Posted on 01/12/2005 10:22:33 AM PST by RedsHunter
A Horton party store owner played a hunch and, with a suspected burglar in custody this morning, his inkling turned into a sure bet.
After being burglarized a week ago, Doug Harrington of Griff's Party Store, 389 Moscow Road, figured he'd be hit again. So, he laid in wait with a 12-gauge shotgun in his lap after the store closed Tuesday.
About 12:30 a.m. today, Harrington was greeted by an intruder. He ordered him to the floor.
"I wouldn't have shot him," said Harrington, 59, an Army veteran who said he barked at the suspect like a drill sergeant. "I didn't want him to know that. He didn't like looking down the barrel of a 12-gauge shotgun."
A 17-year-old Horton boy, whose name is being withheld pending arraignment, is in the Jackson County Jail. He was expected to be charged with burglary.
State police said the teen admitted also being involved in a burglary Jan. 4 at the store, where an undisclosed amount of cash and a 9-millimeter handgun were stolen. The pistol was later recovered at the boy's home, the store owner said.
Harrington, who's been in business 20 years, figured the burglars would strike again since they did well the first time. Also, he noted they hit during a snowstorm last time. The forecast called for freezing rain overnight.
Shortly after midnight, Harrington's instincts proved correct when he heard rustling in the back of the store.
He suddenly found himself three feet away from the suspect, who was carrying a laundry sack. With a 911 operator on the line, the owner kept the barrel pointed on his uninvited guest.
"He kept saying, 'You've known me all my life.' Like that should make a difference," Harrington said.
Good show!
"He kept saying, 'You've known me all my life.' Like that should make a difference," Harrington said.
...certainly didn't make the little perp any difference, did it?
And the punk will get off light since he's a juvenile. Sentence him like an adult and when he reaches 18 years of age send him in with the big boys. They'll take care of him real well.
hehe..........
Feel lucky, punk?
LVM
And right down the road from Uncle Ted's spread. Ya gotta know that folks from that area will be packin'.
If he did, even provoked (he came at me, honest), I don't see how it wouldn't be first degree murder.
Another successful use of a privately owned firearm for self defense that will get no credit from the anti-gunners because no one got shot.
That’s the definition of someone that has no business being armed. He needs to go home and thank God that He was looking out for him that day.
…figured the burglars would strike again since they did well the first time.
Yes, and depending on how "well” they did, some more might be stopping by once word gets around.
Hopefully they’ll be inexperienced youngsters too and not a couple of people with more expertise and a willingness to call his shotgun displaying bluff.
I remember one old man that owned a scrap metal yard in Houston. He’d been robbed a couple of times and while he was perfectly willing to shoot someone, his wife was not.
So while they were beating and kicking him, she was busy trying to hand him a .45 so he could defend himself. They promptly took it away and beat and shot both of them.
Left them on the floor to die as they leisurely ransacked the office and stole cash and valuables. Luckily they both eventually survived though she was nip-and-tuck for a couple of weeks.
That’s a textbook example of what happens when you introduce a firearm into a situation when someone isn’t inclined to use it. Especially when the opponent will use it.
He was probably in his late 70’s or early 80’s and had shot (or shot at) people before but this was the first time he’d been plugged three or four times with his own sidearm.
He sold the joint and retired a few months later. That was probably the best thing he could have done under the circumstances.
Its a good thing this did not happen in England. The shopowner may have been under arrest for scaring the poor burglar.
Yes, a choir boy.
[/sarcasm]
Citizen Protecting Himself Alert!.... Arrest him, Arrest Him
The store owner better hope that kid isn't part of that wacked out gang they are cracking down on from South America...
That’s the definition of someone that has no business being armed.
Agreed. In addition, he has declared open season on himself. No punk is going to be afraid of a gunowner who is afraid to shoot. Next one will probably take away his gun and either use it on him or beat him with it.
Best to shoot them while they're young, before they done too much damage.
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