Exercising the Right, to KEEP and BEAR Arms

No charges to be filed against shooter in August robbery attempt

Sept. 11 - The Allen County Prosecutor's office says it will not press charges against a store clerk for shooting a would-be robber.

Back in August, 35-year old Matthew Novak was working at a Cap-n-Cork liquor store at the corner of Broadway and Jefferson in Fort Wayne, IN.
     That's when 25-year old Cecil Eugene Wilson and another suspect entered the store, in an attempt to rob it.
     Wilson was killed, while the other suspect fled the scene.
     Wilson's death was ruled a homicide.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/WKJG/M324584.asp

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Posted on Wed, Aug. 27, 2003

Robber was shot after firing first
Witness recounts liquor store holdup
By Carin Chappelow
The Journal Gazette

A liquor store employee who was not scheduled to work shot and killed a would-be robber late Monday after the robber first fired a rifle, a store employee who witnessed the shooting said.

Details of the holdup and shooting at Cap n' Cork remained sketchy Tuesday, but Fort Wayne police confirmed it was an employee who shot the robber, who died at a local hospital. Police recovered at least one weapon from the store at 1031 Broadway, but had not confirmed how many shots were fired or whether more than one weapon was discharged, said officer Robin Thompson, department spokeswoman.

A store employee who was working Monday night said the robber fired a rifle into the air and then the clerk fired back, using his own weapon.

The employee, who declined to be identified because of safety concerns, said the clerk who shot the robber wasn't even supposed to be working Monday. He came in to cover for someone else and the employee said he credits the man for saving the lives of everyone inside the store.

Authorities did not release the identity of the clerk and had not been been able to identify the robber as of Tuesday evening, Thompson said.

An autopsy was conducted on the man, but the Allen County Coroner's Office did not release details Tuesday on the manner or cause of death.

A weapon was found near the man who was shot, but police could not confirm whether he had been armed with it, Thompson said. The Fort Wayne detective bureau declined to release additional details, citing the ongoing investigation, but detectives were looking into whether the employee had a personal gun permit, Thompson said.

The Cap n' Cork employee who witnessed the shooting said the clerk carried a weapon for protection because he rode his bike to and from work. He said the clerk was emotionally shaken and did not work Tuesday.

A second would-be robber escaped from the business after the shooting. That man had not been found as of Tuesday evening, police said.

After detectives receive autopsy results and conclude their investigation, the case will be presented to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office, which will determine whether the shooting was justifiable or whether charges should be filed, Thompson said.

Earlier this year, the prosecutor's office declined to file charges in a robbery-shooting at a convenience store last November.

Patrick E. Byrd Jr., 26, was shot multiple times after he entered Sunoco, 5133 Coldwater Road, pointed a gun at an employee and demanded money, police said. Employee John W. Washington III, 27, pulled his own gun and fired several shots. He then followed Byrd out the door and fired more shots, police said. Byrd, who did not fire his weapon, died at a local hospital.

The prosecutor's office ruled the shooting was justifiable because it was in self-defense.

If the death of Monday's robber is declared a homicide, it will be Allen County's 16th in 2003. All have occurred within Fort Wayne city limits.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/6629317.htm

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Two women capture suspects
WBR police compare them to 'CSI' officers
By EMILY KERN ekern@theadvocate.com

Advocate staff photo by Mark Saltz

Port Allen homeowner Dwayne Coulon, center, talks Thursday afternoon with West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputies Glynn Scalise, left, and Sonny Massey, right, after the arrests of two men accused of burglarizing Coulon's residence. The fishing poles in the foreground are some of the items the suspects stuffed into their vehicle before the women intervened, deputies said.

PORT ALLEN, LA-- Two women with knees bent and feet planted wide apart to ensure a steady aim held a pair of would-be burglars at gunpoint Thursday afternoon until West Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies could arrest the suspects, the Sheriff's Office said.

At first, a neighbor calling 9-1-1 reported seeing a suspicious vehicle in the 4900 block of Rebelle Lane, said sheriff's Sgt. Glynn Scalise, one of the first law-enforcement officers on the scene shortly after 3 p.m.

A second call heightened the law- enforcement response when a caller reported that a woman was holding two men at gunpoint while arguing with them, Scalise said.

"She (one of the women) was yelling at them, and I couldn't tell what was going on," Scalise said, imitating the women's posture and comparing them to crime-fighting officers on the popular television series "CSI."

Scalise said deputies quickly gained control of the situation.

One of the men already had his hands up inside a brown Toyota hatchback, Scalise said.

The other was lying sprawled on the ground beside the car, Scalise said.

