November 23rd

(Tennessee) Store Video Shows Bold Robbers In Action

A violent robbery caught on tape. Cops say the bad guys were bold and were ready to shoot and kill to get what they wanted. But a store worker was able to turn the tables on the thugs. And the clerks were saved by sheer luck.

It happened at the Fast Check Convenience Store off Winchester Thursday around 9:30pm. Two robbers busted in, one got away with cash, the other took a few bullets after one clerk chased the robbers out of his store. "One of the victims inside the store heard click click," says Lt. Darren Goods with the Memphis Police Department. The click was the gun... jamming. Both clerks know are lucky to be alive. It lasted just a few seconds -- a few seconds that could have ended someone's life.

Lt. Goods calls them robbers with a sinister motive, "Their purpose was to take-over style robbery. Lets take any and everything we can, lets get as much money as we can. Both armed with guns. And lets get out of here as fast as we can." What's worse say police, several customers - including young teenagers - were inside the whole time. One lady walked into the middle of it. Police say somebody has to know these brazen robbers. The one robber hasn't been charged yet. He's still critical but stable at The MED.

November 21st

(Florida) Guns fired in attack on Delray coin and jewelry store

Three men and a woman were arrested Tuesday after police said they burst into a coin and jewelry store on Federal Highway and fired shots at employees. No one was hurt and nothing was stolen, but a chase ensued that led police through three cities after the getaway car.

Brittney Hinners, 18, of Delray Beach, Blake Lauseng, 20, of Boynton Beach, and Horace Brown, 23, and Thomas Coates, 24, no addresses given, were charged with armed robbery with a firearm, said Jeff Messer, police spokesman. It started as a ruse when a young woman entered Andrew's jewelry shop shortly after 3 p.m pretending to look at engagement rings. She managed to prop open the front door to bypass its automatic locking system as she left. Two men with handguns then stormed into the shop and yelled, "Hey you!" At least one of the men fired four rounds at the owner and two employees, Messer said. "When I heard the shots I thought Andrew [the owner] was just nailing something to the wall," sand Lee Pickens, owner of the Scuba Center shop next door.

The store owner reached for his gun from behind the counter and was going to return fire, Messer said, but the men fled the store, tucked in the corner of the small Mayfair Plaza in the 800 block of northbound Federal Highway. They jumped over a cream-colored stucco wall that separates the plaza from a quiet neighborhood street where the getaway car, a black Mitsubishi Galant, was waiting.

Police picked up the woman and a man thought to be the driver near the store. They pursued the two other men in a zigzagging, 16-mile car chase that finally ended a half-mile south of the Forest Hill Boulevard exit on Interstate 95 when police blew out the car's tires. One of the men tossed a gun over the median, and police recovered the other inside the car. No one was hurt in the car chase, Messer said. "South Florida has been hit like a plague with these violent robberies recently," he said. "Who are all these people?"The four were being booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Tuesday, and most of them confessed to their part in the robbery, Messer said. Brown also had a warrant and was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, he said.

Initially police were treating the incident as an attempted murder since the men did not demand anything and instead started shooting. However, further investigation revealed that their intent was robbery, Messer said. By 5 p.m. crime scene investigators were dusting the store's door for prints and making molds of footprints left near the wall. Meanwhile, customers and employees came out of their stores to see what the commotion was about. Most did not even hear the gunshots. When Pickens went to see what was going on she saw the owner standing outside the shop with a shotgun in hand, she said.

The Delray Beach resident said she's known the owner since she opened her shop eight years ago. "He's a nice guy," she said. "I've always felt good about Andrew being next door because he has a gun."

November 20th

(California) Resident Shoots, Kills Would-Be Intruder In Indio

(CBS) INDIO, Calif. An Indio man disarmed and fatally shot a would-be intruder early Tuesday during a struggle that left the resident with a gunshot wound in his foot, authorities said.

Police sent to a home on Hamilton Court in the Indian Palms Country Club at 1:30 a.m. found the body of 31-year-old Genaro Chavez Munoz lying partially in the front window of the residence, according to Ben Guitron with Indio police. The preliminary investigation indicated that the homeowner was awakened by the sounds of someone trying to enter his home through the front window, according to Guitron. "The homeowner managed to disarm the intruder and shot him several times, killing him in the process," Guitron said. Police believe there may have been other suspects outside the residence who ran away after the shooting, he said.

