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.

October 27th

(Florida) Blind Man Shoots Home Intruder In Neck

According to police, Cevaughn Curtis Jr., 28, broke into Arthur Williams' house in Gainesville at around 3 a.m.Curtis, police said, knocked on the door, asked to be let inside but Williams refused. Curtis then tried to force his way into the home.The 75-year-old retired taxi dispatcher, who's been legally blind for the past 61 years, opened fire on the would-be-thief who kicked down his door, police said.

Police said Williams shot Curtis, who tried to flee but collapsed on the front porch, in the left side of the neck. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition.Police said Curtis was charged with burglary of an occupied residence and battery on a person over the age of 65.Officials are praising Williams for protecting himself.

October 25th

(Michigan) Homeowner captures home invader

Police have arrested a juvenile after a homeowner kept him at gunpoint inside his home.It happened Tuesday afternoon in the 100 block of Derby Road in Pennfield Township.One of the two suspects got away. That second intruder turned himself in and had an arraignment Thursday in court.

It was the homeowner's handgun that helped him help police.“I came to the door, I was walking to the door like this, I don't know where they're at, they came to the door like this,” said Damon Ogletree.He took the concealed weapons course and has Navy medals for his marksmanship. Ogletree had no second thoughts about defending his home.“He was probably just as surprised as I was,” said Ogletree.

Two intruders had broke through a back window. Ogletree met one of them by his bedroom. That intruder's partner managed to get out the same way he got in. The one Ogletree first saw did not. “I'm like get your hands in the air, do not put your hands in your pockets whatever you do, and get them in the air, so he put them in the air and got on the ground.”

“That's their decision as a gun owner and homeowner,” said Captain Matthew Saxton. He says the decision is a legal one. But he wouldn't recommend it to everyone. “They gotta decide whether it's worth saving their TV or their life.”This was the third break-in at Ogletree's house in the last year. For him it was an easy choice. “I just can't believe the mentality of some of the younger kids that's running around, that think they can do this kind of stuff and get away with it,” said Ogletree.

The Sheriff's Department doesn't know if these two intruders are responsible for the other break-ins at Ogletree's home. This time though, nothing was stolen.

October 23rd

(Washington) No charges in fatal dispute at Puyallup, WA, gas station

TACOMA, Wash. -- Pierce County prosecutors have declined to file charges against a 21-year-old man who fatally shot another man at a Puyallup gas station.

The prosecutors say the shooter was justified when he shot 23-year-old Nicholas Cruz, of Eatonville, on October 7 at a Shell station.

The shooter told investigators he was sitting in his car at the gas station when Cruz approached and punched him several times, reportedly after breaking the driver's side window.
Police say the driver has a valid concealed weapons permit. They say he pulled out his .357-caliber handgun and shot Cruz twice.

Police say the men apparently were involved in an altercation of some sort before the shooting.

October 23rd

(Georgia) Man shot dead attempting to rob nonprofit

An employee of a Stone Mountain nonprofit association that helps war-torn refugees shot and killed a robber who forced his way into the office Tuesday evening around closing time, authorities said.

The robber collapsed and died near a rear door of the World Relief, an immigrant resettlement agency at 655 Village Square Drive, according to DeKalb County police spokesman Marcus Hodge.

Hodge said around 6:30 p.m. the two robbers entered through the rear door as two male employees, described as older men, were preparing to leave and lock the front door.

Both robbers were armed with handguns, and one of them acted as a lookout, Hodge said. The other demanded the victims' wallets, then put his gun to one employee's head and ordered him to open a safe, Hodge said.When the robber turned his back, the other employee grabbed a gun from his desk and fired several shots at the robber, Hodge said.

Hodge said he did not know how many times the robber was struck, or where he was wounded. Both robbers ran, though the wounded robber did not make it far.

Police were still searching for the second robber late Tuesday.The name of the employee who shot the robber was not immediately released Tuesday. He had not been charged late Tuesday, Hodge said, because the shooting appears to have been in self-defense.

