11/4/09
Dover, Delaware
From the October 29, 2009 Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal:
One of the teenage sons of a Dover woman being assaulted by her ex-husband grabbed a shotgun and fired into the air to get his father to stop the attack, Dover police said.
The victim's estranged husband, Jeremy S. Stanislow, 32, of the 1100 block of Smyrna Clayton Blvd. in Smyrna, was charged with three counts of assault, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and disorderly conduct.He was later released on $3,000 bail.
Dover police Lt. Steve Getek said officers Tuesday night were sent to the first block of Forest Creek Drive about 7 p.m. to investigate a domestic incident.
The victim told officers that she and her estranged husband argued over custody issues because he wanted to take their youngest child with him for the evening.
The argument turned physical and Stanislow shoved the victim off the steps and started assaulting her, Getek said.
When the woman's 16-year-old son saw his father attacking his mother he picked up a board and hit Stanislow in the back, according to court records.
Then, when the woman tried to stop Stanislow from beating up on his son, he turned and began punching her until she blacked out, police said in court records.
At this point, the woman's 14-year-old son came out of the house holding a shotgun, pointed it in the air and fired in an effort to get his father to stop attacking his mother, police said.
Stanislow then ran.
Labels: DE, domestic dispute, minor defender
10/19/09
Bromley, Alabama
From the October 15, 2009 Alabama Press-Register:
BROMLEY, Ala. -- A 13-year-old boy shot his father Tuesday night to protect his mother from harm, authorities said Wednesday.
Joseph "Simp" Pruitt, 46, was shot in the arm and side after threatening his wife with a 9 mm pistol, according to Baldwin County Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack Jr.
Pruitt remained in critical condition at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday.
"We believe Mr. Pruitt was attempting to shoot Mrs. Pruitt," Mack said. "Their 13-year-old son became aware of this and retrieved a 20-gauge shotgun."
No one involved in the incident has been arrested, he said.
Deputies were called to a Williams Road address in the Bromley community about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. Mack said the 911 call came from inside the residence, though operators received several calls from neighbors who heard gunshots.
Pruitt was conscious when emergency responders arrived, he said.
Labels: AL, domestic abuse, minor defender
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
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
5/21/09
Sacramento County, California
From the May 21, 2009 Sacramento Bee:
A 17-year-old boy stands accused of killing a man Tuesday morning, though detectives now believe the shooting was justified, authorities said Wednesday.
Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested the boy, whose name has not been released because he is a juvenile, late Tuesday night on suspicion of murder, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.
Detectives made the arrest based on information they had gathered about the fatal shooting that morning of 30-year-old James Davis on the 2800 block of La Quinta Drive, Curran said.
But after interviewing the boy, Curran said, detectives learned that he had acted in self-defense – and in defense of his mother, Davis' girlfriend, who had been "beaten severely" before the fatal confrontation.
The boy was booked into juvenile hall on a murder charge but later released – though the murder charge still stands, Curran said. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case and will decide if it was justifiable homicide.
Deputies were called to La Quinta Drive, near Folsom Boulevard in south Sacramento about 5 a.m. after reports of gunshots and a woman screaming. They found Davis' body on the sidewalk, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The Sheriff's Department is not releasing the woman's name because she is not a suspect and is a victim of domestic violence.
Curran said the victim and his girlfriend had had a "violent fight," witnessed by the 17-year-old boy, who followed Davis outside and shot him, Curran said. ...
Davis had a history of domestic violence in Sacramento County, according to Superior Court records. Most recently, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor domestic violence in September 2004 and was sentenced to 365 days in jail.
Labels: CA, domestic abuse, minor defender
11/25/08
Leavenworth, Kansas
From KCTV5 of November 21, 2008
Son Shoots Ex-Stepdad To Protect Her, Mom Says
A teen took aim with a gun, his mother said, but it was the shooting victim who was in trouble with the law Friday night.
The teenager's mother, who was caught in the middle, said her son pulled the trigger and shot her ex-husband to save her.
She agreed to talk anonymously to help other women who may be stuck in a domestic violence situation.
The woman's 16-year-old son shot her ex-husband Friday morning on the front lawn of their Leavenworth home, but she said he did it to protect her.
"He started ranting and raving, and I told him he needed to leave and go home, and he got mad," the woman said.