Laurence Berry, 40, 1408 Johnson St., Baker, and Anthony Mims, 48, 10658 Northdale Drive, Baton Rouge, were booked into the West Baton Rouge Parish Jail on counts of burglary, felony theft, possession of crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, Scalise said.

The homeowners, one of the women and the husband of the other woman stood outside Thursday afternoon for a while talking with sheriff's deputies about the afternoon's unusual events.

John Fairchild's wife, Dana, was on her way out of town when she noticed something going on at her neighbor's house, John Fairchild said.

On closer inspection, she saw another neighbor pointing a gun at the two men, John Fairchild said.

John Fairchild said his wife always carries a weapon when traveling.

After sizing up the situation, Dana Fairchild grabbed her gun and joined her neighbor, John Fairchild said.

"Several of us over the years have had stuff stolen," John Fairchild said. "It's good to see people looking after each other."

Dana Fairchild was unavailable for an interview because she had resumed her trip shortly after deputies arrived, her husband said.

The other woman involved declined to be identified or interviewed for this story.

The homeowner, Dwayne Coulon, said he was checking soybeans in back of the spillway near Maringouin when he received a cell phone call from a neighbor about the burglary at his home.

His first reaction was, "I don't need this," Coulon said.

But on second thought, he said, "It's good to have good neighbors."

Scalise said the two men admitted to stealing tools and several fishing rods and reels to buy crack cocaine. The items were recovered inside the Toyota, Scalise said.

One of the men said he was "glad" he got caught, so that he can finally receive help, Scalise said.

Deputies will try to match some of the recovered items not belonging to the Coulons to other nearby burglaries, Scalise said.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/090503/new_csi001.shtml

Laying down the law, FR post

Laying down the law

Fed up with crime, 67-year-old man fires on 3 engaged in shootout in his front yard

BY STEVE REEVES

The last time police came by his Tripe Street home to investigate complaints about drug dealing in the West Ashley neighborhood, William Gates made it clear to them that he had had enough.

"I told the police, 'Bring the coroner and body bags the next time you come out here,' " he said. "Nobody is going to run me out of my home."

YALONDA M. JAMES/STAFF

William Gates of West Ashley talks about how he fired a 12-gauge shotgun three times early Friday at three men who were having a shootout in his front yard. Gates apparently wounded two of the men, who he said were drug dealers.

The coroner and body bags weren't needed Friday morning because when Gates made good on his statement, he only wounded the men he shot. But it wasn't for lack of trying.

"I shot to kill," he said. "I'm not going to lie to you."

Roused from his sleep by the sound of gunfire about 4:30 a.m. Friday, the 67-year-old Gates took up his 12-gauge Browning automatic shotgun, stepped out onto his front porch and fired three blasts at men he said were drug dealers having a shootout in his front yard.

When the shooting stopped, three men lay wounded. Gates is said to have hit two of them, and the third is thought to have been hit during the initial shootout.

Gates, a semi-retired brick mason who drives a battered blue Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with an airbrushed tag on the front bumper that says "Godfather," said Friday afternoon that he was only protecting his wife and house from what he describes as out-of-control neighborhood thugs in their teens and 20s who drink beer and sell and take drugs in his yard. He said gunshots fired near his house during drug-related disputes are a common occurrence.

"I had had enough," he said. "If I have to go to jail, so be it."

While police did not publicly approve of what Gates did, they filed no charges against him Friday.

"We have no plans to arrest him," Charleston Police Chief Reuben Greenberg said. "We can't see from where we sit where a crime's been committed. People have the right to provide for their safety, and we believe that is what he was doing."

Greenberg said the decision on whether Gates will be charged will be made by the solicitor's office, a decision likely to come early next week. Meanwhile, Greenberg said police patrols in the neighborhood will be increased.

Gates was born in the house on Tripe Street. It was his parent's house, and they passed it on to him when they died.

Tripe Street was a good part of the neighborhood at one time, Gates said, but began going downhill fast about 10 years ago. The narrow, tree-lined street is home to many houses that have seen better times and, according to police, the area is a magnet for illegal activity, much of it drug related.

"Drugs, stealing, a little bit of everything," said Gates' wife, Yvonne.

She said that last year someone fired a shot through their living room. The bullet hole can be seen in the wall that faces the street.

"The good Lord was with me that day because I had just moved my grandbaby from that couch," Yvonne Gates said. "She would have been killed because the bullet hit the couch."

The Gateses' yard is littered with empty 32-ounce beer cans and other trash they say was put there by the young people who loiter in the area until the early hours of the morning.

William Gates' anger finally reached critical mass early Friday morning when he and his wife were awakened by the gunshots, which police say was likely the result of a dispute over drugs, outside their bedroom window.

