClure to headquarters for questioning but released him without charges.
Police charged the other three teens with robbery and burglary. Police identified them as Joseph Graves, 17, Matthew Everett Morgan, 17, and Tahjaue Wiley, 18.
Police said they want to prevent any possible retribution against McClure and have assigned an officer to keep an eye on the residence.
"I think there's a concern. They just want to be extra careful. It's extra upsetting to have a 15-year-old shot and killed," said Capt. Mike Smathers, who command's the department's robbery unit. "I don't care who you are; that's terrible. They're just trying to make sure peace is maintained."
Labels: home invasion, minor offender, NC, residence robbery, senior
8/26/09
Newburg, Maryland
From the August 21, 2009 Independent:
Two masked men armed with a handgun held up a man and woman Tuesday in a Newburg home invasion, according to police.The victim arrived at the Waverly Point Road home and was talking with his wife in the garage at about 8:25 p.m. when the robbers walked up, police reported. The robber carrying the handgun ordered the victim inside the home and started looking for valuables. The second masked man stayed in the garage with the victim's wife, according to police.
The arrival of the victim's son disrupted the robbery and gave the victim a chance to get a handgun. The victim fired two shots at an open field, and the robbers ran away toward a wooded area, according to Diane Richardson, spokeswoman for the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
The victim then called police, who searched the area and gathered evidence from the scene.
Labels: home invasion, MD
8/25/09
Tabor City, North Carolina
From the August 24, 2009 Winston-Salem Journal:
TABOR CITY -- A sheriff says that North Carolina's longest-serving legislator has shot an intruder at his Tabor City home.
Columbus County Sheriff Chris Batten said that state Sen. R.C. Soles, 74, shot one of two people who kicked in the front door yesterday.
Batten said that the intruder was taken to a hospital, though he did not know the extent of his injuries.
Labels: home invasion, NC
8/23/09
Houston, Texas
From the August 22, 2009 Houston Chronicle:
A man accused of kicking in the door of his ex-girlfriend's Spring home was recovering from a gunshot wound on Saturday.
Johnnie W. Cunningham III, 31, faces a burglary charge after police say he forced his way into a home in the 7000 block of Treaschwig late Friday night.
While the ex-girlfriend and another man slept, Cunningham began beating and kicking their back door around 10 p.m., said Thomas Gilliland, a Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Through the closed door, the ex-girlfriend told Cunningham to leave.
“He became belligerent, kicked the door open and gained entry to the house,” Gilliland said.
When Cunningham began struggling with the woman, the other man came out of a bedroom with a handgun. He ordered Cunningham to leave several times, but Cunningham continued to shove his former girlfriend, police say.
“At this time, the male occupant fired a warning shot into the ceiling,” Gilliland said. “The suspect again was belligerent and started towards the male complainant. The male complainant fired one time, striking the suspect in the upper chest.”
The shooter called 911 to report injuring an intruder.
Cunningham was transported to Ben Taub General Hospital in critical condition.
The shooter has not been charged, Gilliland said.
Labels: domestic dispute, home invasion, TX
8/13/09
Knoxville, Tennessee
From WHNT of August 11, 2009
Teen surrenders, man arrested in Knox fatal home invasion
A juvenile has surrendered to Knoxville police in a home invasion that left another youth dead.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported 17-year-old Don Christopher Ealey turned himself in Monday after negotiations with the District Attorney General's Office. He will face only juvenile charges.
Police also arrested 20-year-old Thomas Eugene Mays, who was held in lieu of $100,000 bond.
Investigators said Ealey and 17-year-old Antonio Wooten went to a home in the southern part of the city around dawn on Aug. 5 and knocked on the door. When the homeowner answered the knock, police said Ealey and Wooten tried to push their way in, but were repelled by gunfire.
Wooten's body was found in a gully beside the driveway leading to the home.
Labels: home invasion, minor offender, TN
Bakersfield, California
From KERO of August 7, 2009
Resident Shot, Suspect Killed in Apparent Home Invasion
A resident shot and killed an intruder in southwest Bakersfield after the suspect shot the resident twice, a Bakersfield Police official said.
At 11:11 p.m. Thursday, police received a report of a shooting at an apartment in the 1800-block of Canter Way, police said.
Police said they found an adult man outside the apartment suffering from two gunshot wounds to the torso.
The man informed officers that the suspect was still inside the apartment.
Officers entered the apartment and found Roosevelt Mitchell III, 21, dead with a gun.
The victim told them he was home with his wife and several friends when two suspects forced their way into the apartment. The resident armed himself with a gun and both exchanged gunfire, police said.
The victim was taken to Kern Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
There is no description of the second suspect. Several people were detained for questioning.
A motive has not been determined.
Labels: CA, home invasion
Jackson, Mississippi
From the Clarion Ledger of August 10, 2009
Robbery suspect shot in Jackson
Police do not expect to charge a Jackson homeowner who shot and wounded a man he found breaking into his car early Sunday morning.
The name of the homeowner was not released.
About 5 a.m., a homeowner in the 200 block of East Ash St. saw two men breaking into his Chrysler Sebring parked in front of the house, Jackson Assistant Chief Lee Vance said.
The homeowner got a gun and shot one of the suspected burglars, Vance said.
Michael Evans, 26, was shot in a thigh while still inside the Sebring, he said.
The second suspect, who has not been identified, was able to get away. Police are searching for the other man.
Evans was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not life-threaten-ing, Vance said.
Once Evans is released, Vance said, he will be charged in the burglary. He did not appear on the Jackson arrest docket Sunday night.
Jackson police will turn the findings from the investigation over to a Hinds County grand jury, which will determine whether the homeowner will be charged.
Vance would not say whether the case falls under the Castle Doctrine but said "the homeowner has a right to protect his property."
A number of people in Jackson have been shot or killed since the Castle Doctrine went into effect three years ago.
The Mississippi law allows property owners to use deadly force when they believe they are in imminent danger.
On Sunday afternoon, the Sebring was still parked in front of the home with the passenger window down. No one answered the door.
Greg Porter, an East Ash Street resident, said he would have done the same thing.
"You ain't got no business breaking into somebody else's car. If you do, you're looking for trouble," Porter said Sunday evening.
Labels: home invasion, MS
Las Vegas, Nevada
From the Las Vegas Sun of July 29, 2009
Woman, intruder shot during home invasion attempt
An attempted home invasion late Tuesday in North Las Vegas resulted in an exchange of gunfire and a woman and an intruder being shot.
Police said someone tried to enter a home shortly before midnight in the 4100 block of Karma Drive, between West Craig and Alexander roads, when the homeowner opened fire. The intruder fired back and injured the woman, authorities said.
Officers were dispatched to the home at 11:52 p.m. and upon arrival found a 31-year-old North Las Vegas resident with gunshot wounds to her leg. The injured woman said she had exchanged gunfire with unidentified men who had entered her home and threatened to shoot her 14-year-old son.
The boy wasn’t injured.
Police found a blood trail that left the residence and ended in the street in front of the house.
Sgt. Tim Bedwell of the North Las Vegas Police Department said he isn't sure who fired first.
He said the woman suffered a minor non-life threatening gunshot wound and was transported to University Medical Center. At the hospital, officers were notified a male gunshot victim had recently arrived to be treated who matched the description of one of the suspects.
His injuries are described as serious but non-life threatening.
Authorities said they do not know if the woman knew the intruder. Bedwell said an arrest hasn’t been made in the case.
Labels: defender shot, female, home invasion, NV
Ft. Pierce, Florida
From WPBF of August 12, 2009
Fort Pierce Man Shoots Intruder Who Climbed In Window
Police said a Fort Pierce resident shot a man who climbed in through a bedroom window of the home.
Carlos Contreras was arrested Wednesday after he checked himself in to a Port St. Lucie medical facility to be treated for what he claimed was a stab wound from a screwdriver.
Fort Pierce police said Contreras was the same man who tried to burglarize Bulmaro Aguilar's home earlier that morning.
Officers were called to home on South 25th Street after Aguilar reported that he shot an intruder.
Aguilar told police that while he was at home, Contreras knocked on his door, but Aguilar didn't answer. Aguilar said Contreras climbed in through a bedroom window a few minutes later, so Aguilar got a gun from his brother's bedroom and shot him.
Police said Contreras fled after being shot.
Labels: FL, home invasion
East Carondelet, Illinois
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of August 12, 2009
Alleged intruder shot and wounded
Officials said a man who lives in the 2300 block of State Street shot and wounded an intruder about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. St. Clair County sheriff's deputies said the intruder tried to break in because his ex-girlfriend was there. The male resident twice fought him off and then resorted to two shots to stop him, officials said.
Labels: home invasion, IL
7/31/09
McCracken County, Kentucky
From WLEX of July 30, 2009
Suspect Shot In McCracken County Home Invasion Robbery
Police say a suspected burglar was shot early Thursday morning during a McCracken County home invasion.
The incident happened at about 2 a.m. at a home in the Kevil area. Tthe McCracken county sheriff says a man was trying to break into the home when a burglar alarm went off. The home owner confronted the burglar, then shot him.
The burglar's name and condition have not been released.
From KFVS of July 30, 2009
Teen shot to death during home invasion
A man was shot and killed in McCracken County after police say he tried to break into a family's home around 2:00 a.m.
The family woke to the sound of the alarm system, indicating the door to the attached garage had been opened. The homeowner went outside to investigate, when he heard his wife inside screaming.
He ran back into the home where his wife told him the intruder, later identified as 18-year-old Andrew Caleb Barnett, was inside their attached garage attempting to get into the home through a wooden door with a window, according to police. The homeowner reportedly yelled several times that he had a gun, telling Barnett not to come inside. However, Barnett continued to make advances toward the man. Police say the homeowner fired one shot at Barnett, hitting him in the arm, and going into his chest area. Barnett apparently fell to the floor but got back up fighting the homeowner, at one point, biting him in the arm.
The fight continued through the home and eventually back into the garage. When police arrived they arrested Barnett and transported him to Western Baptist Hospital for the gunshot, but he ultimately died.
The McCracken County Police Department reports the 18-year-old was under the influence of Psilocybin Mushrooms, or "Magic Mushrooms" as they're called on the street, and thought he was inside his own home. At one point, he even called the homeowner "Dad".
Police located four people who apparently provided the drugs to Barnett and arrested them. They were identified as 19-year-old Taylor Thompson of West Paducah, 19-year-old Zachary Rodgers of Kevil, 18-year-old Ryan Bridges of West Paducah and 18-year-old Kristen Mohler of Kevil.
Additional charges are possible as the investigation continues. Charges against the homeowner are not expected.
Labels: home invasion, KY
7/30/09
Columbus, Ohio
From NBC4i of July 30, 2009
Man Fatally Shoots Armed Intruder, CPD Says
A man fatally shot an armed intruder while protecting his 5-year-old relative late Wednesday, authorities said.
Columbus police continued to investigate an overnight shooting on the city’s Southwest Side.
CPD said the incident started with a home invasion but it was the suspect who was fatally shot.
CPD was called to a home on the 1500 block of Autumn Village Drive on reports of a shooting at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Officers found a man on a front porch with a gunshot wound to his neck.