The woman said her ex-husband had been abusive many times before, so she divorced him two years ago.
But at 2:30 a.m., he suddenly barged into her home. She said he pulled out a knife and dragged her into the front yard, and that was when she said her son grabbed a gun from the house and pulled the trigger, hitting his ex-stepfather in the stomach.
"He's a very quiet kid, and he's not the type to do anything like that, but he had had enough," she said.
Her wounded ex-husband jumped into his truck. Instead of heading to either of the two hospitals in Leavenworth, he drove himself all the way to Kansas City, Kan., to Providence Medical Center, where police said he lied about what happened.
"He indicated that he had been shot somewhere else besides Leavenworth," said Chief Pat Kitchens, of the Leavenworth Police Department.
The mother said she was glad her ex-husband survived so her son wouldn't have to deal with that burden for the rest of his life. And she is focused on helping her son and daughter heal from such a traumatic ordeal.
"My kids have been through a lot, you know? They're going through counseling and that's something that's very highly recommended because when you've got family violence, it's not easy, especially on the kids," she said.
Police said the teen was not arrested. He will likely not face any charges because what he did was in self-defense to protect himself and his mother.
In the meantime, the ex-husband is recovering in the hospital. From there, he will be moved to the jail to face possible charges of burglary, kidnapping and assault.
Labels: domestic abuse, KS, minor defender
Astabula, Ohio
From the Star Beacon of November 24, 2008
Teen shoots burglar
A 15-year-old shot a burglar late Friday night after the burglar and two cohorts broke into the teen’s West Side home, police said Monday.
The teenager and his 14-year-old brother were home alone when three men came to the house, police said. The teens recognized two out three of the men, according to their mother, who spoke with the Star Beacon Monday.
The identities of the teens is not being disclosed because they are juveniles. The identity of their mother is not being disclosed to protect the teens.
When the boys refused to let the men in the house, one of the men took the butt of a shotgun and smashed the window out of the front door, police said.
That’s when the older boy ran upstairs to retrieve his father’s handgun, his mother said.
In the meantime, the intruders told the younger teen they would kill both of them if he didn’t open the door, the mother said.
“They held a gun to his head,” she said.
Sgt. John Koski said the 15-year-old came down the stairs and shot one of the intruders in the leg. The men then took off.
“The bullet went in the leg and out through his buttocks,” the mother said.
The teens’ parents soon returned home from the store and a relative’s house, and police were called to the scene, the mother said.
In the meantime, police received a call from Ashtabula County Medical Center that a 21-year-old city man showed up with a gunshot wound to the leg, Koski said.
“He said a kid accidentally shot him,” he said. “The wound was in the exact place the 15-year-old said he shot the intruder.”
Police arrested and charged the 21-year-old man with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; attempted felonious assault and having a weapon under disability, Koski said, noting the suspect is a known felon.
The suspect’s name is being withheld until his arraignment.
As of Monday afternoon, police were securing warrants for the other two suspects, Koski said.
Labels: home invasion, minor defender, OH
10/10/08
Madison, Wisconsin
From WKOW of October 10, 2008
8th Grader stops invader with BB gun
13 year old Jack Theisen had to make a quick decision when two would-be robbers were in the process of coming through an unlocked, basement door, and Theisen was home alone.
Theisen grabbed his Red Ryder model BB gun and shot the first invader in the shoulder, scaring off both men.
"He's resilient," Jack Theisen's father, Mike Theisen told 27 News.
Mike Theisen said his son, an eighth grade student at St. James Catholic School, has taken a hunter safety course and is proficient and safe with guns.
Theisen said his son spotted the two men as they cased the front of the house on Sherman Avenue, perhaps believing the house was empty since most of the lights were out around 8 p.m. Oct. 9. Theisen said Jack Theisen then watched the men make their way to the home's side entrance.
Theisen said he rushed home from his nearby restaurant after his son called and told him of the emergency.
"I did have a conversation with him that calling 911 would have been the more appropriate thing to do than be a hero," Theisen told 27 News. "But he's just that kind of a kid. He's responsible and wise for his age."
Theisen said Jack Theisen's contingency plan was to run from the men and on to the home's second story roof through a secluded door.
Police officials said they are looking for the two home invasion suspects, who they describe as white men around eighteen years old, with one of the men about 6'0'' and 200 pounds.