Gates said he heard his wife yell and fall to the floor.

"I thought they shot my wife," he said. "I went and got my gun and fired three shots."

Investigators were trying to determine exactly who shot whom, but it is known that Kevin Hazel, 27, was found lying in the bushes in front of the Gateses' house. He had been shot in the back with a 9 mm pistol. Matez Hazel, 24, and Christopher Hampton, 22, both suffered shotgun wounds.

All three were in intensive care recovering from their wounds. Police said Friday they don't know yet whether the three men, all of whom previously have been in trouble with the law for drugs, will be charged with any crimes.

Police found a 9 mm handgun and three spent shell casings next to Matez Hazel, and said he had a small amount of marijuana wrapped in a $5 bill in his sock.

Gates, who is an avid hunter and proudly displays two large mounted deer heads among the photographs of children and grandchildren in his living room, had all seven of the guns he owns confiscated by the police until their investigation is complete. He vows that he will be ready if friends of the three men try to retaliate, and he smiled as he said he planned to acquire a gun to protect himself.

"They better make sure they get me if they come back, because if they don't get me, I'm going to kill all of them," Gates said. "I'm 67 and don't have that long to live anyway."

Gates said all he wants is peace and quiet and to be able to come home to his wife and not see drugs being sold in front of his house. He said he refuses to move.

"Why should I go?" he said. "I'd sooner be dead."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/080203/loc_02shootingx.shtml
http://charleston.net/stories/080603/loc_06defense.shtml
Self-defense at issue in frontyard shooting
http://layline.blogspot.com/2003_08_01_layline_archive.html

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Last suspect in fatal holdup is caught
BY KEVIN DEUTSCH
kdeutsch@herald.com

Deputies on Thursday arrested the third and final suspect wanted in connection with the deadly attempted robbery of a Pompano Beach jewelry store.

BSO detectives Thursday arrested Damian Jerome Wilkey, 19, at his home at 1317 NW Second Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Wilkey and three other men tried to hold up Jewelry Francy's at 231 SW 6 St. on July 30, according to BSO. One of the robbers died at the scene.

During an interview with detectives, Wilkey confessed, telling investigators how he and the others had plotted to rob the store, according to BSO.

Despite their plans, the robbery went bad for Wilkey and his armed accomplices when the store's owner, 40-year-old Meliton Aguirre, pulled a pistol and fired at them.

One suspect, Jamel Shelton, 20, of Pompano Beach, was found bleeding to death in the store parking lot.

Another suspect, Collin Cheatom, 21, of Pompano Beach, was arrested July 31 for his part in the crime. Cheatom had gunshot wounds to his elbow and wrist when deputies found him.

David Spencer Hollis, 22, of Pompano Beach, was arrested Sept. 8 in connection with the aborted robbery.

Wilkey, Cheatom, and Hollis are all being held without bond and are charged with killing Shelton.

The charge stems from Florida's law that a person involved in a crime can be held responsible for any death that occurs during the crime.

Four employees inside the store at the time of the robbery attempt were not hurt.

http://www.macon.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/6872749.htm
http://www.click10.com/news/2466269/detail.html
http://www.sheriff.org/about_bso/admin/media/newsdetails.cfm?pk=841&sType=M

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VIGILANTE AIRS REGRETS SHOPKEEPER SAYS... -

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VIGILANTE AIRS REGRETS SHOPKEEPER SAYS HE'LL NEVER GET OVER FATEFUL DAY
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The life-rendering thud of a heavily tattooed body on the streets of Marda Loop transformed a city shopkeeper into a reluctant folk hero.

It was 2 p.m., Nov. 8, 1986.

A crisp Saturday afternoon forever forged into Steven Kesler's memory. Kesler and his wife had bought the I.D.A. on 33 Ave. S.W. in early 1984 and were no strangers to drug-loving robbers.

This hold-up, however, would turn out to be dramatically different.

Two bandits entered Kesler's store demanding money and drugs. With his two daughters and his wife in the store, a shocked Kesler opened the till and pressed the alarm button.

Then came the moment Kesler has grown to regret. The then-40-year-old Yugoslavian immigrant grabbed his shotgun and chased one of the crooks out the door before pumping 120 pellets into 27-year-old Timothy Smith.

As Smith lay dying on the street, $115 still clutched in his fist, Kesler ran back into the store where he encountered the other robber holding a gun to his wife's head as she filled a bag with drugs.

His daughters, 11 and 13, were cowering under some shelves. A furious gunfight erupted.

Both men ran out of ammunition before Kesler began to beat the robber about the head with his shotgun.

The bandit suffered shoulder wounds and was charged with a number of offences.

