Posted on 02/09/2004 6:36:14 AM PST by FairWitness
Edited on 05/11/2004 5:36:02 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
James and Suzanne Butler had retired for the night Friday when a man who they say had been harassing them for a year kicked in their back door and rushed into their bedroom, armed with a rifle and a handgun.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
Love the Sinner. Union Member.
Well, bully for him! This is what it comes down to and all gun-grabberes should have this crammed down their throats.
The sheriff and police and judges will NOT protect you! Where I live, the police are on record declaring that if gang warfare breaks out in a neighborhood, they won't even come out unless someone gets hit.
Let that be a lesson to them. 8^O
The big media won't touch this with a 10-foot pole.
Sorry, the Democrat Party is the one that uses Automatic Hate as its modus operandi. I can admire a man for defending his family, even though I disagree with his politics, or think his chosen career is a destructive one for our nation. The Left is the side that must invoke 24-7 Hate to remain viable.
Best line of the article.
Surely you jest. Trailer park trash is much, much more likely to be of the democrat persuasion than the republican.
Phelps County resident shoots home invader
By R.D. Hohenfeldt Staff Writer -
A neighbor who invaded a couple's home late Friday night and shot them in their bed was shot to death by the man who defended himself and his wife.
Pronounced dead of apparent gunshot wounds at the scene was home invader David W. Brown, 45, who was facing charges for harassing and stalking the couple.
Injured were James Butler, 48, who suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, and his wife, Suzanne Butler, 44, who suffered a gunshot wound to the left arm.
The Butlers were taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla. Mrs. Butler was later transferred to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis while Butler remained at PCRMC.
Called at the hospital by the Daily News, Butler said late Saturday morning that his wife had been released from Barnes Hospital and was on her way back to Phelps County. He said he expected to be released later in the day.
The investigation continues by the Phelps County Sheriff's Department's Criminal Investigation Unit and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime.
Year's second shooting
The second Phelps County shooting of 2004 occurred at approximately 11 p.m. Friday in the Butler's home in the 20000 block of County Road 5430, which is near the Dent County line.
Phelps County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Mark Williams said the 911 call was received by Central Communication at Rolla Police Department at 11:02 p.m.
Sheriff's deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers answered the call.
"Upon arrival officers found one man dead and a man and woman suffering from gunshot wounds," Williams said in a statement released to the press.
Williams said Brown had forced his way into the Butler home. He was armed with a .22 caliber rifle and a .22 caliber handgun, gloves and extra ammunition.
"Brown then began firing shots at Mr. and Mrs. Butler. James Butler retrieved a handgun and fired at David Brown striking him several times," Williams said.
The Butlers had been the victims of Brown's harassment over the past year, Williams said, and at the time of his death Brown was wanted in Phelps County for second-degree burglary, first-degree trespassing, resisting arrest and violation of an ex-parte order.
"These charges all stem from complaints made by the Butlers," Williams said. "Officers from the Phelps County Sheriff's Department had attempted on several occasions to arrest Brown but could not locate him."
Neighbor hired for odd jobs
Butler, in a telephone interview from his hospital bed, told the Daily News that he hired Brown some "three or four years ago" to do occasional odd jobs around the Butler place, such as cutting grass and hauling brush.
Brown was a neighbor who lived "down the road" from the Butlers, and the working relationship was all right for awhile. He wasn't a full-time caretaker but did the work on an as-needed basis when called.
The problems started "over a year ago" when the Butlers caught Brown "window-peeking," Butler said.
"And then it got progressively worse," Butler said, with Brown making threats, unwanted phone calls and home break-ins.
Butler said he believes Brown entered the couple's home many times and prowled around while they were out.
"My wife came home and caught him in the house on Christmas Eve," Butler said. Brown assaulted and injured Mrs. Butler at that time.
Butler said he was dissatisfied with the sheriff's department's handling of the harassment and frustrated with the deputies' inability to find Brown and arrest him on the warrants.
"I saw him every day for the last three days. You can't find anybody if you don't look for them," Butler said.
Butler said he feared that an incident would occur as it did Friday night. He said he had pleaded with deputies to find Brown "before something like this happened."
Butler, the business representative for the Carpenter's Union Local No. 2298, said Brown kicked in the back door and entered the house with the firearms.
"I got shot in my bed," Butler said. "When a man knocks the door in and starts shooting you and your wife, you've got a right to shoot back."
Sister may have hid him
Asked if Butler is under investigation and if there is a chance he might be arrested, Sgt. Williams said, "No, not at all."
Williams said he understands Butler's frustration over the lack of an arrest. He said deputies had gone to Brown's residence several times recently but each time, he was gone.
"We think his sister has been hiding him," Williams told the Daily News. "We are seeking charges against her of harboring a fugitive or obstruction of justice."
Brown's sister, Jane Elizabeth Helgersen, 40, of the 1100 block of County Road 5430, was arrested at 11:22 p.m. Friday at the Butlers' home on charges of failure to obey a lawful order and resisting arrest.
Helgersen lives near the Butlers; although the siblings Brown and Helgersen did not live in the same home, their houses were on the same property, Williams added.
"She apparently heard it on the scanner and went to the (Butlers') house," Williams said. "She was arrested immediately after officers arrived."
Okay! Sounds like it's one down and how many to go? If this keeps up, the couple should be subsidized by the city for pest control.
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