Theisen said another home invasion in his lakeside neighborhood took place in the spring. Theisen said his family had not rehearsed a plan of action in the event of a burglary or robbery attempt at their home.
Theisen said while he has mixed emotions over his son confronting intruders, he said he is proud of him. "He's got guts."
Labels: home invasion, minor defender, WI
7/21/08
Charlotte, North Carolina
From News 14 of July 21, 2008
Teenager fends off would-be robbers
Two suspects are on the run after a teenager in the house they were robbing turned one of the criminals' guns against them.
At about 8:30 a.m. Saturday, police said two robbers broke into Danielle Gardin's home in north Charlotte.
"One guy opened up the garage, let the van in and then they started going upstairs," Gardin said.
Gardin wasn't home, but her 14-year-old son Dante was. He had locked the door to his room at the top of the stairs, called 911 and hid in the closet.
"One of the guys kicked the door in, and then he started going through Dante's stuff," Gardin said.
The teenager had armed himself with a pocket knife. And with the stranger in his room distracted, Dante attacked.
"That's when he came out of the closet and that's when he stabbed the guy in the stomach," Gardin said.
While the two struggled in the room, the robber's gun fell to the floor. Dante picked it up and aimed it at the would-be criminal.
The man then took off down the stairs then sped away with his accomplice in the getaway van, damaging part of Gardin's garage in the process.
"I watch the news all the time and see this on the news all the time," Gardin said. "You just never think that it's going to happen to you, but, hey, you can't ever rule yourself out."
Hours after the ordeal, the damage to the home was already being repaired. And Gardin said she knows it could have been much worse.
"I was scared not knowing if he was OK," she said. "Just to know that he is OK, mentally and physically, was just the most important part for me."
Police said both suspects are black males with dreadlocks. One of the suspects was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt and jeans. The other was wearing a blue polo shirt with white stripes.
Labels: criminal's gun taken away and used against him, minor defender, NC, residence burglary
5/29/08
Fort Worth, Texas
From NBC5i of May 28, 2008
14-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Teenage Neighbor
Police said a 14-year-old boy who was stabbed by a visiting teen in his south Fort Worth home shot and killed the boy on Wednesday.
Investigators said the 14-year-old told police Danny Allen, 13, was visiting his house on Buffalo Springs Drive near Interstate 35 when he began stabbing him at about 5:30 p.m.
According to police, the two teenagers struggled before the 14-year-old grabbed his father's gun and shot Allen.
Neighbor Charles McDonald found the 14-year-old outside his house covered in blood.
"Blake come running out the door and run across the street, and I got him stopped," McDonald said. "He was bleeding all over; (his) head and shoulders were completely saturated in blood."
McDonald said he tried to keep the teenager calm.
The 14-year-old was taken to the hospital. His family told NBC 5 the boy was out of surgery and in stable condition on Wednesday night.
When asked if he thought his 14-year-old neighbor did the right thing, McDonald said the boy "probably" did.
"I don't know the circumstances. Probably. I would say so. He's not the kind to go around beating people up," McDonald said.
Police said they do not expect to file charges in the case.
Labels: assault, minor defender, minor offender, TX
3/1/08
Visalia, California
From the Visalia Times Delta of February 29, 2008
Police: Boy, 13, shot man in self-defense
A Visalia woman whose common-law husband was shot and killed Wednesday was moving out of the couple's south Visalia home when the incident occurred, neighbors and police said.
Witnesses said Joe Ray Martinez, 38, tried to stop the woman from doing so and got into an altercation with another man.
"That's when [Martinez] drew a gun and threatened to shoot everyone, including kids," said Terry Anderson, a neighbor in the quiet cul-de-sac on South Thomas Street near Paradise Avenue.
One of the "kids" at the home was a 13-year-old boy.
The boy emerged from the home and shot Martinez in "a clear case of self-defense," Visalia Police Department Sgt. Ernie Villa said.
"There will be no arrests," Villa said.
History of violence, abuse
Martinez had a long history of violent behavior, with felony convictions in 2000 and 2001 for assault with a nonfirearm deadly weapon, according to court records.
Violence was common in the South Thomas Street home, Anderson said.
"The abuse was terrible for the other people living there," said Anderson, who said the family had moved into the house about four months ago.