The armed suspect broke into home shortly before he was fatally shot, CPD said.
“There was a knock on the door. The resident went to the door, at which time the victim out front entered the house with a firearm in commission of an aggravated robbery,” said CPD homicide Sgt. Dana Norman.
As the armed suspect entered the home, a man picked up his 5-year-old relative to protect child as well as a firearm and fired shots, according to authorities.
The suspect attempted to flee the home after being wounded but collapsed on the porch. He died a short time later.
Detectives have not released the identity of the suspect currently, but NBC4 was told the shooter and suspect did not know each other.
The police report listed the suspect as an unknown black male in his 20s.
The man who fatally shot the suspect was not a resident of the home; he was staying there with relatives. There were four people in home at time of the invasion: a woman, child and two men, one of whom is bedridden.
Authorities have have not released additional information on the shooter’s identity, either.
“It’s a very quiet neighborhood,” said neighbor Gary Dulaney.
No other injuries were reported from the incident.
“Five-years-old, man. You’re always concerned about the kid. I mean you hope you don’t bring your child into that situation. It is scary. I feel bad for him,” Dulaney said.
No charges were filed against the man who shot the intruder currently, but the case will be presented to the Franklin County grand jury for review.
Anyone with additional information on the city’s 49th homicide of 2009 was asked to call the CPD homicide squad at 614-645-4730.
Labels: home invasion, OH
Grant Pass, Oregon
From KTVL of July 28, 2009
Homeowner Shoots, Kills Bear After it Climbs Through Window
A Grants Pass man woke up in the middle of the night, and came face to face with an intruder. That intruder was a bear, and the man jumped into action.
Everett Skinner was awakened by his daughter in the middle of the night. Skinner grabbed his shot gun.
"I shot him once with the gun and that didn't bother him" skinner explained. "I put a third shot into his mid section and he was still growling and roaring" said Skinner. It took three more shots to finally put the bear down.
The bear eventually collapsed dead. Ironically, Skinner explained the bear did with his head next to a picnic basket. Skinner says it was all over in about a minute. He says the bear had run out when the two saw each other, and is sorry that he had to kill the bear, but says it had to be done.
Labels: animal, home invasion, OR
7/29/09
Atlanta, Georgia
From July 28, 2009 channel 11:
ATLANTA (AP) -- Police say a man who shot and killed his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend was acting in self defense.
The shooting happened just after 3 p.m. Monday at an apartment in the 2,000 block of Lenox Road.
Atlanta police Maj. Renee Propes said the shooting victim waited outside his ex-girlfriend's apartment until her new boyfriend came home. Propes said the man attacked the new boyfriend and the fight continued into the apartment, where the new boyfriend shot and killed the ex-boyfriend.
Propes said charges aren't likely to be filed.
Labels: domestic dispute, GA, home invasion
7/27/09
Cottonwood, Idaho
From KTVB of July 27, 2009
Prison escapees meet their match in Idaho mom with gun
The Idaho County Sheriff's Office had honored a Cottonwood woman with a certificate of achievement saying she showed true courage in the face of danger for fending off two prison escapees who tried to break into her home.
Cassidy Lockett was home with her young children late last month when she says two men tried to break into her home. She hid the children behind the couch, grabbed a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol and aimed it at a man who was already halfway through a window, climbing into her home.
Lockett says she pointed the gun at him and told him to get out or she'd shoot. She says he complied, and left along with another man who was trying to get through the locked front door.
The sheriff's department says the two were Richard Nieves and Ben Westley Perez, who are both facing escape, burglary and other charges.
Labels: escaped prisoner, female, home invasion, ID
7/23/09
Garrad County, Kentucky
From WLEX of July 21, 2009
Intruder Fatally Shot By Homeowner In Garrard County
Police are investigating after they say a man was shot to death early Tuesday morning while trying to break into a home in Garrard County.
The incident happened at about 12:45 a.m. at a home on Old Richmond Road. Kentucky State Police said Dallas Richard Helton, 40, had broken into the back of the home, and was shot once in the chest by the homeowner, Herlin McQuerry, 67. Helton stumbled out to the driveway where police said he died.
Police said McQuerry also fired a shot at the alleged getaway car being driven by Tonya Fowler, 35, of Berea. She was later arrested and charged with complicity to commit burglary second degree.
Helton's 17-year-old son was also in the vehicle. Police questioned him, but have not charged him.
Helton's family claims they were looking at rental property. However, Kentucky State Police said Helton was wearing a black ski mask and armed with a crowbar. Police added McQuerry's house was not listed for rent.
No charges will be filed against McQuerry in the case.
Labels: home invasion, KY
7/22/09
Bristol, Florida
From the July 20, 2009 Tallahassee Democrat:
BRISTOL —Bradley Harvell, 82, closed the Slip N’ Slide bar that is connected to his house on County Road 333 around 8 p.m. Sunday and walked inside his house an hour later. He ate some dinner dropped off by a neighbor and then went to bed.Harvell said a short time later, he heard a knock at the door.
“There were two knocks at my door,” Harvell said. “I didn’t get up when I heard the first one. But I decided to go see who it was on the second knock.”
As Harvell cracked the door open to take a peek outside, a man dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans with a blue bandanna covering his mouth, forced his way inside.
Harvell said the man, later identified as Octavius Barnes, 24, of Sanford, Fla., shot him with a stun gun, causing Harvell to fall back on his bed. The intruder then pulled out what appeared to be a black pistol and demanded money.
Harvell pulled out his money clip and gave the robber half of the cash. When pressed to give more, Harvell said he turned it all over.
But Harvell then reached for his .357 magnum among a pile of papers on the floor next to his bed and shot Barnes near the stomach. Barnes fell over on the TV, knocking it onto Harvell, who fired another round, striking Barnes in the head.
“I did what I did to try and save myself,” Harvell said Monday afternoon, after spending the night with his sister in Bristol. “I’m 82-years-old. I’ve made it this far, and I want to keep on living.”
The call came in about 9:20 p.m., according to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. When a deputy arrived, with her weapon drawn, Harvell said he told her, “There’s no need for the gun. I don’t think he’s going to get up and do anything else.”
Labels: FL, home invasion, senior
7/19/09
Louisville, Kentucky
From WAVE of July 16, 2009
Homeowner subdues intruder until police arrive
Police in Oldham County are investigating another apparent home invasion attempt. This time the homeowner subdued the alleged intruder until police could arrive.
According to a press release from the Oldham County Police Department, officers were sent to the 1000 block of Goshen Lane about 1:30 a.m. Friday on a report of a home invasion burglary.
When police arrived on scene, they found the home owner, Wes Johnson, and a houseguest, Richard Rackleffe, restraining 34-year-old Sherman Ellis from Louisville.
Johnson told us it was about 1 a.m. Friday when Wes Johnson, his wife and their two out-of-town guests went to bed. About a half-hour later, Johnson says they heard something strange: the garage door opening and closing.
"We got out there and the garage was closed and we couldn't really figure out what was going on," Johnson said.
They didn't know it then, but Ellis had cut open the top of the Johnson's convertible and used the garage door opener to get inside their home. "When I walked back inside, I asked my wife to go up and call 911 and notify them that something was wrong," Johnson said.
That's when he noticed something in the basement. "I saw a closet door in our basement close. When I approached the door and kicked it open the guy came out and started to assault me," Johnson said.
Johnson says he and Ellis continued to struggle. "When somebody's coming at you in the darkness in the night and somebody comes at you with something in their hand to hit you, it helps you realize real quick that something's not right."
Johnson says he yelled for his wife to bring him a pistol he had in the house. In the meantime, Johnson's guests - both former FBI agents - came running downstairs.
"The guy was fighting all he could," said Johnson's guest, Richard Rackleffe. I used to work with defense tactics and all I did was take the arm and put it in a twist, where he quit fighting and he just succumbed or submitted at that point."
They held Ellis at gunpoint until police arrived and even then Johnson said Ellis fought officers, slightly injuring one before being handcuffed.
Even though Johnson managed to get the upper hand, the experience has left him shaken. "It definitely takes all the peace and comfort you have of going home and closing the door and knowing that you are in a safe place."
Police say Ellis lives in Portland, and told Johnson he was in Oldham County for a party. When he got left behind he said he planned to steal a car to get home.
But Johnson says that doesn't explain why Ellis decided to enter his home.
Ellis has a long criminal past, including multiple rape charges. And he's listed on the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry for raping a 15-year-old girl.
Ellis is charged with burglary, robbery, assault, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer and possession of burglary tools. He is being held in the Oldham County Jail on a $10,000 full security bond.
Labels: assault, home invasion, KY
7/18/09
Port Allen, Louisiana
From July 17, 2009 WAFB channel 9:
PORT ALLEN, LA (WAFB) - A ten-year-old boy left home alone with his sister used his mother's gun to shoot an intruder in the face, police said.
Late Tuesday, West Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputies received a call to a Port Allen apartment complex after several shots rang out from inside one of the apartments. "You are out here trying to work and for someone to come and do that and invade your home is very hard," the children's mother said. She asked to not be identified.
Deputies say Dean Favron and Roderick Porter knocked several times on the apartment door. The two young children, a ten-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl, stood on the other side, terrified. "He told his sister to be quiet and seconds later, they started kicking on the door and finally kicked the door in," said Sheriff Mike Cazes. The two children ran to their mother's bedroom closet.
In a panic, the ten-year-old grabbed his mother's gun for protection. "He did what I told him to do. I never told him to get the gun, but thank God he did," she said. Once the two suspects opened the door, threatening the kids, deputies say the boy fired a bullet into the lip of Roderick Porter. The two men were taken to the hospital by a third suspect, who is a 15-year-old juvenile. Once they got to the hospital, they were later arrested. "It's just hard. I don't understand why they would do that. I know they have little brothers and sisters and they wouldn't want anyone to break into their house," said the mother.
Labels: home invasion, LA, minor defender
7/16/09
Spring Branch, Texas
From the Houston Chronicle of July 16, 2009
NW Houston resident fatally shoots intruder
A man was shot and killed in a Spring Branch home this morning in what police believe was a case of self-defense.
Shortly before 7:30 a.m., paramedics received a call that a man was wounded in the 9000 block of Kerrwood, northwest of the intersection of Hammerly and Bingle.
Police on the scene say it appears the dead man was killed trying to rob the modest wood-frame house, which has a visible security camera installed outside.
Neighbors said crime has increased in the area in recent years, mostly break-ins and burglaries.
"It's disturbing, but there's nothing you can do about it," neighbor Terry Vick said, referring to what happened today.
Ginny Evans, who has lived in the area for less than two years, said she was stunned by the shooting.
"I can't blame him. I'd shoot (an intruder) if he was in my house," said Evans, who added that she had given her pistol to a friend but now plans to either ask for it back or buy another one.
"It's real scary, and it's sad," she said.
No arrests have been made and authorities are still on the scene. No other information was immediately available.
Labels: home invasion, TX
7/15/09
Jonesboro, Arkansas
From the Brenham Banner-Press of July 13, 2009
Former Blinn player shot during alleged burglary attempt
Former Blinn College football player Paul Stephens was shot early Saturday morning after he allegedly tried to burglarize a local residence, according to a report by The Jonesboro Sun.