Kesler was charged with second-degree murder.

The public was outraged.

Kesler had become the poster boy for every small businessman who ever stared a crook in the balaclava.

More than $40,000 was raised for his defence fund and Kesler became a national celebrity.

On June 25, 1987, after months of hype, 12 days of emotional evidence and 15 hours of deliberation, a jury acquitted Kesler.

His lawyer James Ogle stood outside the steps of Calgary's Court of Queen's Bench and told the country's media there was no message in the ruling.

"(There is) no signal except that this man, in these circumstances, was justified," Ogle said.

The message actually comes nearly two decades after the sensational shooting. It comes from Kesler himself.

"I wouldn't have done the same," said Kesler yesterday, from the same store in Marda Loop he still runs with his wife.

He said he would have suffered the robbery and let police deal with the bad guys.

"I have regrets. A man died," he said.

"We have to consider the mother of that man and her unconditional love for him."

Kesler says he will never get over the events of that fateful November afternoon.

"People say that time heals wounds," he says in a disbelieving tone.

"I am actually amazed at how many people carry the memory of my case.

"It's been more than 16 years and I've been reminded (by customers) at least once a week. It is, in a way, troubling."

Last Sunday in Edmonton, electronics store owner Shand King was charged after a pair of thieves who rammed a stolen truck into his store were fired upon.

They were prying a $20,000 Plasma TV from a wall before the store opened when the shots rang out.

One of the robbers was wounded but will live. The other is at large and, as of this writing, neither has been charged.

Shand's wife Betsy says the store has been robbed four or five times in four years.

Ogle says many of the public emotions that dominated Kesler's case will be revived for Shand's trial.

"If I was the prosecution, I wouldn't be anxious for a jury trial in Alberta," said Ogle yesterday.

So, does vigilante justice pay?

Kesler suffered five robberies in the first two-and-half years he owned his drug store.

Since the shooting, Kesler's been robbed only once.

And even though a jury of his peers acquitted him of any crime, his conscience is serving a life sentence.

Hardly worth it.

3rd Attacker In A Week Meets Match

TAMPA - For the third time this week a would-be victim in Tampa turned the tables on an attacker.

Late Thursday night, the 63-year-old victim of an attempted carjacking pulled a .357-caliber Magnum on his assailant and fired, critically wounding him, officials said.

The victim of the attempted carjacking, Benjamin Lee Tate, is no stranger to intruders at Engine Rebuild Specialists, 6214 E. Columbus Drive, his east Tampa business. Tate's forceful retaliation Thursday was his third in three years, Tampa police Capt. Bob Guidara said.

Tate shot two burglars - one in 2000 and another in February, Guidara said. Both suspects survived. No charges have been filed against Tate, whose business is in a high- crime area in east Tampa, Guidara said.

``He definitely hasn't had much luck, being targeted as many times as he has,'' Guidara said.

``I'm not looking for trouble,'' Tate said.

``I'm just here doing my job.''

Police said Tate was changing oil in a car at the shop about 11:30 p.m. Thursday when a man approached.

With his hand behind him as though he had a gun, the man said he would shoot Tate if he didn't hand over car keys and cash, police said. Tate shot him instead.

Michael E. Garner, a 31- year-old roofer who has a prison record for theft and drug convictions, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, police said.

He remained in critical condition Friday, Guidara said, but the wound did not appear to be life threatening.

Garner, of 6229 E. Eugene Ave., had a knife concealed under his belt, police said. He is expected to be charged with attempted carjacking, attempted armed robbery and carrying a concealed weapon, police said.

In February 2001, Garner was sentenced to more than a year in prison for grand theft, criminal mischief and drug possession.

He was released in December 2001, records show.

Tate's incident is the third this week in Tampa in which victims retaliated or outsmarted attackers.

On Wednesday night, outside his downtown Thai restaurant, Lawrence Storer, 33, was approached by a gunman who demanded money, police said. Storer led the robber into the Sumos Thai Cafe where he retrieved cash. While the gunman, identified as Shantavious Wilson, 24, was in the restaurant, Storer ran and called 911 from his cell phone, police said.

Wilson pointed the gun at Storer, who eventually got back in his Ford Explorer and ran Wilson over, killing him, police said. Prosecutors are reviewing the case.

Late Tuesday night, two Carrollwood women outwitted a man who broke into their house and threatened them with a sawed-off shotgun, officials said.

Cathy Ord, 60, and her roommate, Rose Bucher, 63, disarmed the man with kindness.

They fed him a ham sandwich, complete with pickles, and served up a bottle of spiced rum.

