February 23rd

(Indiana) Police: Homeowner shot man in self defense

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Metro Police say a homeowner shot a man in self-defense outside his eastside home Saturday morning. But it's not the man's first time using a gun....

Metro Police were called by a homeowner, Richard Burns, who said he had just shot a man behind his Brookville Road home.
"Apparently he heard a noise outside, went outside to see what was going on, and related to the detectives that this individual came at him with a knife, and which time he fired a shot," IMPD Sgt. Paul Thompson said.

Burns told detectives the man he shot was coming out of his car, perhaps trying to steal it.
The victim was hit in the chest and taken to Wishard Hospital in serious condition. While doctors work to save the victim's life, detectives work to figure out a complex case.

Police will determine if this shooting was indeed self-defense. What they'll also look at is the fact that Mr. Burns has been involved in two other shootings, this year alone.

February 23rd

(Florida) Altamonte Springs Homeowner Shoots, Kills Intruder

Seminole County deputies said a homeowner shot and killed a teen who was trying to break into his home overnight.

Deputies said Ryan Realford, 17, approached an undercover deputy's car in the East Altamonte Springs community with an unidentified substance in his hand. They said when the teen recognized the person in a car was a deputy, he ran into a nearby backyard and tried to break into a home.

A homeowner said Realford removed a locked screen door and was trying to enter his house through a sliding glass door. The homeowner said he asked Realford to leave. When he would not, the homeowner told deputies he shot him.

Realford was taken to the hospital where he died. Deputies said it's not likely that the homeowner will face charges.

February 22nd

(Arkansas)

A Dardanelle man is dead after he and an unidentified accomplice apparently broke into a residence off State Highway 22 near Dardanelle late Wednesday night, authorities said Thursday.

Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey confirmed one of the home’s occupants shot and killed Mike Jensen, 44, after Jensen and another man allegedly entered the residence by kicking in the front door.

Four people were inside the home at the time of the break-in, Gilkey said. Jensen — who after entering the home made his way down a hallway and was at the point of entering a bedroom when he was shot — was armed with an SKS assault rifle investigators later learned was not loaded, Gilkey said.

The other intruder fled the scene in a vehicle authorities recovered Thursday morning, Gilkey said, adding investigators were working to process the vehicle in hopes of learning the second man’s identity.

Gilkey said authorities do not expect any charges will be filed against the homeowner — who Gilkey said used “a shotgun” to deter Jensen — in connection with the matter.

He said the intruders’ motive was uncertain.“We’re just assuming that they came in there to rob the family,” he said.

February 19th

(Tennessee) Brighton neighbor runs to women's aid, shoots and kills attacker

A Brighton man shot and killed a 44-year-old registered sex offender who attacked two women in their home early this morning, officials said.

According to Dist. Atty. Gen. Mike Dunavant, David Fleming charged into the home of two women at about 3 a.m.Fleming bound the women but one escaped and ran to a nearby home. Dunavant said Fleming, who lived in Munford, intended to rape the women. The woman who escaped went to the nearby home of Keith Ingram for help, Dunavant said.

Ingram, carrying a .40-caliber handgun, ran to the house and found Fleming attacking the other woman, officials said. When Fleming tried to attack Ingram, Dunavant said Ingram shot Fleming once.

Tipton County Sheriff’s deputies and Brighton Police officers found Fleming dead on the front porch of the home.

Fleming had been convicted of attempted rape in Tipton County. He’s listed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s sex-offender registry.

Dunavant said Ingram has no criminal record and has a permit to carry the handgun.

The women who were attacked were treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton.

TBI officials are assisting with the case. The Shelby County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy. Investigators took statements from several witnesses today. The shooting is still under investigation.

February 19th

(Alabama) Burglary suspect shot as he flees

A 19-year-old man was shot in the back Sunday evening after he was caught rifling through an older model Chevrolet Caprice sitting in a Mobile auto body shop lot, police said. The wounded man apparently didn't find much in the car, and as he fled he lost his tennis shoes, said the business owner who shot the man. The teen was taken to the hospital, but another man with him escaped, police said.

It was the second incident over the weekend in which a man was shot while believed to be committing a crime.

On Saturday, one of two men allegedly forcing their way into a Midtown home was shot and killed by either his own gun or his partner's gun as a resident struggled to keep them out of the house, police said.

Unlike the home invader, the 19-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant said.

Isaac Taylor said he was inside his business --Taylor Made Auto Shop on Halls Mill Road -- about 6:30 p.m. when he heard something outside. Taylor, 44, said he opened the door and surveyed a dark parking lot full of vehicles he had been hired to fix. He said he spotted a man sitting in the Caprice. There was another man moving around inside a black four-door Honda Civic, Taylor said Monday.