Stephens, who was listed as the starting cornerback for Arkansas State University after earning the job during spring practices, was taken to St. Bernards Medical Center after being shot in the torso, The Sun reports.
When police responded to an emergency call to investigate a burglary, 25-year-old Antonio Williams told them he shot an intruder at his apartment. Shortly thereafter, police were able to locate Stephens, who had a gunshot wound in his midsection.
Further information will be released when the investigation is complete, investigators told The Sun.
Stephens last played for Blinn in 2007, where he started at cornerback and returned punts and kickoffs. He played for Arkansas State last season, recording 10 tackles and one interception.
From the Associated Press of July 14, 2009
Arkansas St. CB Paul Stephens kicked off team
Arkansas State cornerback Paul Stephens has been dismissed from the team.
Stephens was hospitalized over the weekend with a gunshot wound to his midsection. A man told police that he shot an intruder trying to break into an apartment.
Arkansas State announced Stephens' dismissal from the Red Wolves on Monday night, saying it was for "conduct detrimental to the team."
Labels: AR, home invasion
Mableton, Georgia
From WXIA of July 14, 2009
Police Seeking Home Invasion Suspect After Gunfight
A home invasion Tuesday afternoon ended in gunfire in South Cobb County, after a would-be robber tied up two men who lived at a home in Mableton.
Police said that one of the men got free and started shooting at the home invaders. That led to a massive search for the suspect, but the man remained on the run Tuesday night.
At around 1 p.m., a man with a gun broke into a home on Nickajack Road near Fontaine Road and rounded up all the people inside, tying them up.
One of the victims was able to get free, and retrieve his personal gun. He fired at the intruder in the confrontation that ensued, and police said that the suspect may have been shot before getting away on foot.
At some point after police arrived at the home, they received reports of gunshots fired in the area. Police cordoned off the general area near the home, including a section of the Silver Comet Trail -- believing initially it could be the work of the suspect on the loose.
Police said that they checked the wooded area near the home and were unable to find any trace of that suspect.
Investigators said that they do not believe the two incidents are related, which means the manhunt is now over, and the home invasion is still on the loose.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of July 15, 2009
"I had to get my gun" said Mableton man, 83, in shoot-out with home invader
A quick-thinking 83-year-old Mableton man foiled a home invader’s plans when he escaped bondage and shot the bandit.
John Parrish saved the day Tuesday with a pair of scissors and a .22-caliber revolver, police and a grateful son-in-law said.
“John Wayne is what we call him now,” said Danny Carlson, a tennis instructor who owns the home and who was shot in the right calf Tuesday as the octogenarian and the suspect exchanged gunfire.
“I don’t know what that guy would’ve done had he [Parrish] not come up here.”
Tuesday before 1 p.m., an armed man entered the basement of Carlson’s house on Nickajack Road, and encountered Parrish’s wife, Margaret.
Parrish and his wife occupy the basement’s in-law suite.
She’d heard her puppies barking and went to the bathroom to check on them, Carson said.
“As soon as she cracked the door, he grabbed her by the hair, put the gun in her ear and said, ‘If you make a sound, I’ll blow your brains out,’” John Parrish said Wednesday afternoon.
The intruder forced Parrish’s wife to the ground, tied her hands and feet with duct tape, and put a blanket over her head.
Parrish said he went to find his wife, and soon met the same fate – lying face down with his hands taped behind his back.
“He told me, ‘I don’t want to hurt you. I just want your money,’” Parrish said.
He told the invader he didn’t have any.
As the intruder stalked through the house, the retired freight dockworker hustled to free himself, twisting and wriggling his arms first, then crawling to the kitchen to find scissors to cut his legs free.
“I had to get my gun,” Parrish said.
Meanwhile, the intruder found a 10-year-old girl in the first-floor living room waiting to continue her tennis lessons with Carlson.
“He grabbed her and asked if anyone else was in the house,” said Carlson’s son, Chad, who came home from North Carolina on Wednesday after the incident.
The girl led the intruder to Danny Carlson’s office on the second floor of the house.
“I thought it was the little girl coming up to get me,” Carlson said. “But when I looked up, he had his arm around her and the gun pointed at me.”
The invader told the girl to sit down, and he bound Carlson and covered his head with a blanket.
“Then I just heard shooting,” he said.
Parrish had found his gun, loaded it, and sneaked upstairs.
“I shot three times and heard him groan,” Parrish said.
The intruder fired back twice, hitting Carlson once in the back of his right calf, and just missing Parrish.
“He ran past me and down the stairs out of the house,” Parrish said. “That shot came pretty close.”
Police say the suspect, described as a 6-foot-tall, roughly 250-pound black man in his 40s or 50s, is still at large, despite a lengthy search of the woods and nearby Silver Comet Trail near Carlson’s home.
Police say the intruder may have been wounded in the shootout.
Carlson said Parrish shot three times, “but we couldn’t find the bullets, so they must be in the intruder.”
Carlson was taken to the hospital and treated for the gunshot wound and a shattered tibia.
“The worst thing in the whole scenario is that the little girl had to witness all the gunfire,” Carlson said.
While Carlson said he would increase the security in the house, Parrish noted one thing he would do different.
“My wife never did want me to keep my gun loaded,” he said. “But now she said she does.”
Labels: GA, home invasion, senior
Lehi, Utah
From KSL of July 14, 2009
Lehi man shoots at intruder, chases him away
Tense moments in Lehi Tuesday after police set up a perimeter looking for a suspect in a home-invasion robbery.
The all clear has been given, but there are a lot of worried neighbors. They saw dozens of police cars in the street and officers with weapons and K-9s looking for a man who tried to stab someone inside his home.
Around 2 p.m. a 23-year-old man reported to police that someone broke inside his home near 2400 North and 800 West. He said the man tried to stab him, so he grabbed a gun and fired a shot at the intruder and chased him away through the back door.
Police from Lehi, American Fork and Saratoga Springs, as well as Utah County sheriff's deputies, searched for the suspect for nearly an hour.
The victim's sister, Annie, told KSL, "What happened, what we've been told, is that someone tried to stop my brother. I guess my brother shot at him and missed and scared the guy off, and he ran away."
Greg Neer, with the Lehi Police Department, said, "We do not have a suspect in custody. We have a description of him. He's wearing ... he's described as wearing a black tank top with cammo shorts, some Nike running shoes and his hair was light brown, has a little bit spiky in the front."
Neighbors were obviously alarmed to be told by police to stay inside their homes, especially after hearing the suspect could be armed with a knife.
In the end, no suspect was found, and right now detectives are interviewing the victim at the police station to try and find out more information.
Police are still unsure if the suspect was hit, and at this point aren't giving any more information about what happened.
Labels: assault, home invasion, UT
7/14/09
Savannah, Georgia
From the Ledger-Enquirer of July 14, 2009
Intruder, resident shot to death in home invasion
Garden City police say two men are dead from gunshot wounds in an apparent home invasion..
Police Chief David Lyons said a man and a woman were inside the residence about 1 a.m. Tuesday when two armed intruders broke in through a bedroom window.
Lyons said the resident also was armed and gunfire erupted. He said one of the intruders was hit and ran from the house. He was found dead in some woods about 70 yards from the house.
The chief said the male resident was alive when police found him in a bedroom, but he died on his way to a hospital. He said the female was not hurt.
Police said identities will be released after relatives are notified.
Labels: defender killed, GA, home invasion
7/12/09
Fresno, California
From KGPE of July 6, 2009
Homeowner Shoots Burglary Suspect in Fresno
A shooting in Southwest Fresno is under investigation after a homeowner shot a burglar who had broken into his house.
The shooting happened around 11:00 PM Saturday night near Olive and Polk.
The owner and his daughter returned home and found someone inside the house. The man took his daughter to a neighbor and went back to the house while the neighbor called police.
It turns out the burglar was a teen who lives right next door.
The homeowner told CBS47 that he shot the teen in the arm. The teen is expected to survive and now faces charges for burglary.
Labels: CA, home invasion
7/9/09
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
From WAFB of July 9, 2009
Attempted robbery leads to deadly shooting
Police say a deadly shooting on Alliquippa Street in Baton Rouge was apparently the result of an attempted robbery gone bad.
They say around 2:00 Wednesday morning two men rushed into a home attempting to rob the people inside.
Police say an 18-year-old inside the home grabbed his gun and started shooting, but so did a 38-year-old robber.
The robber died at the scene, while the 18-year-old remains hospitalized fighting for his life.
The second suspect ran off. If you can help police find him, call Crime Stoppers at 344-7867.
Labels: home invasion, LA, residence robbery
Whitney, Texas
From the Publication of July 9, 2009
Intruder Shot North Of Whitney
An apparent ongoing dispute led to an intruder being shot after he forced his way into a Whitney area home late Saturday, July 4.
Hill County Sheriff’s Office deputies had been to a residence in the 300 block of Timberline Street off Farm Road 1713 earlier in the evening.
The shooting was called into authorities at 11:53 p.m. after the victim forced open a door at the home to gain entry.
The 46-year-old Whitney man struggled with the 43-year-old homeowner before he armed himself with a .22 caliber pistol.
One shot was apparently fired, striking the older man in the abdomen.
The victim fled and was taken to Lake Whitney Medical Center in Whitney by private vehicle.
He was later flown by Air Evac to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco.
According to sheriff’s office reports, he was listed in stable condition the following day.
Sheriff Jeffrey T. Lyon said that a charge of burglary of a habitation is expected to be filed on the man after he is released from the hospital.
Labels: home invasion, TX
7/8/09
Jacksonville, Florida
From WJXT of July 8, 2009
Man Shoots Intruder In Self-Defense
William West was asleep in his bed when he got an unusual call from his neighbor at 4:30 in the morning.
"I called him back, and he was like, 'Somebody in your house right now. How asleep is you? They in your house right now," West's neighbor said.
That's when West said he got up and armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun, taking matters into his own hands.
"I didn't really have time to think, you know what I'm saying," West said. "Didn't have time to think to be scared or not. I just know I had to try to protect myself. That's it."
West said he shot the intruder who was later identified as 25-year-old Gerald Wright.
According to the arrest report, Wright came in through West's window armed with a silver handgun and was standing in his living room.
"I couldn't really see because I wear glasses, so I just shot because I had buck shots, and I know they would spread," West said.
According to the report, Wright was able to climb back out and run a couple blocks away, where he was found lying on the ground near the dorms at Edward Waters College.
Five days later, you can still see a trail of blood from the suspect leading from the window down the stairwell.
"I was trying to protect myself," West said. "That's all."
This marks the third incident in the last couple of weeks where victims are no longer waiting for police and instead utilizing Florida's stand-your-ground law.
The law gives victims the right to use deadly force in self-defense situations.
"I don't think it should have to come down to this," West said. "I really don't."
Labels: FL, home invasion
7/7/09
Frederick, Maryland
From the Frederick News-Post of July 7, 2009
Shots fired during home invasion
The Frederick Police Department is looking for a man who invaded a home at 207 S. Jefferson St. early this morning, according to police.