They even offered him their shower and a disposable razor to shave. After several hours, Alfred Joseph Sweet, 42, passed out and Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies were called to remove him from the home, officials said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 885-6973.
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGAZ7S86HMD.html

Another crime victim takes matters into his own hands

Tampa - Tampa police say a crime victim may have taken matters in his own hands.

Investigators say Michael Garner tried to rob the owner of Engine Rebuild Specialists on Columbus Drive in Tampa. The owner, Benjamin Lee Tate, fought back by shooting him in the chest. Garner is in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital. He has been charged with attempted car jacking and attempted armed robbery.

Michael Garner

Play Video

Tampa Police say they believe Tate was justified in shooting Garner, but they're still investigating. This is the third time he has shot at someone trying to rob him.
http://tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=5438

Woman shoots her alleged carjacker in New Orleans

October 25, 2003

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A homeless man remained in intensive care Friday after he allegedly tried to carjack a woman but was foiled when she pulled a gun and shot him twice in the chest.

Thorlief Thorbjornsen, 42, allegedly approached the woman in a parking lot at about 5 p.m. Thursday in the central business district, near federal and state courthouses.

The woman, 32, told police that Thorbjornsen indicated he had a handgun and demanded she get out of her Jeep Cherokee. She reached into the center console of her Jeep, pulled out a 9 mm pistol and shot Thorbjornsen twice in the torso, said Capt. Marlon Defillo, a police spokesman.

Thorbjornsen did not have a weapon.

Defillo said police will not book the woman but as a formality will turn the case over to the district attorney’s office for review.

When Thorbjornsen is released from the hospital, he will be arrested and booked with attempted carjacking, Defillo said.
http://www.acadiananow.com/news/html/8D1A11C6-BF48-4B0A-9479-0363C83984B5.shtml

MS: Break-ins prompt some in city to take up arms

Jeremy Hudson
10/24/2003
The Clarion-LedgerUse of deadly force hot topic after two homeowners kill intruders in two monthsGeorge McNeece didn't have time to grab his shotgun when three men rushed into his south Jackson home a week ago, stuck a gun in his face and demanded his car keys.

The 83-year-old Longwood Drive resident handed over the keys to his 1994 Mercury and didn't try to resist the gunmen. Even if he would have had time to grab a gun, though, he wouldn't have shot them.

"I would hate to know I killed a man for a car, I know that," McNeece said Thursday.

Cornell Hattix, however, said shooting a robber or burglar inside his home wouldn't bother the 58-year-old Woodward Avenue resident.

"Things aren't going to get any better until we drop some of them over here," Hattix said. "People are sleeping with loaded guns right beside them. And I'm one of them."

Residents' use of deadly force to defend their homes has been debated in the wake of two Jackson homeowners gunning down two burglars in less than two months.

The most recent episode occurred Tuesday when Christopher Stiff, 31, was shot twice by Tommy Christian, 53. Stiff had just pried open the back door to Christian's Floral Drive home, police said.

In September, Sinartha Bradfield, 31, of 1807 Linda Lane, fired a shotgun blast through his bedroom window when he heard glass in the window being broken out, police said. The blast killed Anthony Mayers, 31, of 304 Jennings St.

Both Mayers and Stiff had lengthy criminal histories, police said.

Both cases will be presented to a Hinds County grand jury to determine if the homeowners should be charged.

Hattix, who recently spearheaded the formation of a neighborhood watch group, cited the 2,154 house burglaries in Jackson this year as cause for him to bear arms. By forming the neighborhood group and staying in contact with officers, he said he's done all the Jackson Police Department has suggested to him.

"The only thing I can to do is try to protect myself and my family," Hattix said. "I used to put my shotgun up after hunting season, but I've started sleeping with it by my bed since my neighbor was almost broken into last week."

Jackson State University criminologist Jimmy Bell said he thinks people like Hattix are rare in that residents aren't propping a gun next to their nightstands in anticipation of pending danger. Bell also said he considers the two fatal shootings of burglars isolated incidents of people reacting out of fear.

"I don't think it is going to give burglars a reason to think twice, because burglars aren't organized enough to anticipate which house might have the potential to fight back with the use of firearms," Bell said. "Burglars are going to randomly pick homes they feel are the easiest target to them, which usually is an unoccupied house. Sometimes, they guess wrong."

Jackson police spokesman Robert Graham said it's best that residents call 911 when faced with a dangerous situation, but the law allows for people to protect themselves and their property.

"We can't give a blanket statement on what a person should do in the situation where someone has come into their home, because every situation is different," Graham said. "What may be a good option under one circumstance, may not be a good option under another set of circumstances."

Alan Lange, a Highland Circle resident in Jackson, said he'd rather have a gun, rather than not have one.

