Man who shot intruder arrested

First, a Chicago man was charged with burglarizing a Wilmette man's home twice. Now the Wilmette homeowner, who shot the intruder, is charged with firearms violations.

On Thursday, Hale DeMar, 54, was arrested for allegedly violating the North Shore suburb's ordinance banning handgun ownership. DeMar also was charged with failing to renew his Illinois firearm owner's identification card, which expired in 1988.

Both charges are misdemeanors. A law enforcement source said it was unlikely DeMar would receive any jail time.

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter defended his decision to enforce the village's handgun ban, which took effect in 1989.

"Wilmette homes are much safer without a handgun, even if this situation on Linden [Avenue] last week was replicated," he said.

But Todd Vandermyde, spokesman for the National Rifle Association, gave Wilmette police a mixed review.

"As far as the FOID card goes, the law is on the books, and you have to comply with it," Vandermyde said. "He was clearly in violation of the law."

Vandermyde criticized the village ban on handguns, yet he acknowledged that Carpenter was required to enforce the ordinance.

"Obviously we think it is ludicrous to charge someone for defending his family, but you have to stand behind the laws, no matter how ridiculous the situation, or take them off the books," he said.

Carpenter said he does not think the law will come off the books any time soon, though. He said e-mails and conversations with residents have reflected their support for the ordinance.

DeMar, a restaurant owner, shot Morio Billings, 31, on Dec. 29 after Billings allegedly used stolen keys to enter the house and set off a security alarm. Billings crashed through a front window to escape.

Billings had previously sneaked into the house through a dog door and stole DeMar's BMW sport-utility vehicle as well as a television and a ring of keys. Billings, a convicted thief, was arrested at a hospital where he parked the BMW, police said.

After the shooting, police seized a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and a .380-caliber Llama Especiale handgun from DeMar.

The Cook County state's attorney's office determined that DeMar acted in self-defense and decided not to file charges.

Homeowner to face gun charges
Wilmette Life

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."

Sounds like it's time for Mr. DeMar's neighbors to contact the local police as well as the villiage trustees and talk a little sense into all concerned. The guy just brought to a halt a rash of hot burglaries that the police had been helpless to end. The entire neighborhood can now get a good night's sleep.

Did I miss the part where the police chief and the villiage president thanked him and offered an award of commendation in a public ceremony?

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