October 23rd

(Oklahoma) Lawton Teen Killed While Burglarizing A Home

Tonight prosecutors are asking themselves if this is a case of self-defense. The Make My Day Law gives Oklahomans the right to kill intruders inside their homes. Something 40-year-old Jeff Dorrell did yesterday afternoon in his front yard. When he noticed a suspicious truck and found the front door open he immediatly went back to his vehicle and grabbed his pistol. " He has a concealed license so he has a right to carry that pistol."

Family Attorney John Zelbst says when Jeff approached the house he came face to face with the intruder. " At that time he chambered up the weapon and ordered the man to the ground and called 9-1-1." But while waiting for police, he says the intruder came after Jeff, "Jeff charges the pistol and grazes him probably because he is on the phone and sees the guy coming after him." Zelbst says the 17 year old laid back down but then tried to attack again, "Goes after the gun hand and jeff discharges and strikes him in the chest."" The gentlemen who owns the house and the intruder didn't know each other as far as we can tell now." Police say it was all caught on 9-1--1 audio tape, "People remember things different ways and when we have a recording we can go back to see exactly what happened and lot of time it can jar memory and say that's right it did happen that way."

But Zelbst says bottom line, this is a case of self defense. "It's not something he relishes in or enjoys or even brags about. it was a very traumatic experience for him to deal with too, to have shot somebody and they end up loosing their life."While in Lawton a family member of the 17-year-old approached us. He says Freddy didn't come from a broken home and says he was trying to change but was too involved with the wrong crowd. He also says the family doesn't hold a grudge against the homeowner---but wish the situation would have ended differently.

October 22nd

(Pennsylvania) Man killed in E. Liberty home invasion

An armed man was shot and killed early this morning after he and another man broke into a residence in East Liberty, police said. Shawn Davis, 18, of Duquesne, died of a shotgun blast to the head inside an apartment at 300 North Negley Avenue. He was shot at 3:15 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene 10 minutes later.

Police said he and his accomplice, Rashawn Gibson, 20, of Garfield, tried to rob the occupants of the apartment."It was definitely a home invasion," said Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki, head of Major Crimes. "We're still sorting it out." Detectives said Mr. Davis pointed his gun at the occupants and ordered them onto the floor. He and Mr. Gibson walked one victim to the rear of the apartment at gunpoint, then returned to the living room and approached the other victims who were hiding in the kitchen. When Mr. Davis pointed a gun at one of them, the man shot him in the head with a shotgun. Mr. Gibson jumped through a window to get away, but police caught him.

He is charged with burglary, robbery and criminal conspiracy.

October 18th

(Alabama) Burglar made to clean up mess

After a robber cleaned out a Montgomery couple's home, the couple made him clean up -- at gunpoint.

When Adrian and Tiffany McKinnon returned to their Centennial Hill home, the husband and wife discovered that thieves had broke into the Ross Street residence and cleaned the house out of almost everything the family of five owned, said Tiffany McKinnon, crying as she spoke."Tears just rolled down my face as I walked in and saw everything gone and piles of trash all over my home," said the woman, who discov­ered the burglary Tuesday when they went home to pre­pare for the rest of their fam­ily's return after a week away. Reassuring her that every­thing would be all right, her husband sent her to her sis­ter's home a block away while he inspected the piles of ransacked items. It was while he was doing this, making his way back into the sunroom, when she said a man walked in the back door, straight into her husband."My husband Adrian caught the thief red-handed in our home," she said, a smile replacing the frown on her face."And what is even crazier, the man even had my hus­band's hat sitting right on his head," she said.

Adrian McKinnon held the suspect -- Tajuan Bullock, 33, of 2963 University Drive -- at gunpoint and told him to sit on the floor until he de­cided what he was going to do, she said. "We made this man clean up all the mess he made, piles of stuff, he had thrown out of my drawers and cabi­nets onto the floor," she said.

Once police arrived, Bul­lock complained to them about being forced at gun­point to clean up the home."This man had the nerve to raise sand about us mak­ing him clean up the mess he made in my house," she said. "The police officer laughed at him when he complained and said anybody else would have shot him dead. "That made the man shut up." Police arrested Bullock at 2 p.m. Tuesday on burglary and theft charges, said Capt. Huey Thornton, a Montgom­ery Police Department spokesman.