"Nobody relishes the thought of actually having to shoot someone, but the way I look at it, a gun is like a parachute," Lange said. "You better hope you have it when you need it."

The potential for mental distress can be a great burden on a homeowner who shoots and kills a burglar, said Ron Drabman, professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

"It really depends on the person, though," Drabman said. "Some will carry the good feeling that they protected themselves and their family. Others will second guess themselves because they think there could have been another way to handle it."

Those who second-guess themselves, Drabman said, have a greater propensity for developing post-traumatic-stress syndrome.

Hattix doesn't think he would be among the second-guessers, though.

"I've got my wife and my granddaughter here," Hattix said. "I'm going to protect them any way I can. I would never doubt myself for protecting my family. They are why I keep a shotgun, not a handgun. I don't want to miss."

Woman shoots Rottweilers after they attack llamas

EVANSVILLE, Minn. - When Kim Fedje went to check on her livestock she didn't fully load her rifle because she didn't think she'd need it. She was wrong.

Fedje was getting ready for work earlier this month when she heard dogs barking on her western Minnesota property. Her fiance told her to take the .22 when she checked on the farm animals.

"I only put in about 10 shells but am not sure because I wasn't counting and didn't expect anything to be wrong," Kim said.

Fedje first checked the animals in the barn, then headed to the pasture shared with her neighbors. There, she said, she saw her neighbor's herd of llamas clustered in a tight circle. Llamas only stand in such a circle to fight off predators, Fedje said.

"I yelled, 'Here, llamas!'," she said.

Instead of llamas, she got big dogs - a pair of charging Rottweilers.

"I thought 'Run!' and at the same time knew that if I ran I would be dead," Fedje said. "I aimed my .22 and started firing."

The first three rounds missed. The next killed one dog at about 20 feet. The next, her last round, wounded the other dog.

Her fiance reloaded the rifle, found the wounded dog and killed it.

With the dogs no longer a threat, they checked the llama herd. All 13 animals had been attacked; nine required stitches, and one had a hamstring ripped out, Fedje said.

"The whole herd is ruined," said Joni Neal, owner of the llamas.

Douglas County prosecutors referred the investigation to Alexandria city prosecutors because one of the owners of the dogs is a department head with the county. That owner, Paula Carpenter, director of the land and resource management office, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment from The Associated Press.

(TX) Woman blasts intruder 11-03-03
Intruder dies at hands of armed East Sider By Vincent T. Davis San
Antonio Express-News Web Posted : 11/03/2003 12:00 AM

A 21-year-old man was shot and killed late Saturday on the East Side when he broke through a woman's front window at the Morningview Oaks Apartments.

According to a police report, Ernest Flores III broke through Judy Abram's living room window as she played dominoes with her sisters.

Abram yelled at Flores to leave, but he kept advancing. She ran to her bedroom, grabbed a pistol, and told him she had a gun. When he continued to enter the room, Abram, 55, fired two times while screaming, "Can't you see I have a gun? Get out of here!"

The police report said Flores continued to break through the window as Abram fired the remaining four bullets at him. She dashed to her bedroom to reload, but when she returned, Flores was gone.

Staggering next door, Flores crashed through a neighbor's front window and fell face down on a table where police found him with one gunshot wound to the upper chest.

Police said Abram acted in self-defense and no charges are expected to be filed.

The police report said that prior to the break-in, Flores left a neighbor's house across the street rambling that someone was after him. The neighbor said the last time she saw Flores he was crawling across the street and breaking through Abram's window.

By Sunday afternoon, a maintenance man had replaced the bullet-riddled blinds and two broken windows, but talk of the break-in buzzed on the street. Several children poked their heads into a television news van parked at the location, while residents milled around and compared notes on the incident.

Neighbor John W. Prince didn't join those in the street.

The 79-year-old spent Sunday afternoon listening to 1960s soul music with wife
Gwenderlyn, 69, in their house on the corner of BookerTee and Morning View.

When asked about the shooting, Prince said when he heard the gunshots he did what he had learned during the Korean War — he automatically hit the floor.

"I can't stand it. It bothers me," Prince said of hearing gunfire.

The 13-year Army veteran and his wife have lived on the corner since the early 1990s, and both said their neighborhood is usually quiet.

"Somebody showed up at the wrong place," he said. "And that's going onaround the city."

vtdavis@express-news.net

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=310&xlc=1078777&xld=310
11/03/2003

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S. Caorlina, Masked home invader killed by resident 10-23-03
Authorities call deadly shooting self-defense
By BENNY LEE SMITH | Staff Writer
Posted on October 23, 2003

Authorities have ruled Monday afternoon's shooting death of a Woodruff man as an act of self-defense.