Officers went to the scene about 2:49 a.m. after shots were reportedly fired, police stated.
A white man with dark hair, believed to be named Kevin, had forced his way into the home, police said.
The man allegedly took money from a resident, who fired two shots at the man, Lt. Clark Pennington, police spokesman, said. Police do not believe the man was injured.
Witnesses said the man was wearing shorts and a dark shirt, Pennington said.
Officers searched the area but did not find the man.
Officers are investigating whether the same man may have committed similar crimes in the past at the same location, Pennington said.
According to Robbie Snyder who lives in another building on the property, a white man of medium build, between 25 and 30 years old, broke into his mother and his uncle’s home between 2:30 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. by breaking a lock and window in the back door. Snyder said both residents are in their 80s and his uncle is wheelchair bound.
His uncle fired two shots from a 38-caliber revolver at the intruder who then fled the scene, Snyder said.
This is the third time the man has broken into the home and the fifth time he has been there, Snyder said. The first two times Snyder said his uncle gave the man named Kevin money after hearing a "sob story."
The man broke into the home in February and threatened Snyder’s uncle before getting additional money, Snyder said. The man also broke in in late May or early June, Snyder said, and Frederick police were called after each break-in.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 301-600-TIPS or online at fpdcrimetip@fredco-md.net.
Labels: home invasion, MD
Jacksonville, North Carolina
From the Jacksonville Daily News of July 7, 2009
No charges filed against Sneads Ferry man who shot intruder
A Sneads Ferry man who shot a teenager charged with trying to break into the man's home Monday will not be charged, authorities said.
Landon Crews, of Crows Nest Lane, shot 18-year-old Cyle Norris early Monday morning. Detectives with the Onslow County Sheriff's Department said Norris was trying to crawl through a broken window when Crews shot him in the right forearm with No. 7 shot from a 12-gauge shotgun.
Norris and three other local men were charged with first-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy.
North Carolina state law says that Crews was within his rights to shoot an intruder breaking into his home. General Statute 14-51.1 states, "A lawful occupant within a home or other place of residence is justified in using any degree of force that the occupant reasonably believes is necessary, including deadly force, against an intruder to prevent a forcible entry into the home or residence or to terminate the intruder's unlawful entry if the occupant reasonably apprehends that the intruder may kill or inflict serious bodily harm to the occupant or others in the home or residence, or if the occupant reasonably believes that the intruder intends to commit a felony in the home or residence."
The law also states that a lawful occupant has no duty to retreat from an intruder.
"The long and the short of it is he didn't break the law," Sheriff Ed Brown said.
Attempts by The Daily News to reach Crews were unsuccessful.
Authorities said Norris, Trevor Sturgis, 21, and David Sonye, 21, tried to break into Crews' house after Joseph Michael Greene III, 16, who is also accused of attempting to break in, was forcefully put out of the home 20 minutes prior.
The four men tried to break down the front door, break out windows and climb through, authorities said.
Crews - who was at home with his mother - told investigators that he warned them several times before shooting. The four accused intruders were given a bond of $50,000 each.
The Sheriff's Department is seeking to talk with James Austin Boone, who authorities believe was at the residence around the time of the shooting.
Anyone with information concerning Boone's whereabouts can contact the Jacksonville/Onslow Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273 or Sheriff's Sgt. David South at 910-455-3113. Callers do not have to reveal their identities.
Labels: home invasion, NC
7/1/09
Sugar Land, Texas
From KIAH of July 1, 2009
Sugar Land Man Shoots Intruder
Residents are on alert tonight after a man tries to break into a Sugar Land home.
The man was shot after trying to break into an apartment on Long Reach Drive near Lexington in Sugar Land.
Going by his first name only, James, a computer technician, who works the graveyard shift was sleeping in his apartment when he was awaken by his barking dog around noon.
"That alarmed me so I picked up my gun just to have it with me in case someone was there," said James.
And there was; an unidentified intruder who apparently entered through a kitchen window.
"I opened my bedroom door and saw the guy," said James. "It looked like he was running towards me with a weapon like a screwdriver and I was scared."
The 33 year-old pulled the trigger striking the suspect in the upper body. James was dialing 911, when he says the suspect ran out through the front door.
"The suspect description that we have is a Hispanic male in his 20's," said Doug Adolf, a Sugar Land City Spokesperson. "We were told he might have fled in a silver-colored SUV."
The suspected get-away vehicle, which was stained with blood, was later discovered 10 miles away near a southwest Houston Long John Silver Restaurant.
Police say the suspect walked to a nearby clinic, and was eventually taken to Ben Taub hospital.
Surprisingly, James says he feels bad for the man.
"If he hears this, I hope he lives," said James. "I'm sorry that I had to shoot him. I was scared and he shouldn't be getting into people's apartment and trying to rob them."
"That makes me feel great that there is someone out there that will defend themselves and their community," said Courtney Huckaby, a neighbor.
Police say when the suspect took himself to a clinic he actually claimed a robber had shot him. It's unclear his exact condition at this time, and whether charges have been filed against him.
Sugar land PD says there has been an increase in apartment burglaries and a task force was created to combat the problem.
Labels: home invasion, TX
Louisville, Kentucky
From WHAS of July 1, 2009
Man shoots, kills intruder during home invasion, intruder turns out to be man's grandson
Police say a grandfather shot and killed his own grandson, after the 20-year-old broke into his grandparents' house.
But WHAS11 News has learned the grandfather didn't realize who he was shooting until it was too late.
Metro Police say the grandson came in through a back window wearing a ski mask around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. His grandfather woke up and saw the figure with a mask and opened fire.
The shots killed his grandson, James Michael Keen, 20, who has a record of repeated drug charges. We're also told had stolen from his grandfather in the past.
Investigators say keen also fired at his grandfather, but they're not sure who shot first. We're told the gun keen had on him at the time was his grandfather's gun, previously stolen from his grandfather's car.
It appears the motive of this morning's break-in was theft, but since it ended with Keen dead, WHAS11 asked police if his grandfather might face any charges.
"The facts we have don't lead to that as far as I’m concerned-- for an arrest to be made. It seems to me to be a justified homicide, as far as self-defense, but that determination will come from the Commonwealth Attorney's Office,” said Lieutenant Barry Wilkerson, LMPD.
However, Nicholas Joseph Spencer, 20, is under arrest. Police say he was waiting outside in the getaway car for Keen at the time of the shooting.
A source also tells WHAS11 that Keen's grandfather first figured out it was his grandson just before police arrived, when he pulled the ski mask off Keen.
Police say that the grandson also fired shots at the homeowner, his grandfather.
Labels: home invasion, KY
6/30/09
Holly Hill, South Carolina
From the Times and Democrat of June 30, 2009
Homeowner shot intruder, police say
A security alarm went off at a Holly Hill accountant’s residence in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, rousing the sleeping homeowner who grabbed his gunshot, confronted an intruder standing in his doorway and shot the burglar in the shoulder.
L. Glenn Littlejohn, 71, of 1244 Peake St. interrupted the suspect, Roosevelt Elmore Jr., at around 4:55 a.m. as Elmore stood in the doorway of Littlejohn’s home, according to police.
Holly Hill Police Chief Robert Wunderlich said an unarmed Elmore allegedly forced his way though a doorway into the kitchen of the victim’s home.
Littlejohn, after being awakened by the alarm, “grabbed his shotgun, went out the back door and went around to the side of the house where the suspect made entrance and confronted the suspect in the doorway,” Wunderlich said.
He said Littlejohn shot Elmore in his right shoulder with a 12-gauge shotgun. The wounded Elmore fled the scene, and Littlejohn called 911, the chief said.
Moments later, Wunderlich said, a 30-year-old male resident of Gilmore Avenue called law enforcement after observing a man with a gunshot wound standing on his front porch.
Wunderlich said the suspect ran nearly 300 yards from Littlejohn’s house before arriving at the Gilmore Avenue residence. Holly Hill officers were able to follow a trail of blood in tracing Elmore’s escape route from Peake Street to Gilmore Avenue, he said.
“He (Elmore) had several pellet punctures in the upper shoulder area,” Wunderlich said.
Officers recovered one spent three-inch shotgun cartridge from the scene. Sgt. Andy Myers said an unspent cartridge could contain 15 pellets. Wunderlich said Elmore had 14 puncture wounds. However, he said some of the wounds may be the result of shotgun pellets exiting the suspect’s body.
Emergency crews responded and transported Elmore by helicopter to the Medical University of South Carolina, where he underwent surgery on his shoulder, Wunderlich said. He said Elmore’s injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening.
Elmore was charged with felony first degree burglary, Wunderlich said. If convicted, he could face from 15 years to life in prison, the police chief said.
Wunderlich said Elmore is also a “person of interest” in three previous reported burglaries at Littlejohn’s home in recent months – on Dec. 24, 2008, March 5 and April 10.
Wunderlich said Elmore’s criminal rap sheet is lengthy, including convictions for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, burglary and forgery.
The Times and Democrat attempted to contact Littlejohn; however, he was meeting with a client in Charleston at press time.
Labels: home invasion, SC
6/29/09
Burlington, North Carolina
From the Burlington Times News of June 29, 2009
Homeowner wounds would-be burgler
A homeowner fired a shotgun after two people broke into his home on N.C. 54 early Monday and hit one of the suspects in the arm.
The gun scared the two men away, and one of them, 36-year-old Randy Stewart, of Morningside Drive, Burlington, showed up at Alamance Regional Medical later, according to an Alamance County Sheriff's Department news release.
He was taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for further treatment. His medical condition wasn't immediately known.
The sheriff's department obtained a warrant charging Stewart with first-degree burglary, but it still hasn't been served. The second suspect remains at large and deputies continue to search for him.
The incident happened at about 12:30 a.m. Monday at a home on N.C. 54. The home owner, John Davis, told authorities that sometime after midnight he and his girlfriend were awakened by the dog barking. They heard noises outside the door of the home.
When Davis got out of bed to investigate, the two suspects allegedly shattered the door and entered the house.
"The victim was then confronted by the suspects as they proceeded through the kitchen of the residence," the release states. "At that point, Mr. Davis had armed himself with a shotgun. As the suspects advanced toward him, he fired the weapon."
Both suspects left the home. The investigation is ongoing. The sheriff's department plans to confer with the District Attorney's office, but it is unlikely that Davis will be charged.
Labels: home invasion, NC
Mira Loma, California
From the Inland Empire News of June 29, 2009
Mira Loma man kills home-invasion suspect
On Sunday at 8:11 a.m., deputies from the Jurupa Valley Station responded to a report of shots fired in the 31000 Block of Chardonnay Way in the community of Mira Loma. Deputies found a deceased male adult in the street.
Investigators from the Jurupa Valley Station and the Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit responded to the location and assumed the investigation.
Investigators learned the victim of the homicide and a female companion had participated in a home invasion robbery. During the robbery, a struggle ensued between the suspects and the homeowners. The male suspect dropped his firearm during the struggle with the homeowner. The homeowner retrieved the firearm and fatally shot the suspect during the struggle for the weapon. The suspect attempted to flee the residence after he was shot, but collapsed in front of the residence.