The homeowner, whose name was not being released, was taken to John F. Kennedy Hospital. Guitron said no charges would be filed against him at this time, but that the investigation was ongoing.

November 19th

(Washington) Homeowner shoots suspect taking weapon from house

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

The homeowner was returning home about 10:30 a.m. when he saw a brown Honda Accord he didn't recognize parked in the driveway. Inside, the man saw two teenagers, one of them carrying his rifle. Police said the homeowner opened fire with a .45 caliber handgun that he was carrying, injuring one of the burglary suspects. It was unclear whether the rifle was pointed at the man, but police said he was defending himself when he opened fire.

The wounded teenager was taken to a Yakima hospital, where his condition was not immediately available. However, police said the gunshot was not life-threatening. The other suspect was arrested by police at the house. The incident occurred in the 2200 block of South 64th Avenue.

November 11th

(Florida) Angry hog meets fate on Youngstown property

A Youngstown man with a .22 rifle was the last line of defense between his family and an angry porker. The 300-pound swine terrorized a home along County 2301 on Saturday morning, but ultimately, the hog was killed and taken away to become bacon, ribs and other meats.

“It charged my mom. She was getting very upset,” said the 47-year-old who shot the hog. The man’s name is being withheld at the family’s request because of fear of retribution. “It even came after me one time and nipped me on the leg.”

Officials with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said the family contacted their neighbors to see if the hog belonged to anyone, but no one claimed the curly-tailed creature. After the family called for help, two officers from Bay County Animal Control arrived, but they could not catch the hog either. “We chased the pig all over the place,” the man said. “The pig was street-wise.” The animal control officers then called for backup, and an unnamed Bay County Sheriff’s deputy showed up. But the pig eluded him, too. “Two animal control officers were able to get a noose around the animal but could not hold onto it,” said Sgt. John Sumerall of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. “Three hundred pounds of pig will pull you pretty good.”

The officers told the deputy to shoot the hog, but the deputy refused, Sumerall said. The officers then requested the deputy contact Sumerall, who concurred with the deputy’s decision. “We’re not shooting an animal that is not a threat to anyone,” Sumerall said. However, Sumerall told the officials the homeowner could shoot the pig. Homeowners have a right to safely kill game on their property, and hogs always are in season, Sumerall said.“When an animal is being aggressive and going after people and we’re not able to catch it, the complainant is allowed to protect themselves and their property,” said Debbie Evernham, interim manager of Bay County Animal Control. Sumerall added the shooting was acceptable because it did not take place in city limits, and the shooter was clear of other houses and traffic. “The property owner went inside, found a rifle and shot the pig in the head, I guess,” Summerall said.

The Youngstown man said he never has killed an animal before and did not want to do it. “I don’t like killing nothing,” he said.

Animal control officials had the hog harvested later Saturday.

November 5th

(Florida) Police: Orlando Cricket Player Shoots Opponent During Match

An argument between several Indian men during a cricket match in Orlando led to an on-the-field shooting that seriously injured one of the players, according to police.Orange County sheriff's deputies said they responded to a 911 call at 4:20 p.m. Saturday from a cricket match at Cyprus Grove Park and found Francis Singh, 36, shot in the abdomen.Click here to find out more!Officers said Singh apparently became involved in a fight and threatened Devan Bascom, 37, with a cricket bat.Police said Bascom then pulled a small semi-automatic gun and fired at Singh, hitting him at least once."The shooter was defending himself from an attack with a cricket bat which is simlar to a baseball bat but it's flat," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Spike Hopkins said. "For this man to bring a firearm to a sporting event is odd but then again, he has the right to do so. He has a concealed weapons permit and if, in fact, he was protecting himself, he was authorized by law to do so."Singh was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center and was undergoing surgery late Saturday.There have been no arrests made in the case as the investigation continues.

November 7th

(New York) Fired upon in her Winspear home, woman shoots back

A gunman fired a shot Tuesday night into a Winspear Avenue house, and the occupant retaliated by firing a shot back, police reported. No injuries were reported. The incident happened in the 400 block of Winspear in the city's University Heights neighborhood at about 6:10 p.m.

