Posted on 05/10/2003 8:59:41 AM PDT by Ipse Dixit
Ex-girlfriend was staying at new boyfriend's home.
VISTA – A man armed with a machete was shot to death yesterday while apparently invading a home where his ex-girlfriend was staying with another man, the Sheriff's Department said.
Homicide Lt. Terry Wisniewski said detectives were trying to determine whether Philip Carmine Stuckey, 45, killed the other man in self-defense, or whether he fired after any threat had passed.
"All the physical evidence supports his statements, at this point," Wisniewski said. Stuckey was not arrested.
The name of the 39-year-old deceased man was not released.
The shooting occurred about 6 a.m. on La Rueda Road, near Monte Vista Drive, on a rural property with two houses, a garage and a trailer.
Stuckey's girlfriend, Darlene Bechthold, 34, had moved into the guest house with him Thursday night. His parents live in the main house, Wisniewski said.
He said the man who was killed reportedly was upset over Bechthold's new relationship.
Wisniewski said it appears he came onto the property with a machete early yesterday and chased Stuckey into the house, yelling that he would kill Stuckey.
Stuckey grabbed a shotgun and shot the man once. When the man turned toward Bechthold while still holding the machete, Stuckey shot him again. Bechthold ran outside and Stuckey, thinking the man was chasing her, fired a third time.
A trail of blood showed where the wounded man ran across the property, dropped the machete in the grass, then climbed a fence and got into his parked car.
"He got in the car, his left foot still outside, and he died there," Wisniewski said.
Detectives interviewed Stuckey, Bechthold and Steven Edwards, who had accompanied the ex-boyfriend to the house but was found a short distance away. Edwards said he walked away before the confrontation but heard the gunshots.
"Everyone has been released," Wisniewski said last evening.
Investigators obtained a warrant late yesterday afternoon and began searching the property.
He said if evidence supports the residents' account of the incident, Stuckey might not face any charges.
"If somebody tries to break into your home, you have the right to defend yourself," Wisniewski said. "Once you're safe and the threat is neutralized, you can't continue the assault."
The slaying occurred within hours of a killing in San Diego involving an ex-boyfriend.
San Diego police said a Normal Heights woman was stabbed to death in her apartment late Thursday by an ex-boyfriend, who then tried to kill himself by cutting his wrists. He was in critical condition at a hospital.
The San Diego victim had recently obtained a restraining order against the ex-boyfriend, police said yesterday.
Maybe he is! Maybe it took three shots because the gun was loaded with birdshot.
That's a stupid statement. That psycho is a constant threat. If my girlfriend's ex-hubby shows up on my doorstep with a machete and tries to break in, I'm not going to interview him to find out how willing he is to use that machete. Me and my .44 magnum are going to solve his problems permanently, and the determinations of his motives will be done post-mortem.
These things sure happen in the early morning hours a lot. These kind of confrontations very often happen when the jilted ex has been drinking heavily, so maybe this guy was drinking all night before this happened. He sure wasn't thinking straight.
At close range, even #8 shot should have done him in immediately. I'll bet the guy was a big, mean, and loaded up on something. Or the shooter was shooting at legs or something and trying not to kill him.
One of the hallmarks of a criminal government is its desire to ensure all its subjects are defenseless against criminals. If people are allowed to protect themselves against machete wielding nuts who knows what might happen? Some day these citizens might defend themselves against the criminals who run the cities and the DAs who exist mainly to protect government crime and keep the citizens in line.
You are very correct, sir. If the individual is trespassing on your property with a weapon, he is a threat until he leaves the premises. This S.O. Homicide Lt. should know that.
It sounds like he's building a case for the attorney of the decedent’s family.
VERY VERY often, people that do this are under the influence, which makes it even more likely that they'll do something to hurt/kill somebody in your house. Having a 911 operator on the phone isn't going to help you at this point.
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