Martinez also had 23 vehicle-code violations since 1993 and twice was convicted of misdemeanor witness-threatening, records show.
In 2001, he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He had a gun Wednesday, too.
"[Martinez] waved the gun at everyone there," Villa said.
"All the stories from all the witnesses we talked to were consistent."
The case is now being handed over to the Tulare County District Attorney's Office.
Villa said he expects officials there to agree that the shooting was a matter of self-defense.
Further links:
13-Year-Old Shoots and Kills Man In Self Defense
Labels: CA, domestic abuse, minor defender
11/27/07
Columbia, South Carolina
From The State of November 26, 2007
No charges filed against 15-year-old
No charges have been filed against a 15-year-old boy who police say was trying to protect his mother when he shot and killed his stepfather Saturday.
Deputies had been dispatched to the Fairforest Drive apartment previously for domestic-related calls, said Richland County Sheriff’s department spokesman Lt. Chris Cowan.
Roosevelt Carter, 42, of 100 Fairforest Drive, Apt. No. 7 died at 9:32 a.m. Saturday at Palmetto Health Richland. He had been shot in the upper body.
The preliminary investigation indicates a domestic disturbance occurred inside the home. The boy’s name and age have not been released because of his age.
Further links:
Boy may have shot stepfather to protect mom
Sheriff: Man Shot, Killed By Step-son
Labels: domestic abuse, minor defender, SC
11/21/07
Douglas, Arizona
From the Douglas Daily Dispatch of November 21, 2007
Domestic violence between teens erupts into gunfire
A teenaged girl fired a handgun at her boyfriend and missed early Saturday morning after she was punched, nearly strangled and held against her will.
The girl then scooped her 1–year-old daughter and fled the boyfriend’s home, police authorities said.
Both teens are 17. Their names were not released by the Douglas Police Department.
At about 1:21 a.m. Saturday the police were dispatched to a Douglas home involving violence between the two teens.
The boyfriend arrived home from work and accused his girlfriend of cheating on him, said Marcus Gonzales, the spokesman for the Douglas Police Department.
His girlfriend attempted to leave, but the boyfriend wouldn’t let her. The boyfriend then became violent and he pushed her, causing her to fall to the floor.
He then punched her and began to strangle her.
She escaped and once again tried to leave the house. The boyfriend held her against her will and struck her on the forehead with a frying pan, Gonzales said.
The boyfriend then took out a handgun from a dresser drawer, pointed it at her, then pointed it to his own head.
She knocked the gun out of his hand, grabbed it, aimed it at him, and squeezed the trigger twice. The gun, though, did not fire.
The boyfriend ran through the hallway of the house and out the front door.
The girl, fearing that he would return, squeezed the trigger and fired off a shot that went through the screen door, Gonzales said.
The girl put the gun down, grabbed her daughter, and ran out of the house, looking for help.
She spotted a Douglas police officer on 10th Street and D Avenue and flagged him down.
Police arrested the boyfriend and charged him with aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment and three counts of endangerment.
Police also found a two-month-old baby in the house.
The boyfriend was transported to the Cochise County Jail, where he is being held on a $250,000 bond. The girl was released without charges
Labels: AZ, domestic abuse, female, minor defender
11/16/07
Clinton Township, Michigan
From ClickOnDetroit.com of November 16, 2007
Store Clerk Shoots Alleged Robber
It happened around 7:30 p.m. at Nick's Short Stop party store in Clinton Township located at Cass Road and Romeo Plank
The 17-year-old clerk said he was protecting his brother who was being held up by a knife.
"I just want people to understand we are the victims and I hope he is OK," store owner John Acho said.
Acho said he wants to make sure people know his nephew was acting in self-defense.
Police said the robber had a knife.
"I hope he is OK, but he had no right to come in here and rob the store and try to hurt people," said Acho.
Police said the clerk fired several shots at the 22-year-old robber, hitting him once in the chest and once in the arm.
The robber is hospitalized in grave condition, according to officials.
This is the second robbery of the store since Acho purchased it a month ago.
The Macomb County prosecutor office will decide whether charges will be filed against the clerk.
Labels: business robbery, MI, minor defender
9/26/07
Roseto, Pennsylvania
From the The Express-Times of September 26, 2007
Boy defends home with BB gun
An 11-year-old boy home sick from school on Monday defended his home with a BB gun when an intruder waltzed in the back door, police said.
