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Posted on 01/11/2004 11:01:51 AM PST by Leisler
A Wilmette homeowner who shot and wounded an intruder succeeded in driving the burglar out of his house and may have ended a series of cat burglaries on the village's east side, but this week he faces weapons charges that include a local ordinance banning handgun possession.
The incident also could lead village trustees to revisit an issue which has received relatively little attention since board members passed the handgun ban nearly 15 years ago in the wake of the Laurie Dann school shootings.
Morio L. Billings, 31, was hospitalized at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston Dec. 29, after he fled the Linden Avenue neighborhood with two bullet wounds and a stolen sport utility vehicle police said he had stolen from the same house the night before.
After a Tuesday bond hearing, he was transferred to Cook County Jail, where he was held on a $3 million bond charged with two counts of residential burglary and one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
The homeowner and victim of the break-in, 54-year-old Hale DeMar, will not face charges in the shooting, which prosecutors determined was justified.
But police on Tuesday said they planned to charge him with failing to have a current Firearm Owners Identification Card, a misdemeanor, and with violating Wilmette's 1989 handgun ordinance, which carries a fine of up to $750 and permanent loss of the weapons. He is to appear in court on both charges Feb. 6.
Police said they confiscated the .38-caliber revolver used in the shooting as well as a .380 automatic pistol from the home. They said DeMar had a FOID card but that it expired in 1988.
Although statements in the days after the incident seemed to indicate that police might not press the ordinance issue in the case, police said they were not wavering on the issue but waiting for facts and dealing with the more immediate issues surrounding the burglary suspect.
"It was not due to indecision but a desire to have complete information before coming to conclusions. Our strategy was to address the forcible felony charges first," said Police Chief George Carpenter.
Burglary history
Police said Billings has an extensive criminal history and came to the Chicago area from Coon Rapids, Minn. On the night before the shooting, he entered DeMar's house near the Bahai Temple by reaching through a dog door to open a deadbolt lock. At that time, police said he took a small television and a set of keys to the house and a BMV sports utility vehicle, which he used to flee the area.
When DeMar discovered and reported that crime early the next day, he was not able to get the locks changed and had his 8-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son stay in his upstairs room.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m., police said, Billings returned to the home, apparently seeking a computer monitor he believed to be a high-end flat screen television. When he used the stolen keys to open a kitchen door, DeMar was alerted by an alarm panel near his bedroom and went downstairs armed with the revolver.
He found himself across from a man masked with a hat and bandana. Instead of leaving through the nearby door, police said Billings ran farther into the house in a circuitous motion.
At that point DeMar fired four of the six bullets in the gun. Billings was struck twice, once in the shoulder and once in the leg. After crashing through a window and running back to the stolen SUV, he drove through a yard and knocked down two fences to escape.
Wilmette police found Billings shortly after that when St. Francis Hospital reported the arrival of a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds. Billings' injuries were not considered life-threatening, but the bullet that struck his shoulder caused extensive damage lower in his arm.
Since mid-October, police have been investigating a pattern of cat burglaries in the area, break-ins or attempts by someone who knows or believes the home to be occupied at the time.
Shooter reacts
DeMar, who owns the Oak Tree Restaurant in Chicago, said he could not comment on specifics of the case but said he is not someone who wanted a confrontation.
"I don't think I acted any differently than a lot of people would have with two small children in the house. I'm a strong believer in the Second Amendment. I'm not a criminal, I'm a 55-year-old businessman," DeMar said.
"I think it's strange you're allowed to have a shotgun or semi-automatic rifle, but those aren't things you'd reach for when somebody breaks in," he said. "Those aren't things I'd have in the house."
Legal aspects aside, Carpenter said keeping handguns in a home and confronting intruders is a dangerous gamble
"We want to give good information to Wilmette residents about what we advise them to do if they ever find themselves in this situation. Lock the bedroom door and call 911. Protect yourselves and your children first," Carpenter said.
By confronting a burglar, homeowners take the risk of being overpowered or surprised by more than one intruder or by someone who is better armed, faster or just lucky.
Handgun dangers
The homeowner can end up wounded or killed in a struggle over their own weapon, Carpenter warned. Out of confusion and fear, some people trying to defend their home have accidentally shot their own family members returning late at night.
"These things go wrong in so many ways," Carpenter said.
Beyond the immediate danger of a struggle, Carpenter said a handgun in the home can facilitate suicides, accidental shootings and can turn domestic arguments into homicides.
The choice of burglary alarm also affects the outcome of incidents such as this one, Carpenter said.
The alarm notified DeMar of the intrusion, but a loud audible alarm usually sends burglars running. As with many home systems, the alarm goes first to a remote monitoring center before police are notified.
That delay can run as long as 10 minutes and in this case gave Billings enough time to get into a confrontation, run back to a stolen vehicle and begin his escape before police learned there was a problem. Some systems notify the Police Department directly.
It's not clear whether the incident will lead to calls to change or repeal the handgun ordinance, but it is possible that trustees will review the law or seek to remind people that it's still on the books and being enforced.
Wilmette is one of a few suburbs to enact local handgun bans, including Morton Grove and Oak Park.
Village President Nancy Canafax said the law had been considered before the 1988 Winnetka school shootings, but that incident helped overcome opposition to the ban and it seems to still enjoy broad support. It has not been scheduled for discussion at a meeting but could come up in trustee discussions or public input.
"I've gotten some e-mail from people saying it's a horrible thing and it's unconstitutional, but I don't think any of them were from Wilmette," Canafax said.
"The people I've talked to in Wilmette like this ordinance and support it."
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How come EVERYBODY Or mail checks to or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com |
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And as for the suggestion in the article that the burglar alarm system should have been directly wired into the local police department, the writer of the article is a card-carrying fool. Police departments DON'T WANT alarm systems set up to call them automatically whnever they go off. The reason his the hugh number of false alarms created when homeowners accidentally set off their own systems.
Congressman Billybob
Click here to stick a thumb in the eye of CFR, "Hugh & Series, Critical & Pulled by JimRob."
Well, which is it Carpenter?
No, the current Supreme Court is too leftist and just plain goofy to be trusted with any important Constitutional issue. They would probably decide 5-4 that a burglar has a previously-undiscovered "right" to invade houses, steal things and maybe even hurt people, and that the Second Amendment only gives police to option to have guns while they ignore your call for help.
He says no one should have a gun in their home for self-defense, it's not necessary. Good, I'll break into his home and find out if he's got one. I'm sure he's true to his principles, and will have left his at the office, and we'll just have a good laugh about it. I'll offer to pay for any damages I caused, we'll shake hands, and I'll be merrily on my way.
NOT! He'll shoot me down like a dog, then have to explain how what he did is different than the homeowner. Hypocritical a$$ho!e!
Shoulda used a shotgun: Less likely to wound, less likely to get you charged (in Wilmette).
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