Cases of armed citizens stopping crime.
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LinkBurglar shot in home invasion
A wannabe burglar may be walking around with a lead reminder of a Friday break-in.
Lima Police believe the man who reportedly broke into a home in the 800 block of West Wayne Street early Friday morning may have been shot by the home's owner.
The incident occurred just before 4 a.m. Friday, according to Lima Police Detective Kent Miller. The home's owner was sitting in his living room, just about an hour after coming home from working third shift, when he heard a bang from the next room. He walked in and saw a man in his house by the front door. The homeowner turned around and grabbed his .22 revolver and yelled at the intruder, who then rushed at him, Miller said. He fired one shot before the would-be burglar fled.
Police believe the bullet may have struck the intruder, but found no blood or other evidence of injury at the scene.
"We think he hit him mainly because of the distance between them. He was just three or four feet away, but we didn't find any blood," Miller said.
Alleged intruder shot by homeowner
A 29-year-old woman who broke windows at a house behind Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia was shot in the head by the homeowner, a Richland County sheriff’s spokesman said.
The bullet grazed the woman, who was slightly injured, the spokesman said Tuesday.
The woman who broke the windows at the house at 618 Hatrick Road was trying to get in and will face charges, the spokesman said.
The homeowner will not face charges, the spokesman said. Officials did not disclose the names since no charges had been filed.
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LinkHomeowner takes a shot at burglar
One burglar may be considering a different profession after nearly losing his life during a break-in, last Wednesday.
Heather Fitzgerald says she was checking e-mail in her garage with the garage partially open. Shortly before 3:00 a.m., however, an intruder crawled in.
Heather immediately worried for her children, who were sleeping inside the home. She grabbed her 9-milimeter pistol and fired two shots at the man.
Police do not believe he was hit because they found no blood at the scene. As he was running away, she says she lined up the gun's laser sight on his back, but did not pull the trigger again, most likely sparing his life.
"I just, I couldn't do it," Fitzgerald says. "And it took everything that I had, not to. Seems like you should be able to be in your own garage at night when it's dark and not have to worry about that kind of stuff."
That suspect is still on the loose. Heather says she did not get a good look at his face, however he was wearing jeans and a dark-colored hoodie.
Police say she was well within her rights to use deadly force to protect herself on her property, which follows an Oklahoma statute known as the "Make My Day" law.
LinkFearing for life, pharmacist kills gunman
Just before walking into Babcock Square Pharmacy, the gunman lurked suspiciously around the parking lot Wednesday morning — even moving his car several times before making his move.
Carole Ann Aguirre, manager of the neighboring Martha's Mexican Restaurant, said the white Honda lingered enough that her grandson, Christopher, mistook it as that of a relative's and walked up to it.
“He opened the car door and thought it was his uncle,” Aguirre said. “But he saw the man had a bandana around his face and was wearing rubber gloves, so he came back in and told us what happened.”
Aguirre's son-in-law, Charlie Rojas, called police shortly before 10 a.m. to report the suspicious person. But before Rojas could hang up, the gunman had moved his car once more, this time parking it near the pharmacy at Babcock and Huebner roads.
Esmeralda Rodriguez, who was walking to her job next door at Natural Health Improvement Center, remembers seeing the light-blue surgical gloves the stranger wore. But, she didn't think more of it as she walked into the health center.
About 10 minutes later, Rodriguez heard two loud noises coming from the pharmacy. Moments later, the pharmacy owner's wife, 60-year-old Patricia Wynn, ran into the health center in hysterics.
“She was so stunned; she just kept saying, ‘We almost got robbed,'” Rodriguez said.
The stranger who had been loitering in the parking lot had walked into the pharmacy carrying a black revolver and a note demanding the narcotic drug OxyContin and some money, according to authorities.
Once inside, the gunman handed the note to a clerk behind the counter, Police Chief William McManus said. The clerk was one of three people inside the pharmacy at the time of the robbery attempt. The others were the pharmacy owner, 62-year-old Bill Wynn, and his wife.
The details about what happened next are unclear, but McManus said the clerk was able to inform the pharmacy owner of the attempted robbery. Wynn, who had been robbed before, somehow managed to arm himself with a gun.
That's when McManus said the robber uttered his last words: “Let's get it on.”
Police said Wynn reacted quickly, shooting the gunman in the chest.
“I was scared to death,” Wynn later said, declining to comment further.