Woodruff Police and Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy's office agreed that 26-year-old Tyrone Davis Alexander fatally shot 22-year-old Chadwick Avandoor Shelton in self-defense.

An incident report listed the men as acquaintances.

The fatal shooting happened about 2:30 p.m. Monday. Woodruff police were called to a residence at 476 Sharpe St. in response to a shooting.

When an officer arrived, he saw Shelton lying on the ground in the front yard of the house with a gun lying under his right hand.

The officer checked Shelton for a pulse then checked to see whether EMS was on the way. The officer then began asking people standing around the yard what happened.

Alexander approached him and said, "I did it; I shot him," according to an incident report.

Another officer arrived and took the revolver from Alexander.

In the meantime, EMS workers arrived and transported Shelton's body to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

Officers then took Alexander into custody and transported him to the Woodruff Police Department for questioning.

Alexander, who lives in Woodruff, told officers that he was inside Natasha Dianna Pena's residence when the incident occurred.

Both Pena and Alexander said Shelton and another masked man came through the front door of the home and pulled out guns.

The men told Alexander to "Give it up."

Alexander told officers that the two men pushed him into Pena's bedroom and kept threatening to shoot him. Alexander said he then reached for a gun and shot Shelton, who immediately fell to the floor.

The other man, whom Alexander identified, ran out of the room and out of the house. Authorities had not issued a warrant for the man by Wednesday evening.

A wounded Shelton crawled out of the home into the front yard of the house.

Spartanburg County Coroner Investigator Alan Mason said an autopsy performed Tuesday revealed that Shelton, who lived on 236 Buncombe St., died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

http://goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031023/NEWS/310230356

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N. Carolina, No charges planned in fatal shooting

By Jonathan Weaver, Salisbury Post

Pending any developments in the case, District Attorney Bill Kenerly said no charges will be filed against a man who shot and killed an acquaintance on Aug. 18.

Kenerly said evidence in the case indicates that Gary Shrewsbury, 45, of 240 Lamb Drive, shot Ralph Avins in self defense.

Shrewsbury shot Avins with a .357 Magnum after he said Avins, 33, of 855 Tanner Road, Richfield, approached him about 4 a.m. outside Shrewsbury's home.Avins was brandishing an axe handle-type stick and wearing a mask, according to reports.

Shrewsbury said he did not know the prowler was Avins until after he fired a shot. The round hit Avins in the stomach.

Avins reportedly removed the mask and asked Shrewsbury why he fired the shot.

Shrewsberry then called 911.

"I just had to shoot somebody that tried to jump me when Iwalked out my door," a breathless Shrewsbury told a telecommunicator. "Please hurry."

Then, to Avins:"You should have never charged at me, Ralph ..."

When the telecommunicator asked who the victim was, Shrewsbury told him Ralph Avins.

"He's the one who tried to break into my brother's house the other day," Shrewsbury said.

Explaining what happened, Shrewsbury said: "Like I said, Iwas going out to my car. Then all of a sudden Iturned around, he was coming in behind me. Had his hands up. And ... Ijust shot.

"Ihad my porch light on and then when Icome out, Inoticed it was out. I thought it just blowed out. He must've knocked it out because as soon as Iwalked out he was back here behind this corner. Ijust seen a shadow, and he was coming at me.

"... All Iwas trying to do was protect myself."

Shrewsbury did not return a phone call from the Post Monday.

The law of self-defense excuses a killing altogether if, at the time of the killing, "it appeared to the defendant and the defendant believed it was necessary to kill to save himself from death or great bodily harm; this was a reasonable belief; the defendant was not the aggressor and the defendant did not use excessive force," according to "North Carolina Crimes, A Guidebook on the Elements of Crime."

It's not clear what Avins was doing outside Shrewsbury's home. "The only person who really knows is him. Based on the clothes he was wearing and the items he had with him, it appeared it was a possible robbery attempt," Sheriff's Lt. John Sifford said.

Avins died at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center two days after the shooting.

He was buried the day before his son, Tylor, turned 6, said ex-wife Valerie Avins. His daughter, Kaycee, is 14.

Avins worked construction, erecting cellular phone towers, Valerie Avins said. He had been a foreman with Mid-Atlantic Telecommunications.

"He was a hard worker,"she said. His family "didn't want for nothing."

"He had a big heart. He would have given you the shirt off his back," she said.

Ralph Avins loved his children, and "he always stressed that they should do well in school because he didn't want them doing hard labor,"Valerie Avins said.