Northeast District Police said three men dressed in black hooded shirts repeatedly pounded and kicked on the door, and demanded that the woman inside open it, police said. One of the men then fired a shotgun through the door, near the peep hole. When the woman used her own shotgun to return fire, the three men drove away, police reported. The woman's shot struck a neighboring house at 494 Winspear. Police believe two of the men had shotguns, while the third man had a handgun.

November 7th

(Florida) Orlando victims scare off armed robbers with own guns

They draw permitted concealed weapons when suspect shoots

Two holders of concealed-weapons permits surprised armed thugs who approached them in west Orlando this week. Both men opened fire rather than surrender their wallets. The robbers beat it. "They left with broken egos. They didn't get nothing from us," Juan Amezaga said Tuesday. "If more people stood up for themselves, a lot of crime could be prevented. And the concealed-weapons permit, that's great."

The men say they exercised their constitutional right to own guns, carried them legally and defended themselves within the state's deadly force law. "If it's appropriate, people have to defend themselves," said Sgt. Barbara Jones, Orlando police spokeswoman. "It's no different from us using a gun. It has to be justified, and we will, of course, investigate what happened."

The gunfight erupted at 6:10 p.m. Monday near Clear Lake, according to a police report on the incident.

Amezaga, 25, and Stephen Soto, 23, were enjoying the fall weather outside Soto's apartment on South Wilts Circle when two strangers walked by them two or three times. Thinking that was suspicious behavior, Amezaga and Soto took notice when both strangers walked up to Amezaga's parked car, where the men were standing."What time is it?" one of the strangers asked. Soto looked down at his watch and said, "It is 6:10." Raising his head, Soto heard the stranger say, "Hey, run them," as the man drew a black snub-nose revolver from the pouch in his sweat shirt. As Soto pulled a 9 mm Keltec pistol from his right front pants pocket, he heard the robber's gunfire and felt a bullet graze his left shin, breaking the skin. Still standing, Soto fired two or three times before both robbers turned and ran, the report states. "They tried to rob me and my homeboy," Soto said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "Man, put it like this: If I didn't have a concealed-weapons permit, it would have been a lot worse."

When the robbers fled, one stopped, turned and fired an unknown number of shots.Soto shot back and fired two to three more times, and Amezaga drew his .357 Magnum Sig Sauer pistol and fired eight or nine times at the robbers.

Crime-scene technicians later collected 15 shell casings ejected by both of the men's handguns, the report said.Both men were unsure whether they hit either robber. Police did not determine where the 15 bullets fired by the men struck in the neighborhood.

November 6th

(California) Homeowner kills; second burglar to be charged with murder

A Bakersfield homeowner who killed an intruder Monday night acted in self-defense, the Sheriff's Department says, but a surviving burglar will be charged with murder in connection with the death of his crime partner. That was the latest development Tuesday afternoon as detectives sorted out what happened in the 15000 block of Westdale Drive, near Renfro and Brimhall, in northwest Bakersfield.

Sheriff's spokesman Ed Komin gave this account: Just before 10 p.m. Monday, Ulises Aaron Espino, 19, and Alberto Torres, 18, went to the home of 44-year-old Steven Stewart. "It appears that Torres and Espino went to Stewart's residence intending to enter the house and burn it down," Komin said in a news release. A flammable liquid was found inside the house, Komin said.Torres stayed in the car, while Espino tried to climb into a window. Stewart, the resident, had a shotgun and fired at the intruder, the release said.

Espino was wounded, but made it back to the car. Torres drove him to Calloway Drive and Rosedale Highway, where he stopped and called for an ambulance. The ambulance took Espino to the hospital, where he died. Torres was arrested. The Sheriff's Department will seek criminal charges against Torres, accusing him of the murder of Espino. Even though it was Stewart who fired the fatal shot, and although Torres and Espino were partners, Espino's death can be considered a murder because it is a death resulting from the attempted commission of a felony. Torres also was booked on charges of attempting to murder Stewart, for attempted arson, for conspiracy and for participating in a street gang.