The boy, whose name was not released, was watching television when a man walked into the Webster Street home about 1:30 p.m. through an unlocked door. Police said the boy's German shepherd, Montana, then stood up and began barking at the man.
Police said the boy jumped up and told the man not to move, pointing the gun at him.
The boy, who only identified himself as Joe when contacted Tuesday, said he shot the man with a plastic BB when he reached for his waistband.
Police said the intruder grabbed his chest and then ran out the rear door. The boy then called his mother on her cell phone, and she told him to call 911.
The boy told police that before the intruder entered the house, he noticed a black sport utility vehicle with tinted windows "creeping" around the block about six times.
Roseto police Chief Jack Nicholais said an officer Monday night spotted a vehicle matching the description in the borough area.
"It seems to be confirmed," Nicholais said.
Bangor and Washington Township police could not find any vehicles or suspects matching the description after the incident, a Roseto police news release said.
The boy described the man to police as a 20- to 30-year-old white bald male, about 200 pounds with a bulky build and broad shoulders. Police said the man was wearing a red bandana around his forehead and had a scar on the left forehead running down through the bandana to just above his eye. He was wearing tinted sunglasses and had a "triangle-type" goatee just below his lip. He was wearing a navy blue shirt with long sleeves.
Labels: home invasion, minor defender, PA
7/31/07
Gainesville, Florida
From Gainesville.com of July 31, 2007
Two pit bulls attack man's dog, one shot and killed
A Gainesville man awoke to the sounds of a dog fight early Monday. When he walked outside, he found his dog locked in the jaws of a large pit bull.
"I'm sound asleep and my wife says there's a dog fight in the yard," said Fletcher Sutton, 58. "And within 90 seconds I find myself standing in the yard in my bathrobe with a knife in one hand, a gun in the other and a dog dead between my legs."
Sutton and his grandson, Robert Koehler, 16, reacted quickly when they found their 110-pound Labrador-Mastiff mix being attacked by two pit bulls, the larger of which had clamped down on the dog's neck.
"We tried to beat him off, we tried to kick him off, and it was like it was to the death," Sutton said.
Lt. Scott Meffen with the Gainesville Police Department said they arrived at the home, 2415 SE 11th Ave., around 7:30 a.m. Monday to find a large black pit bull shot twice in the head. Sutton's dog had wounds to his neck and two front legs from the fight.
"(The pit bull) had a collar on it but no tag, so it doesn't look like we've identified the owner," Meffen said.
Meffen said Sutton and Koehler told police they first tried to get the pit bulls to let go of their dog by stabbing them with a pocket knife. But when that didn't make any difference, Koehler went inside and got his grandfather's .22-caliber revolver and Sutton shot the dog in the head.
The smaller, brown pit bull ran away once the shots were fired and police had not located the dog as of late Monday.
Sutton said it appeared the dogs slipped through the slats on the aluminum gate around the pasture in back of his house in order to reach his dog.
And he said the black pit bull he shot did not look like a family pet.
"This was a pit bull fighting dog. He had scars all over his face," he said. "It wasn't just a generic incident. This dog was out to kill something this morning."
Sutton said he had seen the smaller of the two pit bulls wandering around his neighborhood off of Hawthorne Road, but he had never seen the black one.
"You don't need these dogs," Sutton said of pit bulls. "There's no sense in them. You do everything you can to protect your animal and protect your property, and then something like this happens."
Labels: animal, FL, minor defender
7/10/06
Greenville, South Carolina
From Greenville’s Fox21.com of July 10, 2006
12 Year Old Points Gun at Burglars; Group Takes Off
An accused group of thugs-- thwarted by a 12-year old with a gun. It happened in Greenville when police say five masked men stormed into a house and started beating up the child's father.
FOX Carolina's Jamie Guirola reports, Try and picture it. A 12 year old walks into the living room, sees his mother frantically protecting the baby, and several strangers attacking his father. The 12 year old rushes out of the living room-- but comes back pointing a gun at the five suspects. As of Monday night-- all but one are in jail.
These are the alleged home invaders without their masks. The youngest barely seventeen, the oldest just 20. George Dickert didn't have time to think about their ages when he tells us they broke into his home and tried to rob his family.