Taylor said he fired his .38-caliber pistol as the two men fled. He said he then caught and tackled the 19-year-old in the driveway that the auto shop shares with Aramark Uniform Services. "He told me his stomach was burning," Taylor said. "The way he had been running, I didn't think he had been shot." Taylor said he called 911 when he realized that the man was wounded.

Police declined to release the 19-year-old's name Monday. The man will be arrested and charged once he is released from the hospital, Gallichant said.Police will identify the man once investigators sign warrants against him, Gallichant said.

Taylor said he had seen the man he shot using his driveway as a short cut between Halls Mill and Navco roads. He said he didn't get a good look at the second man.

Usually no one is at the shop on Sundays, but Taylor said he was there trying to finish painting a Nissan Ultima. "I guess they thought no one was out here," he said. Taylor said he thought the men had rifled through several unlocked vehicles, but he didn't know if anything was taken. He is asking his customers whether anything is missing when they come to pick up their vehicles.

Taylor said he carries a gun because of previous robberies and burglaries. "I'm working hard every day," Taylor said Monday evening as he pulled tape off the door of the newly painted red Ultima.

In addition to the 19-year-old's tennis shoes, one of Taylor's employees found jumper cables lying in the parking lot Monday, he said.

"I hate to say this, but I kind of feel sorry for him," Taylor said.

February 15th

(Delaware) Liquor store owner shoots robbery suspect

It took seven shots from Bernis Martin's Smith & Wesson M&P 9 mm pistol before the Wilmington merchant hit his target. And he felt vindicated afterward.
"I had one robbery attempt before, but he wasn't able to get anything," Martin said Thursday night, standing inside his BGM Liquor Store at 11th and Lombard streets. "This time I have some vengeance because he did get hit."

Martin was speaking the day after he fended off a robbery with his handgun, clipping one of four fleeing suspects and sending the others banging on doors crying for help.

Wilmington police took his weapon as evidence in the 10 p.m. shooting, but filed no charges against the store owner for wounding a 15-year-old suspect in the right thigh.
Police said the wounded youth was arrested at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa., where he allegedly went for treatment. Three others charged with trying to rob Martin as he was leaving his store were arrested in the neighborhood.

Before their arrests, two of the suspects were heard banging on rear doors, shouting, "Open the door, let me in," said Wilmington Master Sgt. Steven Barnes.
Police said it was the 15-year-old who was later wounded who approached Martin as he was leaving the store and demanded money.

"I was startled when I saw him," Martin said. "He looked like he might have been startled, too. He had a hood covering his head and a white-and-black bandanna on his face. He said 'Give it up, old head,' " Martin, 53, said from behind the glass door that separates him from the customers he serves. Several loyal patrons came by to check on him Thursday night.
Martin said the only reason he was caught off guard was because he was headed to his second job as a technician for Chrysler in Newark. He wanted to rush to the store to get his wife some roses for Valentine's Day.

"I was behind these pillars, so I guess he couldn't see me. He said, 'What you doing?' I guess when I didn't answer he shot at me. That's when I shot back," Martin said. He said he has applied for a permit to carry the gun which he holsters on his hip.

Police said the youngster shot at Martin with a .22-caliber rifle, which they recovered in making the arrests after officers responded to a call of shots fired in the area of 10th and Pine streets.
As responding officers ran to the corner where the shooting happened, they saw two people running and chased them to rear yards in the 1000 block of Lombard St., where both were arrested.

Detectives later learned that the 15-year-old had turned up at the hospital, telling medics he was wounded in downtown Wilmington near Fifth and Orange streets. Detectives went to the hospital, interviewed the teen and brought him back to Wilmington to face charges.
The fourth participant, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested after officers raided a home in the 1000 block of Lombard St.

The two teens, along with Christopher Whittaker, 20, of the 300 block of Rolling Green, in New Castle, and Cory Clark, 20, also of the 1000 block of Lombard St., were charged with first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during a felony, reckless endangering and conspiracy.

February 14th

(Texas) One Arrested In Home Burglary

Dallas police arrested one person in connection with a home burglary, but not at the crime location. In fact, no one was inside the home that SWAT police surrounded for hours Thursday afternoon.

It all started around 3 p.m. when a homeowner interrupted a burglary in progress in the 2800 block of W. 8th Street near Westmoreland Avenue. A neighbor had called him at work and told him three people were breaking into his house.

The armed homeowner, who says he has several other weapons and lots of ammunition at the house, arrived with his own weapon drawn and confronted the three intruders."He had a gun with him and fired a couple of rounds and he believes he struck one of them," said Sr. Cpl. Geraldo Monreal of the Dallas Police Department. "Two of the suspects fled. The third suspect ran back inside the house where he has barricaded himself inside the residence." Police threw tear gas into the home, but later discovered it to be empty.

They later found one person with gunshot wounds at Parkland Hospital and arrested him in connection with this crime. Two others are still on the run.