Bullock is being held in the Montgomery County De­tention Facility on a $30,000 bond.

October 17th

(Tenessee) Man Fights Off Home Invaders

An Eastview Drive man fought off three home invaders and traded shots with one of them on Tuesday night.Police said 30-year-old Courtney Brown was treated for several injuries, including a shot to the calf.Around 9:30 p.m.,

Chattanooga Police responded to a home invasion call with shots fired at 311 Eastview Dr.Upon arrival, officers talked with the victim, who said he was returning home and was backing his vehicle into the garage when three black males came out of the closet and attempted to rob him. Mr. Brown said he fought the three suspects and yelled for his daughter to call the police. One of the suspects got into the house and went upstairs to where the daughter had locked herself in the bedroom. The suspect then kicked the door in and demanded she lie on the bed and she would not be hurt. He then took her cell phone.

Mr. Brown continued to fight with the other two suspects and was able to get away from them. He managed to lock the door behind him. Mr. Brown then encountered the suspect who was inside the house and they fought in the hallway. Mr. Brown broke free, retrieved a handgun from his bedroom and started back to the front door area. The man who was still inside then fired a shot at Mr. Brown, striking him in the calf. Mr. Brown returned fire but did not hit the suspect.

All three of the suspects fled on foot.Mr. Brown was taken to Erlanger where he was treated for several cuts to his head and face and the gunshot wound to his calf. He was treated and released.Chattanooga Police are looking for suspect #1 who is tall and thin wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. Suspects 2 and 3 were medium build with scarves over their faces and knit caps on their heads.All three of the suspects were armed with chrome handguns.

October 15th

(Missouri) Would-be robber flees after man pulls handgun

A Joplin man reported thwarting a robbery attempt Saturday night in downtown Joplin with a handgun he was legally carrying.

Thomas W. Doyle, 38, 2931 N. Michigan Ave., reported at 7:28 p.m. Saturday that after he obtained some cash from an automated teller machine at Seventh Street and Virginia Avenue, he was approached by a man while parked in the 700 block of Virginia Avenue, according to Cpl. Chuck Niess of the Joplin Police Department.Doyle told police that the man pulled out a knife and demanded his money, Niess said. But the man fled when Doyle pulled out a handgun for which he has a concealed-carry permit, Niess said. No arrest had been made by Monday afternoon, Niess said.

October 15th

(Alabama) Elderly Woman Shoots Homeless Man In Her Laundry Room

Mobile police said an 81-year-old woman shot a homeless man this morning after finding him washing his clothes in her laundry room. Police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant told the Press-Register that Ethel Sanders told people she heard noises in her laundry room. When she went to investigate, she found a man standing in his underwear near the washing machine. Gallichant said Sanders was carrying a handgun and shot the man when he came at her. He said Sanders fell to the ground and dropped the gun after firing. Gallichant said the man grabbed the gun, pointed it at Sanders and took his clothes from the washing machine. The man fled and Sanders called police just before 8 a.m. Officers caught the man at the nearby Plateau Community Center.James Penn, who is 25, was taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center. Gallichant said he is expected to survive. Upon release from the hospital, Gallichant said, Penn will be charged with first-degree burglary.

October 15th

(Oklahoma) Woman Checking Mail Attacked, Killed By Dogs

A woman checking her mail was attacked and killed by a pack of dogs in south-central Oklahoma on Monday, authorities said.According to officials with the Ada Fire Department, the dogs belonged to the woman's son-in-law, who lived next door near Oil Center. Emergency crews found the woman dead just after noon, lying in a nearby street.Authorities said she had bite marks all over her body.When firefighters arrived on the scene, they reported seeing somebody shoot the dogs with a shotgun. Four of the dogs were killed, but the rest got away.

To view news video clip click here: http://mfile.akamai.com/12893/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2007/1016/14348148.200k.asx