The identity of the deceased male is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Update: The female suspect in the home invasion robbery was located by the Ontario Police Department in the area of Walnut and Cucamonga on Sunday at 7:15 p.m. The suspect was identified as Amy Schinzel (pictured), 30 years of age, from Ontario. She was arrested and booked for murder.
Labels: CA, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion
6/25/09
Wagram, North Carolina
From the Laurinburg Exchange of June 20, 2009
One dead after botched home invasion
Deputies say at least one gunman was killed in an early-morning home invasion near Wagram.
Anthony Martin, of Kale Street in Wagram, was shot to death in the failed robbery attempt while two others masked men fled, according to Shep Jones. The sheriff's department did not have Martin's age.
Investigators say one of the robbers was 40-year old William Anthony Strickland, according to Jones. The last-known address for Strickland is 9539 Springview Road in Charlotte. Jones would not say how Strickland was identified as a suspect.
Warrants were obtained for Stricklands arrest on charges of robbery, burglary and felony assault.
Investigators have not released information on the third suspect.
Jones said the trio entered the home of 62-year Edmond Cooper at 23296 Wagram Street at about 12:30 a.m. through the back door, which had been left unlocked.
Debbie Cooper, Edmond's wife, was still up and a suspect knocked her out by striking her over the head. The men then entered the room of the Coopers' 15-year old son. The suspects used ziploc ties to restrain the juvenile. The three men then entered the hallway of the residence, according to Jones.
"Edmond Cooper came out of the bedroom with a gun," Jones said. "He fired several shots, hitting one of the suspects."
He said the two suspects left standing returned fire, while fleeing from the residence.
"Mr. Cooper was shot in the hand," Jones said.
Martin was dead when emergency personnel arrived on the scene, according to Jones. Edmond Cooper was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.
Jones said the two suspects may have fled with $1,000 from the residence.
"It shows the times we're living in when families are at home, where they are supposed to be safe, and they are violated," Jones said.
Wagram police have assisted the sheriff's department in this case.
If you know the whereabouts of William Anthony Strickland or have information on the third suspect, contact the Scotland County Sheriff's Department at 276-3385 or anonymously report your tip to Scotland Crime Stoppers at 291-3333.
Labels: assault, home invasion, NC
Antioch, Tennessee
From WZTV of June 24, 2009
Gunman Shot to Death During Home Invasion
A home invasion turns deadly after one of the robbers is shot by the homeowner.
It happened on Moss Landing Drive in Antioch around 1:00 a.m.
Dennis Nicholson told detectives that he was confronted by 22 year old Elijah Minnard (pictured left) at the home.
Nicholson says Minnard had a shotgun, and 17 year old Jeremie Thomas (pictured right), had a pistol.
Police say the men forced Nicholson inside, and Minnard held Nicholson and 25 year old Lincoya Stephens at gunpoint upstairs while Thomas searched the downstairs area of the home.
Police say Stephens grabbed the shotgun to try and disarm Minnard, but Stephens was hit in the leg by a shotgun blast.
Police say Stephens and Nicholson still managed to get the gun away from Minnard.
Officers say Stephens then pulled a pistol that was concealed in his waistband and shot and killed Minnard.
Thomas, hearing the gunfire, went to check on Minnard.
Stephens opened fire on Thomas, and he fled the house.
At 2:15 a.m., police say Thomas, with gun in hand, jumped in front of a driver on Hamilton Church Road and yelled for her to stop.
The driver accelerated as she and her four passengers ducked.
Thomas was caught by officers a short time later.
Detectives say Thomas told them he and Minnard went to the home to commit a drug-related robbery.
No drugs were found in the residence.
Stephens is hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his leg and has not yet been interviewed by detectives.
The investigation is continuing.
Thomas is charged at Juvenile Court with two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of unlawful weapon possession, attempted criminal homicide, four counts of aggravated assault, and attempted aggravated robbery.
Thomas is being held in juvenile detention pending a hearing.
Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion, minor offender, residence robbery, TN
6/21/09
Moorhead, Minnesota
From KFYR of June 21, 2009
Would-be Burglar Shot to Death
An apartment break-in ended in a shooting, with the tenant killing the intruder. It happened to our east in Moorhead, Minnesota around midnight Saturday.
The burglar died after being shot in the chest at close range with a shotgun.
It`s been an emotional night for Sara Graham. "I thought he was drunk and trying to rob me; I did not know he was," says Graham. She begins to cry and can`t finish her sentence.
She was sleeping in her apartment when a man walked in in the middle of the night. She yelled at him to leave, and he did.
"No clue who he is," notes Graham.
But the intruder came back, this time entering another apartment. The tenant told police the man refused to leave and tried to pick a fight with him. The apartment owner grabbed his shotgun, and when the intruder attacked again, the tenant fired. It was a fatal shot.
Moorhead police Lt. Tory Jacobson says, "The entire circumstance has to be closely examined and specifically saying X and Y equal this result, you know, have to have variables that come into play, and no one would wish to be in that situation of having to choose between life or death."
Jacobson says everyone has a right to protect himself. That`s what David Allen says his brother, the apartment tenant, did.
"I know my brother isn`t that kind of person, he`d be the first to call the cops. I`m kind of confused by the situation," explains Allen.
The injured man fled back to Graham`s apartment, holing himself up in her daughter`s bedroom.
Neighbor Nelly Peralez says she hoped the deadly scene was only a nightmare. "It`s just shocking, I mean this morning when I woke up I just kept thinking saying please don`t let it be true because I live here," she says.
But as Sara Graham surveys her blood stained carpet, she says her nightmare is just beginning. "He was screaming. He was crying. I`ll never forget it. I`d rather see it again than hear it all over again," she says.
Moorhead police say they will not charge the shooter, apartment tenant Vernon Allen. Police say the dead burglar was a 17-year-old Moorhead boy.
Labels: home invasion, minor offender, MN
6/20/09
Altamonte Springs, Florida
From June 19, 2009 Central Florida channel 13:
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS -- A masked suspect was shot and killed outside an Altamonte Springs home.
Deputies arrived on the scene just before 4 a.m. Friday on the 300 block of Magnolia Street just off of Ronald Regan Boulevard.
A woman woke up when she heard someone trying to kick in the door of her home. Seminole County Sheriff's deputies say that's when her husband went to the door and shot twice at Donald Salaam. Salaam, 21, was hit once in the chest.
The wife was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher when the shots were fired.
Investigators say it appears the homeowner was justified.
“Our homeowner didn't have an obligation to retreat. He is able to protect his property," said Lt. James Clark, of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. "The questions we’re trying to answer: If he was in fear for his life and the life of his wife. If he was, he would be justified in this shooting.”
Detectives are trying to determine if Salaam acted alone.
Seminole County deputies say Salaam has an extensive criminal history involving drugs, fleeing/eluding law enforcement. He was also investigated for a previous armed robbery.
Labels: FL, home invasion
6/18/09
Las Vegas, Nevada
From KXNT of June 18, 2009
Resident Opens Fire During Home Invasion
An attempted home-invasion in the southwest valley today ended with shots fired. It happened around 10:30 a.m. at a house on Ocotillo Falls Avenue, near Grand Canyon and Patrick. Police say a homeowner fired five shots in self-defense after a man kicked in his door. No one was hit, but two suspects left the scene in a car. One was caught and arrested, the other fled on foot and is still being sought.
Labels: home invasion, NV
Phoenix, Arizona
From KPHO of June 18, 2009
Homeowner With Shotgun Kills Intruder
A Mesa homeowner used a shotgun to defend himself during a home invasion late Wednesday night, authorities said.
According to Mesa Police Department spokesman Sgt. Ed Wessing, two men armed with guns and demanding money forced their way into the home near Stapley Road and Southern Avenue.
The intruders rounded up the four men who live there and forced them into a room, Wessing said.
"At some point during this crime, one of the residents was able to grab a shotgun," Wessing said. "(He) shot and killed one of them, and then fired at the second suspect (who) was injured but then fled the area."
Police said the second intruder ended up at a nearby hospital, where he is expected to survive.
The four men were not injured.
Neighbor Ron Hahn has surveillance cameras set up around his home for security, and he shared copies of the video with police.
The video appeared to be too dark to determine what was going on inside the home; however, Hahn said his cameras did catch someone two months ago.
A person jumped the fence into his back yard and dismantled the security light.
"He sat in the corner of my yard for about, I would say, five minutes or so, watching the house behind me (where the homicide occurred) with a two-way radio," Hahn said.
Police also have the surveillance video from the second incident; however, they said it's too early to tell if it's related to the home invasion.
Labels: AZ, home invasion
Barstow, California
From the San Bernadino County Sun of June 15, 2009
Armed robber shot by Barstow homeowner during break-in
A Los Angeles man who was trying to rob a Barstow home Friday night with two others was shot and killed by the homeowner, police said.
A man who lives in the Teton Street house was attacked by three home invasion robbers about 10 p.m. as they attempted to break into his house, police said. The homeowner, who was armed, was able to shoot one of the robbers when they tried to escape.
Officers found Henry Jackson III, 57, lying in the front yard with a gunshot wound in his lower stomach.
Anyone with information is asked to call Barstow police Detective Keith Libby at (760) 255-5134 or Detective Ronan Colleco at (760) 255-5167.
Labels: CA, home invasion
Machias, Maine
From the Bangor Daily News of June 16, 2009
Princeton woman, 77, escorts armed intruder from home at gunpoint
A 77-year-old Princeton woman faced down a man armed with a sawed-off shotgun and sent him running after she pointed her own gun at him, according to court documents.
Doris Gatchell’s daughter, Eileen Newman, said Monday that family members had since nicknamed their mother “Annie Oakley.”
Suspect Dean T. Moore, who was arrested shortly after the Friday, June 12, incident, made his first appearance Monday in Washington County Superior Court. He faces up to 30 years in jail and fines of up to $50,000 on each of the two most serious charges of burglary with a firearm and robbery. He also has been charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, theft and criminal restraint. On Monday night, Moore remained in Washington County Jail unable to come up with the $15,000 bail set after his arrest.
Doris Gatchell’s daughter, Vanessa Gatchell, 50, was home watching television on South Princeton Road when she heard footsteps in the hallway at about 4:30 p.m., according to court documents made available Monday. Doris Gatchell had just left the house and Vanessa Gatchell thought her mother had returned because she had forgotten something. “She called out, but there was no answer,” according to the affidavit on file with the court.
Vanessa Gatchell went into the hallway and found Moore armed with a gun and a knife just standing there, the affidavit said.
The woman asked Moore not to hurt her and offered him money, according to the court documents. He refused to leave and demanded liquor, the affidavit said. “Ms. Gatchell opened two bottles of wine for [Moore], and he directed her to the front room where they both sat,” the affidavit said.
They talked about 30 minutes during which “he told her he was not afraid to hurt someone and he had used guns and knives before,” the court documents said. At some point during the conversation, Moore discarded the knife, but kept the shotgun, according to the documents.
The woman asked him to leave and said no one would have to know he had been there, but Moore declined to leave, the affidavit said.