George Dickert/Victim: "F*$# you! That's what I was thinking."
Sunday night, George says, one of the suspects in the group followed him into his house after he smoked a cigarette. He tells us the man pulled out a gun, threatening him. When George reached for a different gun in self-defense a fight broke out.
George: "I work five days a week and my wife works six days a week. We're an honest couple. We do what we have to do to make a living and some idiot decided he wanted what I had."
When the struggle started, police say, two other men came into the house and started beating on George. That's when George's 12 year old made the move credited with scaring the accused thugs out of the house-- and stopping the burglary-- without even firing the gun.'
George: "He did what he had to do to protect his family last night. And a 12 year old child should never have to go through that. Even if he does know what to do, he should not have to do that."
Police later found these four near George's home sweating and breathing heavily. Something George hopes they'll do again if they're convicted and sentenced to the max.
George: "...And I will press and push and do whatever it takes to make sure every individual in it gets it."
Police aren't releasing details about the fifth person they're looking for. George says he has five guns in the house. His taught his son how to use each of them.
Labels: assault, home invasion, minor defender, residence robbery, SC
4/8/06
North Platte, Nebraska
From the North Platte Bulletin of April 8, 2006
No charges filed on student accused of shooting his fatherFrom the North Platte Bulletin of March 20, 2007
Ray Keefer, 17, a high-school student who shot his father in the leg early March 25, appeared in court March 29. No criminal charges were filed against him.
Lincoln County Attorney Jeff Meyer said March 28 that no charges against the boy are planned, although he is still investigating the incident.
Keefer was arrested for first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony March 25 after he allegedly shot his father Thomas Keefer in the left leg with a .38-caliber handgun.
The bullet splintered Tom Keffer's bone and stayed lodged in his leg.
Tom Keefer, 42, was treated at the hospital and released. He was charged March 27 with felony child abuse, use of a weapon to commit a felony, domestic assault and terroristic threats.
Tom Keefer appeared in court March 27 on crutches and asked for a “reasonable” bond. “I still have a bullet in my leg that needs to be removed,” he said.
Lincoln County Judge Kent Florom set Tom Keefer’s bond at $25,000 and ordered him to have no contact with his son Ray or wife Lori Keefer.
…
Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Keefer home at 243 S. Maloney Drive at about 2:30 a.m. March 25. Shortly after arriving, they heard a gunshot from inside the house.
Ray Keefer exited the home and told deputies that he had shot his father in the leg.
Deputies entered the home and found Tom Keefer bleeding on the living room floor.
The affidavit said Ray told deputies that his mother and father had been fighting after Lori and Ray arrived home about 2 a.m. Tom threatened both Ray and Lori with the unloaded pistol, then loaded it and fired it once into the ceiling of the home.
The affidavit said Tom then put the loaded gun to Ray’s head and told him to leave the residence.
A struggle ensued and Ray recovered the gun from his father, the affidavit said. Ray then went to his room but Tom followed him and attempted to get the gun back, according to the affidavit.
Unsuccessful at retrieving the gun, Tom then went into the living room and began assaulting Lori, so Ray said he went back into the living room carrying the gun. When Tom saw Ray there, according to the affidavit, he became angry with his son and lunged at him. That’s when Ray fired the gun, striking his father in the left leg.
Deputies said Lori Keefer was intoxicated and said she was not present when her son shot her husband. No charges have been filed against her.
Keefer guilty of threats, child abuse
Tom Keefer, the North Platte man shot in the leg a year ago by his teenage son after a violent fight with his was found guilty of terroristic threats and child abuse in Lincoln County Court Monday.
Keefer, 43, 243 South Maloney Drive, pleaded no contest and was found guilty of the amended charges. Charges of use of a weapon to commit a felony and domestic assault were dismissed in exchange for the plea in a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Keefer faces a maximum of five years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or both for the felony terroristic threat charges. He also faces one year imprisonment, a $1,000 fine or both for the misdemeanor child abuse charge. He will be sentenced April 30.
Keefer was charged with the crime after Lincoln County Sheriff Deputies were called to their home March 25, 2006.
Deputies said Keefer’s son Ray told them that he had returned to his home early that morning with his mom and two friends. Ray and his friends were playing video games when Ray heard his mom and dad arguing, deputies said.
Ray told the deputies he separated his parents by pulling his dad off of his mom.
