Homeowner charged after shooting intruder

WorldNetDaily ^ | January 10, 2004 | WorldNetDaily

[joesnuffy]

WEAPONS OF CHOICE Homeowner charged after shooting intruder Family protected but suburban town prohibits possession of handguns

Posted: January 10, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

A Chicago-area homeowner protected his family by shooting an intruder but was charged with violating a local ordinance banning possession of handguns.

Wilmette, Ill., Police Chief George Carpenter believes charges against Hale DeMar, 54, underscore the suburban village's serious concerns about the shooting, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"The outcome of the matter in this case was very fortunate for the homeowner," he said. "We much prefer, for the safety of the home, that a resident who finds himself in this situation immediately lock the door of the room he's in and dial 911."

DeMar also is charged with violating state law by failing to renew his Illinois Firearm Owner's Identification Card after it expired in 1988, the Tribune said.

Morio Billings, 31, is accused of entering the DeMar home twice within 24 hours. He allegedly crawled through a dog door in the garage then returned with a stolen house key.

Prosecutors say Billings crashed through the home's front window after he was shot then drove himself to the hospital in the family's SUV, which he had stolen the night before.

Billings, convicted last year of a similar home burglary in an affluent Minneapolis suburb, is now in the Cook County Jail with bail set at $3 million.

Police said DeMar shot Billings in the shoulder and calf at about 10:30 p.m. Dec. 29 in the kitchen of his home.

DeMar, a restaurant owner, faces up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine or court supervision or probation if convicted on the charge of owning a handgun without a valid firearms card. The village's handgun ordinance carries a separate fine of up to $750.

He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 6 to face both charges.

The Tribune said the case has prompted dozens of people from out-of-state to contact village officials with complaints about DeMar's treatment.

Chief Carpenter insists local residents have responded favorably, however.

"Wilmette residents are much safer without a handgun in their homes," he told the Tribune. "We see handguns stolen, used in domestic arguments or suicides. Those are far more likely outcomes than when you would actually need a handgun to defend yourself."

Carpenter said he regrets "the intrusion on this family's privacy."

"He strikes us as being a good man with a good heart who did something that apparently came naturally to him," he said of DeMar. 'That's why it's important the Wilmette police speak out now."

The Tribune noted the city of Chicago and a number of other municipalities in the area also ban possession of handguns.

Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, told the Tribune he believes handgun bans are outrageous.

"The right to self-defense is the right that all creatures on this Earth have, including Wilmette," he said. "What they do is they make the citizens in these villages and towns fair game."

[Mulder]

Was sneaky pete banned? I thought he left on his own.

I think he was banned and re-instated many times. Then finally got fed up and left (he might have been banned also).

I miss his insight here.

[tpaine]

If memory serves he was suspended once to often. He's a justly proud man, and does not suffer fools lightly..

[STOCKHRSE]

BUMP

[Ohioan]

"The outcome of the matter in this case was very fortunate for the homeowner," he said. "We much prefer, for the safety of the home, that a resident who finds himself in this situation immediately lock the door of the room he's in and dial 911."

This is so outrageous that it borders on satire. I have written some satires, but would hesitate to put such a statement into the mouth of a "Liberal" fanatic, being characatured. The idea of a community expecting people to hide in locked rooms while burglars go through their homes cannot relate to a real world, any decent person would want to live in.

Perhaps the Chief works for the phone company.

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[Joe Brower]

The whole mindless mantra of "dial 911" is false on it's face to anyone who doesn't have their head firmly embedded in their rear end, and capped by the fact that all of these states that are so big on civilian disarmement all have laws stating flat out that the police are to safeguard the general welfare and have no duty to protect individuals. So they will render you helpless, and then walk on clean as the driven snow when their policies kill you. Government "for the people, by the people"? Not a chance. And all of the cognescenti who make these laws are protected by armed bodygaurds & LEOs, live in safeguarded communities, and all carry sidearms whenever they feel like it. The only people they're fooling is the sheeple herds they have spent so many taxpayer dollars in cultivating.

[STOCKHRSE]

"As long as the vote is fair"

And if they vote fairly to swap spouses every saturday night?

[Western Phil]

The reason Billings was in DeMar's house was because Wilmette has a ban on handguns. Billings thought no harm could come to him. The reason DeMar did not renew his Illinois Firearm Owner's Identification Card after it expired in 1988 was the Wilmette ban on handguns. The reason DeMar had a handgun was to discourage criminals from helping themselves to DeMar's property and for his and his family's personal safety.

[Squantos]

http://www.circus.com/~no_dhmo/

Socialist RATS voter base is behind such issues as I have linked above............clearly their intelligent core of free thinkers.

Stay Safe !

[duckandcover]

Yes! All Mr. DeMar had to do was dial 9-1-1 and the courteous operator would promply send the police to protect Mr. DeMar, his life, liberty, family and property. That's what police departments are for, don't you see?

[yarddog]

Another Freeper told me some time ago that sneaky pete wrote an opus and left. I had no idea exactly why.

To be frank, I too have almost left due to the really large number of liberal Republicans on the site, not to mention the outright leftist weirdos.

The main reason I stay is because of the regulars on the gun threads. I learn a lot.

[Shooter 2.5]

I'm not the originator of that quote. Cartoonistx wrote it in number 18.

[tpaine]

Sneaky is at another site where his liberty post's are welcomed.. Go over & ask him why he left..

[AAABEST]

I was thinking earlier about something;

Do you realize there are many states and localities where we couldn't even move to if we wanted, because of what we own? There must be millions like us.

I wonder how much revenue these places lose because people can't move there due to their contraband?

BTW my wife got me a SWEEEEEET Christmas present, we gotta get together once things aren't so hectic. I'm much closer to you now as I live about an hour north of where I was before (right on the Caloosahatchee).

I know a guy with 60 acres and his own range up here. May be able to hook up with him. You won't have to drive as far if he's available.

God bless.

[B Knotts]

"We much prefer, for the safety of the home, that a resident who finds himself in this situation immediately lock the door of the room he's in and dial 911."

Just once, I'd like to see a massive boycott of one of these towns, when idiot "authorities" make a comment like this.

[Travis McGee]

Sneakypete was one of the smartest freepers on unconventional military ops on FR, period. He was a real-deal border-jumping SOG guy in VN. He was a little touchy though, and got baited into constant flame wars over his non-religious and sexually libertarian points of view. These got so bad that he finally decided to burn his bridges here forever. He started a harsh opus thread asking JimRob to delete his account, permanently and forever, no matter what. And he stuck to it.

It's really a shame. There is a big hole in FR where Sneakypete's ideas used to go.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Heck, if a city wants to ban all guns

Un F****** believable.

[yarddog]

I discussed a lot with Sneaky Pete and in fact I disagreed with his Religious and libertarian ideas but interestingly we never had any kind of harsh discussion.

I guess the fact that I respected his opinion even in those few cases when I knew he was wrong, had somethig to do with it. Also I noticed he would easily admit he was wrong when he really was, which was unexpected and something many people can't do.

[wardaddy]

nice last line on that post.....Neil would like that.

i still remember sneaky being speechless when he thought I implied that the snake eaters buggered their highland tribesmen proxies in SE Asia.....I can still laugh remembering that faux paux.

sorry he's gone, we don't all have to agree all the time.

the thing is though to be decent enough with proven allies around here even if you don't agree with them on occasion...there are enuff contrarians lying in wait.

regards.

[STOCKHRSE]

Sorry Shooter!