Posted on 08/26/2005 8:58:12 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
Intruder suffers shotgun wounds at business that has been frequent target of crime
RAVENEL--Cecil and Jerry Reynolds were fed up with people breaking into their tire store.
About 4 a.m. Thursday, Jerry "did what the law allows him to do," Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon Jr. said.
Reynolds, 49, shot a man in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun. It happened outside Reynolds Tires when an alleged burglar drove into him with a stolen car. Charles-ton County Sheriff's officials said.
After he was shot, driver Clayton Brown swerved the stolen black Volvo and crashed near the store. Brown, 38, was at Medical University Hospital in critical condition Thursday night.
Jerry Reynolds didn't want to talk Thursday about what happened.
"I'm proud of him," said his father, Cecil Reynolds, 78. "He's a pretty levelheaded guy."
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Ralph Hoisington told sheriff's authorities that Reynolds will not be charged, Clark said.
Historically, South Carolina case law has upheld the use of deadly force as a defense when a person's life, home or business is threatened.
In 2001, then-Attorney General Charlie Condon instituted a home-invasion policy that protected citizens from prosecution if they were defending themselves against intruders.
Cannon doesn't recommend that every business owner take the law into his or her hands, but he said Reynolds had every right to protect his property.
Brown will be charged with second-degree burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle, police said.
Passenger Tajuana Ford, 25, of Charleston, faces similar charges.
Cecil and Jerry Reynolds live about 50 yards from their tire business. Since Cecil Reynolds opened the business in 1975, he has installed an intercom similar to a baby monitor that is connected to his home.
They awoke at about 4 a.m. Thursday to the sound of a brick breaking the front door at Reynolds Tires, at 4317 McCombs Road.
The younger Reynolds grabbed his shotgun and the two went to investigate but found nothing. They cleaned up the broken glass and returned home, Cecil Reynolds said.
Minutes later, the two again heard the sound of glass breaking on the intercom.
Jerry Reynolds grabbed his shotgun, walked toward the store and saw someone enter a black Volvo.
Reynolds ordered Brown to get out of the car, but he refused, sheriff's officials reported.
"He kept saying, "turn the engine off, turn the engine off," Cecil Reynolds said.
Brown gunned the engine and drove toward Reynolds, striking him in the leg.
Reynolds then fired buckshot into the front windshield, hitting Brown in the face and neck, detectives reported.
Brown swerved the car, hit a sign, then crashed the car in some bushes.
On Thursday afternoon, it was business as usual at the old store, where longtime customers and friends stopped in to check on Jerry and Cecil Reynolds.
Break-ins and robberies are something they have heard about before. The worst incident occurred 10 years ago.
Jerry Reynolds was watching the store while his father was at a funeral when a man entered the store and placed a 9 mm handgun to Reynolds' head and took cash from the register.
About eight months ago, the store was robbed by five men from Mount Pleasant who stole cash, beer and cigarettes.
How long till he sues?
That's what I love about the South. They "get it."
That's gonna leave a mark.
"Worst case of acne I've ever seen."
But didn't kill him????
Sounds like bird shot to me.
If it was .03 buckshot, the driver would be dead.
the perp intentionally hit him with the car, and isn't getting charged with attempetd murder?
They sell beer and cigarettes at tire store in N.C.?
South Carolina's ghetto.
Trust me on this. Not all Southerners get it. We've got far too many libs down here.
Law abiding tax payers need to arm themselves, get training, and practice practice practice...
Violent crime is going to increase....unless good men and women do something about it whenever and wherever they can..
The more violent criminals have to pay dearly for practicing their trade...the less confidence they will have...in their crimes paying off
imo
I meant S.C.
Sure, the same place has Tanning beds, Video/DVD rentals, and you can get an oil change while they prepare your tax return. Ears pierced while you wait.
I suppose shooting through the windshield prevented Brown's immediate death. Too bad
Perhaps not..."into" the front windshield...depending on relative distance, etc...buckshot would not have killed the guy if the individual projectiles had to penatrate safety glass...a slug maybe.
Naaaaaaahhhhh, that's Clemson, S.C.
Give him a chance, Clayton is in critical condition. There is still hope. A face full of .32 pellets and glass is not going to improve his looks, regardless of whether he is carried off in his prime by this little mis-adventure.
I don't think this quite qualifies as "taking the law into his own hands" so much as a clear-cut case of self-defense. Somebody driving a car at you isn't just a burglar trying to take your property, he's trying to kill you.
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