Keefer then ordered Ray to send his friends home, which he did, deputies said. While Ray was walking his friends outside, he heard the argument again and ran back inside.
Deputies said Ray told him Keefer had pinned his wife, Lorie, to the couch and that Tom had a handgun in his hand, pointing it at her head.
Ray told the deputies he jumped on his dad’s back to wrestle it away and Keefer told Ray the gun wasn’t loaded.
Ray told the deputies that as he sat by his mom on the couch, Keefer left the room then came back in saying, “now it’s loaded.” He then fired a round into the ceiling.
Ray and Keefer began to fight and struggle and the gun fired a second time, this time into the floor, deputies said.
Ray said he then grabbed the gun from his father, who repeatedly asked him to give it back. When Ray refused, according to deputies, Keefer walked toward his son saying, “shoot me, shoot me. Or give the gun back so I can shoot myself.”
Ray told deputies that his father continued to advance on him so he shot him in the leg.
Ray, then 17, was originally arrested for assault but felony charges against him were never filed because prosecutors decided his shot his father in self defense.
P. Stephen Potter, Keefer’s attorney, said he intended to offer a different version of events at sentencing but advised Keefer to plea no contest to take advantage of the plea agreement. He said Keefer had successfully completed treatment.
Labels: assault, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, domestic abuse, minor defender, NE
3/17/06
Port Orange, Florida
From the Daytona Beach News-Journal of March 17, 2006
Fear led to man's shooting, police say
A 16-year-old boy shot his aunt's boyfriend, police said, because the teen was afraid of the older man.
The boyfriend, Christopher Morgan, said he was standing in the living room of his girlfriend's apartment in the 1300 block of Dunlawton Avenue on Tuesday night, when the shot rang out.
"My girlfriend and I were having an argument and her nephew shot me," the 28-year-old Morgan said from home a day after he was wounded in the chest by the Spruce Creek High freshman and treated at Halifax Medical Center.
But Port Orange investigators said the teenager told them he shot Morgan because the man displayed "some threatening behavior toward his aunt."
Cmdr. Tim Girard would not elaborate on any of the interviews investigators conducted with the teen because the case is under investigation. The teen has not been charged.
But the boy's aunt, Charlotte Valery, said there had been trouble with Morgan in the past. The couple live together at the Victoria Garden Apartments along with Valery's two children -- a girl, 5, and a boy, 13, a police report shows.
The 16-year-old involved in the attack lives in Port Orange and was visiting his aunt and young cousins, police said.
Valery's father, Don Valery, said the small-caliber handgun his grandson used to shoot Morgan belongs to Valery, 32. He also acknowledged there had been some bad behavior on Morgan's part in other instances.
"He was just defending her," Don Valery said of his teenage grandson and the shooting.
The fact that, according to court records, Morgan has an extensive criminal past dating to 1995 on charges such as domestic battery, battery on a pregnant woman and violation of a protective order, surprised Don Valery, who also lives in Port Orange.
"I didn't know that," he said quietly.
Thursday, Girard said investigators would turn the case over to the State Attorney's Office.
Labels: domestic dispute, FL, minor defender
6/19/05
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
From the Allentown Morning Call of June 19, 2005
Man kills wife, then is shot to death by son, 15, authorities say
Andrew Detwiler of East Rockhill had hospitalized himself briefly last week. Boy tried to protect his mother.
An East Rockhill Township man blasted his way into his home with a shotgun Saturday and killed his wife as she talked to a 911 operator — then was shot to death by the couple's 15-year-old son, authorities said.
Andrew Detwiler, 44, of 30 Greenleaf Circle, shot his wife, Suzanne Detwiler, 40, about 10 a.m. at the family home after loading an empty shotgun he had wrested from the boy, said Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons.
The father took the shotgun as the boy and his 17-year-old brother pointed unloaded shotguns at him in an attempt to scare him away from their mother. Detwiler was holding a knife to his wife's throat, Gibbons said.
The couple had begun arguing earlier that morning, police said.
Gibbons described Andrew Detwiler's shooting death as justifiable, saying the boys acted heroically.
''There's no question that he acted solely for the purpose of saving his mother's life,'' said Gibbons, who added that the 15-year-old would not be charged.
(More)
Labels: domestic abuse, home invasion, minor defender, PA