Married March 8, 1996, the two stayed in touch even after they divorced, Valerie Avins said. Ralph Avins had brought his son home from a weekend visit the Sunday night before he was shot. "Everything seemed normal," she said.

Contact Jonathan Weaver at 704-797-4266 or jweaver@salisburypost.com

http://salisburypost.townnews.com/articles/2003/09/30/news/30-3_fatal_shoot_folo.prt

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(NC) Sex offender killed after forcing his way into house 11-01-03
http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/homicide_110103.htm

Knock on door leads to shooting death
11-1-03
By Amy Wolfford Staff Writer
News & Record

GREENSBORO -- Thomas Earl Alston told police he was watching television with his girlfriend Thursday night when there was a knock on the door.

The man at the door -- 28-year-old Chester Kendale Lane -- asked Alston, 32, for a ride, then pulled a handgun, Alston told Greensboro police. The pair, who apparently didn't know each other, wound up exchanging gunfire about 9:15 p.m. outside Alston's apartment at 1008-E Rucker St., Greensboro police Sgt. Jane Allen said.

Neighbors in Brevard Park heard eight to 10 gunshots. Lane dropped to the sidewalk, with two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another in the right thigh, said Dr. Thomas Owens of the state medical examiner's office. Lane, who has Randolph County ties but whose address is unknown, died minutes later at Moses Cone Hospital.

The investigation continues and no charges have been filed while police investigate Alston's claims of self-defense. Allen said once the investigation is completed -- she's not sure how long that will take -- the case will be presented to the district attorney, who will decide if charges should be filed.

Alston could not be located Friday for comment. Police are checking to see if Lane was involved in a breaking and entering of a nearby house minutes before the fatal shooting. Officers had been called to the Brevard Park neighborhood and heard gunfire when they were taking a report of a man who broke into a house at 3939-A McIntosh St. and shot at two female residents as they ran off to call police.

The women, whose names have not been released by police, were uninjured. A woman at the house Friday said the victims did not want to comment.

Lane is listed on the state's sex offender registry -- with his address listed as unknown -- for being convicted of taking indecent liberties with a 13-year-old girl in Randolph County in 1994. He served 2.5 years in prison for that charge.

N.C. Department of Correction records also show Lane was convicted of possession of cocaine in 1991 and 2001, larceny in 1998, disorderly conduct in 1999, driving while intoxicated in 1992 and 1998, and receiving stolen goods in 1993. He was listed as an absconder from justice because he had not been reporting to his parole officer, as ordered, on his latest drug charge.

Relatives could not be located Friday for comment.

The case is the city's 29th homicide of the year. Thirty-one were investigated last year.

GREENSBORO -- Thomas Earl Alston told police he was watching television with his girlfriend Thursday night when there was a knock on the door.

The man at the door -- 28-year-old Chester Kendale Lane -- asked Alston, 32, for a ride, then pulled a handgun, Alston told Greensboro police. The pair, who apparently didn't know each other, wound up exchanging gunfire about 9:15 p.m. outside Alston's apartment at 1008-E Rucker St., Greensboro police Sgt. Jane Allen said.

Neighbors in Brevard Park heard eight to 10 gunshots. Lane dropped to the sidewalk, with two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another in the right thigh, said Dr. Thomas Owens of the state medical examiner's office. Lane, who has Randolph County ties but whose address is unknown, died minutes later at Moses Cone Hospital.

The investigation continues and no charges have been filed while police investigate Alston's claims of self-defense. Allen said once the investigation is completed -- she's not sure how long that will take -- the case will be presented to the district attorney, who will decide if charges should be filed.

Police are checking to see if Lane was involved in a breaking and entering of a nearby house minutes before the fatal shooting. Officers had been called to the Brevard Park neighborhood and heard gunfire when they were taking a report of a man who broke into a house at 3939-A McIntosh St. and shot at two female residents as they ran off to call police.

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Ohio, Woman fends off burglars with shotgun

News Herald reports

WOODVILLE -- A Woodville Township woman fended off two burglars with a shotgun early Sunday morning after they entered her home by kicking in the door.

According to Sandusky County Sheriff's Office reports, Shirlene Houston of 6375 Sandusky County Road 107, grabbed a shotgun when she realized there were burglars in her home and yelled, "What do you want?"

Houston, 47, said she saw two males in light colored clothing and fired two rounds into the air, causing the men to run back out of the home. One of the men fired a few shots back at her with a handgun, but no one was hit or injured. The woman's son Jimmy, 27, wrestled with one of the burglars outside, but the man was able to get away.

Sheriff's deputies were unable to locate the men and Houston said she didn't notice anything missing from the home.

Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2003

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/news/stories/20030603/localnews/414778.html

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