Police arrived to find the gunman, whose identity wasn't released Wednesday, lying on his back in a pool of blood. In his right hand was a cocked revolver.
McManus said Wynn wouldn't face any charges in connection with the shooting.
“He was in fear (for) his life,” the chief said. “He has a right and state law allows him to defend himself.”
The dead man wasn't immediately identified, so his relatives couldn't be reached for information.
Wednesday's pharmacy shooting became the third justifiable homicide of the year for San Antonio, not including a shooting death May 17 that's still being investigated as possible self-defense. The number, however, is half of what it was at this time in 2008, a year the city's justified homicide rate jumped significantly from previous years.
Wynn's wife said it's not uncommon for pharmacists to keep guns.
“A lot of pharmacies do, but we carry one because we have been robbed before,” she said without elaborating.
One of their employees, Maria Martinez, said it's been years since the pharmacy last was robbed.
Lindsay Simpkins, a cashier at Martha's Mexican Restaurant, said no one suspected the pharmacy owner — a man with a strong sense of humor — to fatally shoot anyone.
The pharmacy was closed the remainder of the day.
LinkSlain Oklahoma City home intruder identified; police seek second burglar
Police identified a man fatally shot Tuesday inside an Oklahoma City man’s home as Ronald Penn, 29.
Penn and another person had broken into the house of Scott Henson, 41, in the 2200 block of SW 57 when Henson came home for his lunch break about 11:30 a.m., police said. Henson, whose wife said has a concealed weapons permit, pulled out a handgun and shot Penn to death.
The second person inside the home ran away, police said.
Police: Cross-Dressing Man Robs Macon Store
A Central Georgia man is recovering from a gunshot wound; he got shot after robbing a Macon liquor store at gun point.
A news release from Sgt. Melanie Hofmann with the Macon Police says 50-year-old Ricky Nell Johnson robbed the ABC Liquor Store at 1194 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on Saturday.
The release says Johnson entered the store around 6:45 p.m. wearing a wig and skirt. It says he showed a handgun, jumped on the counter and demanded money.
After getting some cash, Johnson fired a shot and ran out of the liquor store. The release says an employee returned fire.
According to the release, Johnson was found near a parking deck at the Medical Center. He was taken by ambulance to the emergency room, where doctors treated him for a gunshot wound to the torso near the buttocks.
Johnson was released from the hospital and taken to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center. He is charged with one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, two counts of Aggravated Assault, and one count of Armed Robbery.
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LinkResident shoots man trying to break into Berkeley Heights home
A resident shot a man last night when the would-be intruder tried to enter a home in the Deserted Village of Feltville, authorities said.
The shooting in the secluded section of Watchung Reservation occurred around 9 p.m. on Cataract Hollow Road, Union County Police Chief Dan Vaniska said. He said the victim, whose name and address were not available, was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
"An unwanted guest forced himself into the residence and a resident responded by shooting him," Vaniska said at the scene.
Details were scant last night, but Vaniska said the home's residents were brought to county police headquarters, where they were being questioned.
It was not known where on the premises the shooting occurred, but a sedan parked near the porch of the two-story, wood-frame house had a shattered left rear window.
Cataract Hollow Road is part of the historic Deserted Village of Feltville. The site in Watchung Reservation was inhabited by small businesses, a mill and families on and off from 1845 to 1916. Visitors can stroll the village, which includes homes the county leases.
Vaniska said he knew of at least three families who live in the village.
An investigation is continuing and Vaniska said he could not address charges at this point.
LinkTampa woman stops armed carjacker with her own gun
A Tampa woman refused to be a carjacking victim when she was approached by an armed man who jumped into her car on Thursday.
The woman, who only wants to be identified as Adrianna, pulled out her own gun. "I just leaned forward and punched him in the forehead with my gun," she said. The man "screamed like a girl and almost dropped his gun" as he ran away, she added.
Tampa Police have arrested one suspect so far in what they see as a pattern of carjackings. A-Keem Carr was arrested on related charges, but two others are believed to be preying on motorists in the Westshore area.
So far, two carjackings and four attempted carjackings have occurred over the last two weeks. In one case, a man from Land O' Lakes was pumping gas when an armed suspect approached demanding the car keys.
The man refused because his 6-month-old son was still in his car seat and the suspect took off.