Eventually Doris Gatchell returned home. Moore hid the firearm from view as Doris Gatchell entered the front room, the affidavit said. The two women then went into the kitchen, and Vanessa Gatchell told her mother that Moore had a gun and she “thought he was going to shoot them both,” the affidavit said.
Doris Gatchell retrieved her own gun and, according to the court documents, went into the front room and stood behind Moore’s chair.
Eileen Newman told the BDN on Monday that her mother, Doris, had a concealed weapons permit and had a gun “stashed” somewhere in the house. She said her parents at one time owned a sporting goods store that sold firearms. Her father, Ken, is deceased.
Doris Gatchell told Moore she had a gun and ordered him to leave, the affidavit said. “Mrs. Gatchell escorted the defendant out the door. Once on the porch [Moore] dropped his gun and then picked it up again. It was only at that point that Mrs. Gatchell saw the gun,” the court documents said.
The Gatchells then called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Deputy Michael St. Louis said Monday that when police arrived they at first were not sure whether Moore had run into the woods near the house or had gone back to his home about a quarter of a mile from the Gatchell residence.
Police surrounded Moore’s house and tried to contact him, according to St. Louis, but there was no response. After about 90 minutes, however, Moore stepped out onto his front porch to smoke a cigarette and that was when police arrested him and took him to jail, St. Louis said. Officers found the firearm in Moore’s garage and later recovered the knife from the Gatchell residence, the chief deputy said.
The Maine State Police, the Baileyville and Calais police departments, the Maine Warden Service and the U.S. Border Patrol assisted on Friday night, he said. In court on Monday, Attorney Jeffrey Davidson of East Machias was appointed to represent Moore.
Deputy District Attorney Carletta Bassano said Monday that Moore is expected to appear for a hearing to reassess his bail on June 22 in Washington County Superior Court.
According to the affidavit, Moore has a long criminal history including a prior conviction for robbery and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. In 1998, Moore fled across the U.S.-Canadian border after he robbed a Calais convenience store clerk at knifepoint and stole more than $800. He quickly was apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, returned to the U.S. and later sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Labels: concealed carry permit, female, home invasion, ME, senior
6/15/09
Spring, Texas
From June 15, 2009 DPRC channel 2:
SPRING, Texas -- A woman opened fire when two robbery suspects broke into her Spring home on Sunday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constables said the 34-year-old was alone inside the home in the Timberlane subdivision on Briarcreek Boulevard near Cades Cove Drive at about 6 a.m.Investigators said the woman opened fire when the attackers burst through her bedroom door.
"She's in her bedroom, locked in her bedroom. And she could hear them rustling through the rooms about the house. She grabbed her weapon and you know, held up inside her bedroom. It wasn't until they forced their way into her bedroom, they kicked the bedroom door in. She fired several shots at the suspects," said Lt. Jeff Stauber with the Harris County Sheriff's Department.
Investigators said Gerson Jonathon Linares and Shalom Mendoza, both 17, were wounded.
Detectives said the teenagers, who live in the neighborhood, ran out of the home and called for help, claiming to be the victims of a shooting.
"Through our investigation, we were able to tie them back to this incident on Briarcreek," Stauber said.
Investigators said the pair has admitted that they were involved in the crime.
Labels: female, home invasion, minor offender, TX
6/12/09
Oakland, Tennessee
From MyFoxMemphis of June 1, 2009
Oakland Man Fatally Shoots Intruder
An Oakland, Tennessee man fatally shot an intruder trying to climb in his window early Monday morning.
The incident occurred on the 400-block of Bell Grove Road. The homeowner heard what sounded like a knock on his window around 12:30am. When the noise grew, the homeowner found a neighbor, 32-year old Anthony Webb, breaking through his window with a rake.
The homeowner tells FOX13 that he told the man repeatedly to stop, but Webb's reply was "What are you going to do?"
The intruder was shot three times, and was declared dead upon arrival by local police.
The homeowner also tells FOX13 that the intruder's father was a high school classmate of his.
Labels: home invasion, TN
Norfolk, Virginia
From June 12, 2009 WAVY channel 10:
UPDATE: From the June 13, 2009 Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:NORFOLK, Va. - An attempted robbery led to a gunfight at a Norfolk motel Thursday. Three suspects, one armed with a handgun, stormed into a room at the Econo Lodge. Much to the surprise of the suspected criminals, one of the victims was also carrying a gun.
Police say two of the suspects were shot by the victim. One of the suspects died at the scene, the other was transported to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.
The suspect who died has been identified as 22-year-old Dante Cooley of Virginia Beach. Police have not yet released the names of the other two suspects, one of which fled the scene and remains on the run.
The victim, who was also shot by one of the suspects and transported to the hospital is expected to recover.
A second man has died as the result of a gunfight inside a motel room, and police said Friday that an attempted robbery appeared to be what set things off.
Trevor L. Pauley, 20, of Norfolk had been hospitalized in grave condition after the incident early Thursday at the Econo Lodge at 865 N. Military Hwy. A Sentara Norfolk General Hospital spokeswoman said Pauley died about 1:45 a.m. Friday.
Police said Pauley was one of three men, at least one of whom was armed, who forced their way shortly before 2:15 a.m. Thursday into a room occupied by two men, one of whom legally had a weapon.
Labels: defender shot, home invasion, VA
6/11/09
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
From the Rocky Mount Telegram of June 2, 2009
Robbery attempts foiled: Victims break free, chase suspects in separate incidents
Spencer Cockrell told authorities he cut himself loose and grabbed his gun late Monday night after he and his wife were tied down at their Nash County home and robbed at gunpoint by two Rocky Mount men, later identified as Jesus Pryor and Justin L. Shaw.
Deputies said Cockrell freed himself as Pryor, 27, and Shaw, 22, fled the scene. Cockrell chased after them with a gun, officials said. Cockrell told authorities he found Pryor outside the home, attempting to cut the phone line.
Pryor allegedly raised his gun, deputies said, and Cockrell fired shots at the suspect, striking him in the arm and buttocks.
Pryor ran and later was found bleeding in the back of a pickup truck on Old Carriage Road, near the alleged crime scene. He was taken to Nash General Hospital then airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where he remained in stable condition Tuesday.
Authorities were continuing to search for Shaw on Tuesday.
Arrion T. Dickens, a suspected getaway driver in the burglary, was found in Rocky Mount early Tuesday and arrested, authorities said. Dickens, 26, was charged with first-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree kidnapping. Similar charges will be filed against Pryor once he’s released from the hospital, deputies said.
No charges will be filed against Cockrell, deputies said.
Labels: home invasion, NC
6/10/09
Evansville, Indiana
From the Courier Press of June 7, 2009
Suspect in home invasion robbery shot during struggle
A 21-year-old Evansville man was shot in the hand this afternoon as he wrestled with a man he was trying to rob, authorities said.
Bassil Mohammad Kamali was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail after being checked out at Deaconess Hospital for a minor wound.
He is being held without bond pending an initial court appearance Monday. Preliminary charges are listed as robbery with a firearm, armed burglary, intimidation with a weapon and criminal recklessness, all felonies.
Evansville Police Department Sgt. Greg Motz said Kamali was armed with a handgun when he knocked on the victim's door in the 900 block of Douglas Drive. It happened shortly before 2 p.m.
Motz said Kamali, who also lives in the area, heard that the victim had just sold a stereo and believed he had cash on him.
The victim was asleep and his two children - ages 6 and 8 - answered the door. The children started screaming when the armed suspect barged in, Motz said.
"(Then the victim) comes out and wrestles with the guy with the gun and pushes him out," Motz said. "At some point, the gun goes off and shoots the suspect in the hand."
A man nearby heard the children screaming for help during the struggle, Motz said. He then stopped Kamali from fleeing and physically held him on scene until authorities arrived.
"The guy jumped over the privacy fence when he heard the kids screaming," Motz said. "It was a heroic act."
Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion, IN
Ocala, Florida
From the Ocala Star-Banner of June 4, 2009
Burglar chased off by shotgun-wielding homeowner
An unemployed man who reportedly sneaked into a home shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday was chased away by a shotgun-wielding homeowner.
According to officials, Stephen Cody Hand, 18, was later arrested and charged with occupied burglary.
The victim, Harold D. Chick, told officials that he and his wife and daughter were watching television in his bedroom when the women fell asleep. Chick said he had just closed his eyes when he heard the television shut off.
He said he opened his eyes and saw a white man, about 5-foot-7, with dark hair, wearing a white tank top and plaid shorts, standing in the room. Chick said he grabbed his shotgun, which was nearby, and the intruder slowly walked out of the home.
"He was standing there at the foot of the bed, and I was wondering who the hell is standing there," said Chick, 67, in an interview with the Star-Banner.
Chick told deputies the man may have silently entered the home through the unlocked front door. The door was left unsecured so his other daughter, who was visiting a friend, could come in. Chick told the Star-Banner the door is normally secured, but because his daughter did not want to disturb her mother, who is a nurse, he left the door unlocked.
Nothing was taken from the home, located in the 3400 block of Southwest 90th Street, officials said.
Deputies were called and a perimeter was set up. During their search, deputies spotted a man wearing plaid shorts, but no shirt, who fit the description of the man they were looking for.
Authorities brought Chick to the location, where he identified Hand as the man who was inside his home.
Asked by deputies where he was coming from, Hand told them he was sleeping and had been at home all night. Asked about fresh shoe prints in the dirt, he said he was walking down the road.
Officials then arrested him.
And though Hand is in the Marion County Jail, the incident has left Chick searching for answers.
"I would like to know what was he up to. What was he going to do? I don't know if he had a weapon," Chick said.
Hand declined an interview request.
Labels: FL, home invasion
Hardin County, Illinois
From WSIL of June 10, 2009
Burglar Shot During Home Invasion
A home invasion late Tuesday night ended with an alleged burglar in the hospital, according to Hardin County Sheriff Tom Seiner.
The sheriff reported in a press release that the woman in the home shot the intruder.
The home on Tower Rock Road outside Elizabethtown belongs to Marty Impastato and her husband Bruce, who was not home.
Impastato's daughter tells News Three that the man entered the home through an unlocked window. Shawna Stevens says the man is a friend of the family who visits the home regularly. She says she's not sure why he broke in.
According to Stevens, Impastato grabbed her gun when she heard the man make his way across the house. Stevens reports that when the man entered the bedroom and rustled through the safe where the family keeps jewelry and prescription drugs, Impastato shot him.
Illinois statute makes it legal for the victim of a home invasion to shoot someone in their home if they believe they can prevent violence to themselves or others in the dwelling or they reasonably believe that force is necessary to prevent a felony.
The sheriff's department is not releasing the name of the alleged burglar. He is described only as a white male in his twenties. Wednesday night he was in the intensive care unit at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. He has not been charged.
Labels: female, home invasion, IL, residence robbery
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
From the News-Record of June 10, 2009
Winston-Salem resident shoots intruder
A resident shot and wounded one of four men who forced themselves into his apartment Tuesday night, police said.
About 10:18 p.m., Joseph Tyler Cox, of 5039 Winster Dr., Apt. 203, responded to a knock on the door, according to Winston-Salem police.