February 13th

(Texas) WWII vet sends armed burglar suspect to hospital

Police said one man is in the hospital after an elderly North Texas man took action into his own hands when confronted by two armed brothers inside his home Saturday night. Police said they believe the brothers went to 80-year-old James Pickett's home with the intent to rob him, and even possibly kill him. However, Pickett - a World War II veteran, former fighter and lifelong John Wayne devotee - wasn't about to let that happen.

It all began Saturday night when Pickett said he opened his door and two men barged inside."He just come through that door stabbing and beating," he said. However, Pickett said just before he went to answer the door, he had first placed a pistol into his pocket. "And he jumped and turned, and I shot him there," he said.

The two brothers, Paul and Holden Perry, ran, but didn't get far before calling an ambulance. One of the bullets just missed Paul Perry's spine. "He's my hero," said one neighbor of Pickett.

"Well, I ain't got no business being a hero, by no means," he said.

Both brothers face assault, burglary and robbery charges. Deputies assured Pickett they aren't likely to get out of jail anytime soon.

However, he didn't seem that worried anyhow."I think I'm a ten times better shot than he is," he said. "... But, they best not come back."

February 12th

(Michigan) Homeowner Shoots, Kills Invader

DETROIT -- A man was shot eight times and killed Monday night as he tried to rob a home on Detroit's east side, police said.Police said two men were trying to break into a home on the 5200 block of Kensington Avenue when the homeowner inside grabbed his pistol and fired.

One of the home invaders was killed and the other fled in a newer-model white Chevrolet Impala.The homeowner's mother was sleeping in the house at the time and was not harmed.

The homeowner is not expected to face charges.

February 12th

(South Carolina) Allsbroom man disarms would-be robber

Last Friday was an evening for break-ins in Loris, bringing victims to believe they might be related.

Bill Kaufmann, owner of The Sod Farm, was in bed like any other evening, when he heard a knock on his front door the evening of Jan. 25."They were waiting on us to shut our lights off," Kaufman said. Thinking it was his foreman, Ronnie Thompson, Kaufmann opened the door, only to find a man holding a knife and threatening to kill him.

Kaufmann, who used to train police officers, managed to get the knife away from the suspect, and get to his shotgun that he kept in his bedroom. "I could tell by the way he was holding the knife that he had never done this kind of thing before," Kaufmann said.

When the suspect saw the gun, he ran out of the house, just about the same time that three others suspects had broken a door down to get into the trailer Kaufmann uses for the Sod Farm's office. "They had to know where we kept the petty cash, because they went right for that drawer, but we had happened to move it, so they didn't get cash, just deposit slips," Kaufmann said.

The burglary took place just across U.S. 701 from another burglary that happened earlier that morning on Barrett St., where safe and other items had been stolen. Two suspects were arrested following that break-in.

While there have been no reports that the two are related, one of the suspects that was arrested for the Barrett St. burglary, is listed as a possible suspect on the police report for The Sod Farm break-in. Kaufmann believes that it was someone who worked for him previously because they knew exactly where the money was kept. "They had to know where we kept the money, we have some idea of who it could be," Kaufmann said.

As for now, Kaufmann said that they have upgraded their security system at their home and office, and hope that it will keep them safe in the future. "It was a wake up call to us, we though the deadbolts would be enough, and it wasn't," he said. "It was quite an alarming experience," He said.

Kaufmann, who said that he could have shot the suspect, but didn't, said that people in the area need to know what is happening so they can protect themselves as well.

"People need to know that these kids are going around, busting in on people, the next person might shoot them," Kaufmann said.

February 7th

(Washington) Would-be teen burglars arrested in Burien

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

The incident began when a man returned to his home in the 16400 block of Ambaum Boulevard South after walking his dog and found a burglar in his kitchen. As the suspect ran for the front door, he was joined by his three other suspects coming from various areas of the house. The homeowner grabbed his handgun and gave chase.

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

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

Finally, workers at a nearby townhouse spotted the last two suspects skulking along a fence line. Deputies converged and took them into custody without incident. The suspects, ages 14, 14, 16, and 17, were from Burien, Mill Creek, and Seattle. All were booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of burglary.

February 8th

(Mississippi) Jackson Store Clerk Shoots Man Attempting Robbery

A man attempting to rob a Jackson store clerk gets more than he bargained for when the would-be victim decides to fight back.

James Nichols was closing up for the day when the incident happened at the All American Check Exchange on Suncrest Drive in south Jackson. Nichols says an armed man wearing a hood confronted him as was about to get into his truck to head home around 6:30 Friday night. But Nichols was prepared to protect himself. "I pulled my gun and he started hollering no don't, and I tried to knock the gun away so that it wouldn't be pointed at me and I fired three times."