Another incident involved a woman who was closing her business when she was approached by an armed man who took her van. Her credit cards were used at a business in St. Petersburg and the van was found later along 39th Street in St. Petersburg. A. Keem Carr was charged in that crime.
Other carjacking attempts included a woman standing next to her car in the Regency Apartments when she was approached but she screamed and scared off the bandit.
Adrianna was pulling into the International Mall when the armed man jumped in her car. She talked about defending herself. "I didn't want to have to shoot...anyway over a car. But if it was going to be him or me..."
Tampa Police warn the suspects are becoming more aggressive and may be ****e to violence.
LinkArmed citizen takes out tires as shoplifters flee
A citizen with a “concealed-carry” handgun license shot out a tire on a car full of fleeing shoplifters, then followed them in his own vehicle Wednesday morning, helping Azle police apprehend four people who were subsequently charged with robbery.
Police officers from at least three agencies caught up with everyone in a neighborhood behind Allsup’s convenience store off Highway 199 west of Azle.
Four accused shoplifters had been spotted by employees of Albertsons grocery store and were attempting a getaway with less than $50 worth of miscellaneous items when they were spotted by a citizen in the parking lot. The citizen was carrying a properly licensed concealed weapon, Azle police chief Steve Myers said Wednesday afternoon.
The fleeing driver seemed to be headed straight for the citizen, who fired at the vehicle, striking a front tire.
Another citizen called 911 and reported “an undercover officer shooting at someone who tried to run him down,” Myers said.
That “undercover officer”, it was later discovered, was the armed citizen, Myers said. Both the caller and the “shooter” remained unidentified by police in the interest of their safety.
However, the man with the handgun got in a pickup and followed the suspect vehicle, which could no longer be driven by the time it arrived in the neighborhood, Myers said.
“I guess they thought they could turn off the highway and get lost out in the county,” he said.
However, that area is made up of just a few interconnected streets, with no other way out besides the highway, he said.
Arrested were Michael Reiser, 38, of San Angelo; Kyle Scott, 21 of Fort Worth; Jennifer Jeffrey, 35, of San Angelo; and Tami Mickey, 32, of Fort Worth.
Three of the four were apprehended at the vehicle by Azle police in the 400 block of Oakwood Street. Reiser, the driver, was caught by Azle officer Chris Negrete and a DPS trooper about 30 minutes later in the 1600 block of Willowwood Drive.
Both are off of Pearson Lane, north of the highway.
The four reportedly discarded the shoplifted items as they drove from the scene.
They will be charged with robbery, a felony, instead of shoplifting, a misdemeanor, because the car was used as a deadly weapon in their escape, Myers said.
Albertson’s is in Tarrant County, so charges will be filed with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office even though the suspects were caught in Parker County. Azle police, Parker County Sheriff’s deputies and at least two Department of Public Safety troopers helped in the chase, Myers said.
The chief has mixed feelings about the help officers received from an armed citizen.
“Our concern in a situation like that is the number of people in the immediate vicinity of an individual who don’t have a way to know who or what he is,” Myers said.
“A uniformed officer is easily identifiable. But the public doesn’t know who (a citizen with a handgun) is, or how to help.”
On the other hand, this particular citizen did choose the most restrained use of his weapon, firing only at the tires of the vehicle and ultimately helping catch a car full of suspects.
LinkPolice: St. Pete homeowner with shotgun confronts burglar
A homeowner confronted a burglar this morning, smashing the intruder across the face with the butt end of a shotgun, St. Petersburg police said.
The burglar, identified by police as Justin Masse, 22, at first fled, then turned around and started toward homeowner Michael Lowry, a U.S. Navy veteran, police said. That's when Lowry fired a shell in the ground, and Masse ran off, police said.
A newspaper delivery person spotted Masse unconscious two blocks away in a front yard, police said. Masse received stitches and was eventually transported to the Pinellas County Jail on a charge of residential burglary, police said.
The attempted break-in occurred about 4 a.m. at Lowry's home, in the 5000 block of Second Avenue South, police said. Lowry spotted Masse in his detached garage and confronted Masse with the 12-gauge shotgun.
During a fight that followed, Masse was struck in the face with the butt of the weapon, apparently considered continuing the struggle and then ran off before falling unconscious, police said.
They happen all the time but only make local news in most cases so that's why you never hear about it, but there are 2.5 million defensive uses of firearms each year.
I can post alot more if you like but my fear is I could go on forever.
Originally Posted by InetWarrior