Four men dressed in dark clothes with their faces concealed forced themselves inside. One was armed with a knife.
Cox retrieved a handgun and began to fire at the suspects, police said.
Quenton Alphonzo Taylor, 18, of 5489 Country Side Drive, Apt. F, was struck by several rounds, according to police.
Cox also shot himself in the hand and was stabbed several times in the back.
The three other suspects fled on foot, leaving Taylor behind, police said.
Cox and Taylor were taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where they were treated for their injuries.
Charges are pending for Taylor, police said.
Labels: defender shot, home invasion, NC
5/30/09
Columbia, South Carolina
From the May 28, 2009 Columbia The State:
A 29-year-old woman who broke windows at a house behind Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia was shot in the head by the homeowner, a Richland County sheriff’s spokesman said.
The bullet grazed the woman, who was slightly injured, the spokesman said Tuesday.
The woman who broke the windows at the house at 618 Hatrick Road was trying to get in and will face charges, the spokesman said.
The homeowner will not face charges, the spokesman said. Officials did not disclose the names since no charges had been filed.
Labels: home invasion, SC
5/18/09
Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
From the May 12, 2009 New Jersey Star-Ledger:
BERKELEY HEIGHTS -- A resident shot a man last night when the would-be intruder tried to enter a home in the Deserted Village of Feltville, authorities said.
The shooting in the secluded section of Watchung Reservation occurred around 9 p.m. on Cataract Hollow Road, Union County Police Chief Dan Vaniska said. He said the victim, whose name and address were not available, was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
"An unwanted guest forced himself into the residence and a resident responded by shooting him," Vaniska said at the scene.
Details were scant last night, but Vaniska said the home's residents were brought to county police headquarters, where they were being questioned.
It was not known where on the premises the shooting occurred, but a sedan parked near the porch of the two-story, wood-frame house had a shattered left rear window.
Cataract Hollow Road is part of the historic Deserted Village of Feltville. The site in Watchung Reservation was inhabited by small businesses, a mill and families on and off from 1845 to 1916. Visitors can stroll the village, which includes homes the county leases.
Labels: home invasion, NJ
5/14/09
Detroit, Michigan
From the Detroit Free Press of May 13, 2009
Detroit woman fires shots through window at would-be intruders
A homeowner on the Detroit's east side thwarted three robbers by firing out of her bedroom as the men made their way up the steps inside her home, according to police.
A neighbor at 5 a.m. today noticed the three men breaking in the kitchen window of the home in the 900 block of Algonquin, according to Detroit Police.
He called the cell phone of the man who lives there, who was on his way home from work. The homeowner then called his wife, woke her and told her to get their gun.
Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she fired a number of shots, missing the thieves. The husband arrived home just as the men were climbing back out of the window, and they escaped.
Labels: female, home invasion, MI
Wilbraham, Massachusetts
From The Republican of May 9, 2009
No charges in neighbor's death
A Boston Road condominium owner who shot and killed a neighbor Thursday night at present faces no charges because the shooting appears to be in self defense, Police Chief Allen M. Stratton said Friday.
Stratton said the Woodcrest Condominium resident, whose name was not released, told police he shot twice at a man who came into his apartment without permission, refused to leave and then became aggressive. The shooting took place just before 8:30 p.m.
The intruder turned out to be the owner of a neighboring condominium unit. He was identified as David P. Gatti, 29, of unit C25, police said.
Gatti, a star football and lacrosse player more than a decade ago at Minnechaug Regional High School, sold insurance with his parent's agency in Springfield.
He was shot twice and pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center, police said.
Friends of Gatti said Friday the account of the shooting simply does not jibe with the gentle, non-violent man they've known for years.
"He didn't have an aggressive bone in his body," said Samuel O'Neil of Springfield.
According to police reports, the condo resident was home sometime after 8 p.m. when he heard someone trying to enter the front door. He went to the door, opened it and saw Gatti, who stepped inside uninvited.
The resident told police he did not recognize him, and when asked to leave, Gatti refused and became "threatening in nature," police said.
Police Chief Stratton said Gatti did not have a weapon and never laid his hands on the condo owner. The owner described him as yelling and gesturing in such a way that he felt threatened.
The resident told police he retreated into the condo and armed himself, and when Gatti reportedly followed him, he opened fire, police said.
Stratton said the initial investigation so far indicates the "control, possession and use of the firearm was defensive in nature and consistent with Massachusetts General Laws."
Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett said his office will review the circumstances but it appears the shooting is justified within state law.
(More)
Labels: home invasion, MA
Austin, Texas
From May 8, 2009 Austin channel 8:
An East Austin man got a rude awakening early Monday morning about 5 a.m.
Police were called to an apartment at East 11th Street and Chicon on reports a man had been shot.
The victim was taken to Brackenridge Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police are investigating the incident as a home invasion.
Labels: home invasion, TX
5/6/09
Corryton, Tennessee
From the May 3, 2009 Knoxville News:
KNOXVILLE -- A Corryton man who was shot during a Saturday night robbery at his home is in “very critical condition” at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, a Knox County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said today.
Billy Graves, 42, was shot in the abdomen during an exchange of gunfire with two masked robbers who burst into the home he shares with his wife at 9920 Washington Pike just after 9 p.m., said Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Martha Dooley. His wife, 47-year-old Vickie Graves, wasn’t injured.
Authorities don’t know if either of the robbers was hit, and authorities don’t have detailed descriptions of either male suspect because they wore bandanas over their faces, she said.
A safe that was stolen during the robbery was later found near the couple’s home with the contents missing, she said.
Labels: defender shot, home invasion, TN
Anchorage, Alaska
From the May 4, 2009 Fairbanks News-Miner:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Two people were shot Monday during an Anchorage home invasion and police said one of the robbery suspects may also have been wounded.
The homeowner, Tupo Santini, ran outside for help during the robbery. He managed to wrestle a gun away from one of the assailants and fire at him before all three fled, police said.
One man who may have been involved showed up at a hospital with a gunshot wound to his stomach but the other two were at large Monday morning, said police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker.
"We do not know who they are yet," Parker said.
Just after midnight, three armed men wearing dark "hoodies" broke into a mobile home in south Anchorage, intending to rob the home, police said.
Santini was at home with his five children. Police said his girlfriend, Christina Dau, had left to go to a store but his brother, Lofia Santini, and his girlfriend, Amy Itta, were visiting.
The men demanded money and one struck Tupo Santini on the head with a pistol. Santini suffered a cut to his head and the gun fired.
Lofia Santini began struggling with a suspect and Itta tried to crawl down a hallway.
Lofia Santini was shot twice in the chest and Itta was shot in the back. Police said their injuries were serious.
No children were injured.
Tupo Santini ran to get help and was chased outside by a gunman. Santini managed to wrestle the gun from the assailant and fire at him. The assailants then left.
Labels: AK, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion
5/5/09
Weatherford, Texas
From the Weatherford Democrat of April 29, 2009
Grand jury: city homicide justifiable
The Weatherford home owner who shot and killed an intruder in March will not face criminal charges, a Parker County Grand Jury recently determined.
After hearing a full offense report, which included witness statements and evidence, jurors declined to indict the elderly shooter.
Weatherford police presented the case April 16. The homicide, which occurred in the 500 block of South Rusk Street, occurred shortly after 1 a.m. on March 4.
On the morning of the incident, Robert Earl Bardwell, 57, of Weatherford, was shot multiple times after police say he forced entry into a residence and started assaulting the elderly owner’s 34-year-old son.
The home owner, identified as a 66-year-old white male, reportedly attempted to warn Bardwell by firing one shot from an automatic pistol into the ceiling. However, when the assailant failed to heed the warning and continued to assault his son, police say the father shot the intruder several times, fatally wounding him.
According to police, Bardwell was estranged from a relationship with a female subject in the home at the time of the incident.
Following the incident, police declined to identify the shooter and his son because neither man was arrested.
Labels: assault, home invasion, senior, TX
Conway, Arkansas
From the Log Cabin Democrat of April 24, 2009
'Case cleared' in shooting of dazed intruder
There will be no charges against any involved in an April 11 incident that resulted in a 20-year-old Conway man being shot in the leg after intruding into a home.
Paul Willey told a Conway Police Department detective Brian Williams that he had been awake for several days and had entered "a hypnotized state."
Willey said this hypnotic trance "is why he was walking on cars and swinging through trees," Williams wrote in a supplementary report released Thursday.
In his apparently dazed state Willey entered a Baxter Drive residence believing that a friend lived there and jumped out of a second-floor window when confronted by a homeowner armed with a Walther PPK .380 caliber handgun.
This homeowner told Williams that he fired two shots "into the ground in an effort to get the suspect to stop" as Willey fled through a neighbor's yard. He said he wasn't aware that one of the bullets had hit Willey in the leg, causing what is described in the report as a "through and through" injury that bled very little. Willey was treated and released by Conway Regional Medical Center that day.
The families of Willey and the homeowner who shot him have "all decided not to pursue charges (against) each other," Williams wrote, and 20th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Marcus Vaden has "advised that he will not file charges per the victims' request."
"No further action taken, the case will be exceptionally cleared," the report concludes.
Labels: AR, home invasion, intoxication
Midvale, Utah
From the Salt Lake City Tribune of May 5, 2009
Police: Resident shoots, kills intruder in Midvale apartment break-in
Police say they are looking for as many as eight or nine assailants after a home invasion early Tuesday at a Midvale apartment that ended when one of the residents shot and killed a suspect.
Midvale police believe a female assailant was also shot, leaving a trail of blood outside the Springs of the Country Woods apartment complex at 1039 E. Watercress.
Four people, including two sisters, ages 14 and 22, were inside a third-floor apartment at the complex at about 1:30 a.m. when someone knocked at the door, Midvale police Sgt. John Salazar said.
When the 26-year-old uncle of the sisters opened the door, a group of up to 10 tried to force their way inside. In a struggle at the door, one assailant stabbed the uncle in the hand, Salazar said.
As the struggle continued inside, one assailant hit the 22-year-old woman, angering her 23-year-old boyfriend. He fought with another assailant, got hold of the man's gun and fired about four shots inside, and possibly three outside, Salazar said.
Three of the shots inside struck a 31-year-old suspect, who died at the scene. He was armed with two knives and a handgun, Salazar said.
Everyone else scattered in different directions, and the lone woman in the group appeared to have been shot outside, witnesses told police.
"I'm amazed that no one else was hurt," Salazar said, noting that the bullets fired inside did not go through walls into neighboring apartments.
Police found a sawed-off, 12-guage shotgun and a 40-caliber handgun on the roof of a parking structure nearby. They forced their way into a neighboring garage, but did not find anyone hiding there.
The uncle was hospitalized for his knife wound, and will be OK, Salazar said. Investigators, who were wrapping up their work at the scene by about 10:30 a.m., don't yet have a motive for the home invasion.
Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion, UT
5/4/09
College Park, Georgia
From the May 3, 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
From May 4, 2009 WSB-TV channel 2:College Park police are investigating a home invasion at a College Park apartment early Sunday in which a victim shot and killed one of the robbers.
Police said two men forced their way into a unit of the Southern Lakes apartments on Lakemont Drive about 2:54 a.m. There were 10 people in the apartment, police said.