Nichols says the suspect then dropped his weapon and ran away. Witnesses tell police the man left in a gold Toyota sedan. Now police are trying to determine if a man being treated for gunshot wounds at the University Medical Center is the same person that Nichols shot. Investigators were unable to question him because he was listed in critical condition. Nichols says he's not sure how many times he may have struck the assailant. But Nichols says because crime is so common, he never goes anywhere unarmed. "I hope it doesn't happen again but I will be prepared again if it does."

February 9th

(Florida) Victim Shoots Getaway Vehicle

A man fired a gun Wednesday at the getaway vehicle of a burglar who had just broken into his home, and he managed to hit a tire, police said. Authorities say they identified and charged the burglar.

Now they are looking for the vehicle, described as a dark blue GMC Envoy, Lt. Mike Loux said.

The burglary victim and his wife arrived home in the 1500 block of North Peaceful Lane and spotted a sport utility vehicle in their driveway, Loux said.The wife looked into the unfamiliar vehicle to see whether anyone was inside, Loux said. Nobody was.

The husband thought something was wrong and retrieved a .357-caliber firearm from his glove box, Loux said. The man is licensed to carry a concealed firearm. The husband opened the garage door and at about the same time noticed someone coming from a side yard toward the driveway, Loux said. The person hopped into the Envoy and began to back out of the driveway, Loux said. The couple's car was behind the Envoy, and the husband thought the Envoy was going to hit him, his wife or their car, Loux said.

The husband shot twice at the driver's side front tire as the Envoy sped away. Investigators determined the driver of the Envoy had burglarized the couple's home, Loux said.On Thursday, Largo authorities learned of an arrest by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The man, identified by Largo police as Robert Jacobs, 48, told authorities he burglarized the home and was unaware anyone had fired at the Envoy, Loux said.

Authorities, who did not identify the couple, are still looking for the Envoy. Its Florida license plate number is X835WY. Detectives also are trying to determine whether Jacobs committed any other burglaries, Loux said.

February 7th

(Texas) Man fights back against would-be robber

A would-be robber was shot and killed by the person he was trying to rob in the parking lot of a grocery store in southeast Houston. Investigators told Eyewitness News the would-be robber had the tables turned on him when the person he was trying to rob pulled out his own gun and shot the man.

It was just after 10pm last night when the victim told police he pulled into the parking lot at the H-E-B in the Gulfgate shopping center on Winkler near the Gulf Freeway. Tha'ts when a man walked up to his car and pointed a gun at him. What the robber didn't know is the man had a gun and he retaliated with gunfire.

"He had just parked and as he was about to get out the car, the guy came up to his door," said Sgt. Robert Odom with the Houston Police Department. "Do you know if he was going to carjack him?" we asked. "I don't know. He told him to get back in. I don't know what he was planning to do at that point, if he was planning on taking the truck or if he was just going to rob him," said Sgt. Odom.

The would-be robber was shot several times. He tried to get away by jumping into a car that was parked nearby. However, he fell out of the car and later died.

Police did arrest the driver of the car and believe he may be the second suspect in the case.

February 6th

(Montana) Billings man who fired pistol in self-defense released

A Billings man who was arrested after firing a pistol in a tavern parking lot has been released from the county jail.Justin Swanz, 26, was freed about 10 hours after his arrest early Tuesday when county prosecutors sent the case back to police for further investigation. Chief Deputy County Attorney Mark Murphy said he could not discuss details of the case, but Swanz claimed in an interview Wednesday that he fired the pistol in self-defense.

Swanz was arrested after police responded about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday to a weapons complaint at Shooters Casino and Sports Bar, 1600 Ave. D. Officers stopped Swanz as he was leaving the parking lot in a Jeep Cherokee.

Swanz told The Gazette on Wednesday that he fired once into the air as six or seven men advanced on him in the parking lot following a confrontation inside the bar. Swanz said he fired the Taurus .44 Special revolver once. "They were going to beat me up," Swanz said. "I had no choice but to fire that shot in the air. It was total self-defense."

Swanz said he had arrived at the tavern alone between 10 and 11 p.m. to play pool. He bought a pitcher of beer and played several pool games with another man. Swanz said he went to leave shortly after 1 a.m. and was confronted by men who claimed he owed the other man $1,200 for betting losses on the pool table. Swanz said he did not bet on the games, but the men threatened him and one man grabbed his pocket knife from his front pants pocket. Swanz was told to leave, so he grabbed his jacket and walked out of the tavern, he said.

As he walked to his car, Swanz said, the men followed and continued to threaten him. When it appeared they were going to attack him, Swanz said, he pulled his pistol from his coat pocket, pointed it into the air and fired one shot. The gunfire stopped the men, although someone threw ice on him, he said.

Swanz said he does not have a concealed weapons permit. Swanz said he is unemployed and he has no criminal record.