After robbing them, the men and women were moved to different areas. One of the men has a gun and fought the robbers, shooting one of them, police said.
The robber was found dead outside the complex, police said, and his accomplice had fled. Their names were not released by police.
Bailey said he thought it was the end of his life and the lives of the 10 people inside his apartment for a birthday party after two masked men with guns burst in through a patio door.
“They just came in and separated the men from the women and said, ‘Give me your wallets and cell phones,’” said George Williams of the College Park Police Department.
Bailey said the gunmen started counting bullets. “The other guy asked how many (bullets) he had. He said he had enough,” said Bailey.
That’s when one student grabbed a gun out of a backpack and shot at the invader who was watching the men. The gunman ran out of the apartment.
The student then ran to the room where the second gunman, identified by police as 23-year-old Calvin Lavant, was holding the women.
“Apparently the guy was getting ready to rape his girlfriend. So he told the girls to get down and he started shooting. The guy jumped out of the window,” said Bailey.
A neighbor heard the shots and heard someone running nearby.
“And I heard someone say, ‘Someone help me. Call the police. Somebody call the police,’” said a neighbor.
The neighbor said she believes it was Lavant, who was found dead near his apartment, only one building away.
Bailey said he is just thankful one student risked his life to keep others alive.
Labels: GA, home invasion, student defender
5/2/09
Fort Worth, Texas
From the April 30, 2009 Forth Worth Star-Telegram:
FORT WORTH — An 18-year-old Fort Worth man killed Tuesday afternoon inside a north Fort Worth apartment had apparently forced his way inside, armed with an aluminum bat, when he was shot by one of the apartment’s residents, investigators said.
Derek Splawn, a student in the Keller school district, had been upset with the apartment’s 18-year-old resident and had reportedly threatened in an earlier telephone conversation "that he was tired of this and he was going to come over there," homicide Detective Curt Brannan said.
Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, police said, Splawn made good on his word and had a friend drive him to the Watercolor apartments in the 8600 block of Spring Tree Lane, near Beach Street and North Tarrant Parkway. As the friend waited in the car, Brannan said, Splawn first pounded on the apartment’s patio door, shouting for the 18-year-old resident to come out, before beating on the apartment’s front door.
Though the resident did not emerge, Brannan said, Splawn was able to force his way inside the apartment after the resident’s roommate opened the front door to peek out and saw Splawn standing there with the bat.
"Before he could get the door shut, the man [Splawn] pushed the door open and had taken several steps inside the doorway in the direction of the [18-year-old]," Brannan said.
Brannan said the 18-year-old, in turn, picked up a shotgun he kept in the home and fired once, striking Splawn in the face.
Labels: home invasion, TX
4/25/09
Passcagoula, Mississippi
From the Sun Herald of April 24, 2009
Son’s 2nd shot kills intruder
A woman, awakened by the sound of someone removing the screen from her bedroom window, got out of her bed at 1 a.m. Friday, walked to her son’s room and quietly woke him.
“She said, ‘Snigg get up,’” the son said in an interview later Friday morning.
“I got up, grabbed my gun and went to the corner there by her room,” he said, standing at the door of the apartment, on the bottom floor of the last in a row of Spanish-style buildings in the Granada Apartments on Chicot Road.
It was dark in the apartment, but the window was backlit, Snigg said. He heard the window go up and saw a man coming in.
“He stuck his hand under and pulled the blinds back, the blinds and the curtain,” he said. “And he eased in like he was attempting to come in.
“I fired two shots, then he ran off,” Snigg said.
Police say they won’t identify the woman or her son, who offered the nickname Snigg, for fear of retribution.
Javorous Darnell Tims, 20, ran about 80 feet from the window, fell to the sidewalk and died of a single gunshot wound, police said Friday.
Pascagoula police said Snigg and his mother acted appropriately, “taking the actions they felt necessary to protect themselves.” However, because a man died, the case will be presented to a grand jury for review.
Tims, who had at one time lived in apartments not far away, was a familiar face in the parking lot of the Granada Apartments, according to Dustin Clarke, 22, who handles maintenance and courtesy security at the apartments.
Not many people in the complex heard the shots, said Clarke, who was at the scene when police investigated the shooting and talked with residents and investigators.
Clarke said Tims had gotten his head through the window when Snigg fired the first shot and missed. That shot hit the wall under the window, Clarke said. By the time Snigg fired the second shot, Tims had turned. The bullet went through Tims’ upper body, he said.
“The blinds were down. And the bullet hole in the blinds supported his (Snigg’s) story,” Clarke said.
(More)
Labels: home invasion, MS
Pittsburg, California
From the San Jose Mercury News of April 24, 2009
Man wrestles gun from intruder in Pittsburg home invasion
A Pittsburg man fought off two men who broke into his home early Friday morning, wrestled away a shotgun and shot one of the suspects with it as he fled, according to the victim and police.
The wounded suspect left the scene but was arrested after being treated at a hospital, said Sgt. Steve Albanese. Police also arrested a second suspect and are still searching for more people connected with the home invasion.
The incident happened just after midnight when two men with guns broke down the front door and entered the home on Calistoga Drive.
The male homeowner, who declined to be named, said he was awakened and came out of his bedroom to investigate the noise. He said he was confronted by one man with a sawed-off shotgun and a second man with a handgun. He wrestled the shotgun out of the suspect's hand, and the man fell on him, he said.
The second suspect then reportedly shot at the victim's wife but did not hit her. The victim, whose stepson was also in the home, said he got up, recovered the shotgun and began shooting in the direction of the suspects.
The suspects fled, and the victim fired one round as they ran across a neighbor's driveway, hitting one man in the upper torso, Albanese said.
The victim said there was nothing in his house worth stealing and guessed that the suspects may have targeted the wrong address.
"We don't have valuables or anything," he said.
Police could not release further details because they are still investigating the incident, Albanese said.
Labels: CA, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, home invasion
4/23/09
Lakeland, Florida
From The Ledger of April 23, 2009
Homeowner Cleared in Shooting
Prosecutors have concluded a Lake Wales security guard who shot a man who was breaking into his home was justified in using deadly force.
Assistant State Attorney Robert Antonello wrote a letter with his findings about the March 18, nonfatal shooting to the Lake Wales Police Department.
In the letter released Thursday, Antonello said William Cornwell, a hospital security guard, was protecting himself and his young children.
Cornwell arrived at his Grove Avenue home just before 7 a.m. His wife left for work, and he was alone with his 3 1/2-month-old son and 3 1/2-year-old daughter.
A noise awoke him from his sleep and, armed with a semi-automatic pistol, he went to find out what was happening, Antonello wrote.
Cornwell came "face-to-face" in the hallway of his home with Michael Collins who swung a crowbar at Cornwell's head. Cornwell chased Collins out the back door and fired two shots, Antonello wrote.
Collins ran to his vehicle parked in the house's driveway, Antonello wrote. Cornwell ran back through his house, out the front door, and "instinctively opened fire on the vehicle (at the tires and body) in an attempt to disable it and prevent the intruder from leaving."
Collins drove about 200 feet up the road to an orange grove where his vehicle overturned, and he was captured.
Lake Wales police say Collins, 45, was struck in the head and left arm by the gunfire, but survived.
Collins was flown to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for treatment.
He is charged with armed burglary and possession of burglary tools. He remains in the Polk County Jail and is being held without bail on the burglary charge.
Labels: FL, home invasion
4/22/09
Charlotte, North Carolina
From the Charlotte Observer of April 22, 2009
Home invasion ... kids, adults not hurt
Police are looking for three suspects wanted in connection with a home invasion overnight in northwest Charlotte.
The incident ended with the homeowner firing shots at the fleeing attackers.
It started about 11 p.m. at a residence in the 2700 block of Kendrick Drive, in the Coulwood area.
Police say three men kicked in the front door of the home, where three adults and two children were living. The attackers took money and fled.
While they were fleeing, police say, one of the adult residents fired shots at them. It is not known if the suspects were hit by the gunfire.
The getaway vehicle was described as a white Ford Contour or a Ford Taurus.
The suspects were described as short and thin black males, who covered their faces with shirts.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers, 704-334-1600.
Labels: home invasion, NC
4/18/09
Colorado Springs, Colorado
From KKTV of April 18, 2009
Homeowner Fends off Alleged Armed Burglar With Gun Shot
A suspected burglar is under arrest Saturday morning after police say the homeowner took security into their own hands.
Colorado Springs police say they were called to 3295 West Woodmen Road on a report that a person armed with a knife had just broken into the caller's home. The caller told police they had used their gun to fire a shot at the armed suspect and the suspect had run away.
Police and K-9 units found the suspect in the woods with non-life threatening wound to his lower leg. He was transported to Memorial Hospital and arrested after he was released.
The suspect, Ricky Hatcher, was booked into the Criminal Justice Center for Felony Menacing.
Police say the homeowner and Hatcher may have known each other. Police say the homeowner is not facing charges pending further review by the District Attorneys office.
Labels: CO, home invasion
4/17/09
Palm City, Florida
From WPBF of April 16, 2009
Palm City Woman Shot In Home Shoots Suspect
A Palm City woman was shot Thursday morning during a home invasion, but she was also able to shoot the suspect, who fled and was apprehended a short time later, neighbors and authorities said.
The incident occurred at a home in the 1500 block of Southwest Crossings Circle shortly before 9 a.m.
Neighbors said they heard a loud noise and came outside to find Linda Schultz, who turned 47 earlier this month, bleeding from a gunshot wound. She was airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center, but her condition was not immediately available.
According to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, Christopher Reber was arrested in connection with the crime. Deputies located him in a room at the Suburban Lodge in Stuart after one of his family members told them where he was shortly after 10 a.m.
Reber, 23, suffered a gunshot wound and was also airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center.
Neighbors said Schultz came running out of her home carrying the suspect's gun.
"She was trying to describe to the police what had happened and what the gentleman looked like, what he was driving and that she had shot him," neighbor Linda Smyth told WPBF News 25. "She knew she shot him."
Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, defender shot, female, FL, home invasion
4/16/09
Sacramento, California
From KCRA of April 14, 2009
Homeowner Opens Fire On Thieves
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies said they responded to the scene of a home invasion where the home owner opened fire on the thieves.
Deputies said a man reported four men kicked in the door at an apartment on Ethan Way near Arden Fair Mall.
The homeowner grabbed a shotgun and fired at them.
All four men fled the scene.
Deputies said they blocked off one section of that neighborhood while they searched for the burglars.
Labels: CA, home invasion
Dallas, Texas
From April 15, 2009 WFAA channel 8:
DALLAS — A 26-year-old woman fatally shot a man who lived in her Red Bird apartment complex and broke into her unit Tuesday night, Dallas police said.
Two women were inside their apartment in the 8000 block of Leigh Ann Drive, which is just north of Danieldale Park and Interstate 20, when the 55-year-old man knocked on the door about 11 p.m, police said.
One of the women called police as the man tried to get inside, and the other woman shot him as he entered, causing him to stumble out the door and collapse in the grass, police said.
Labels: female, home invasion, TX
