Posted on 12/15/2007 6:46:46 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
With his dog shot dead, his wife tied to a chair and his 16-month-old child asleep in a nearby bedroom, a West Valley City man took a gamble to end a home invasion robbery Thursday night.
As he was being dragged at gunpoint around his home in search of valuables to steal, the man snatched a gun from one of the invaders and pulled the trigger.
Jesse James Montoya, a suspected gang member, fell to the floor dead. A second home invader and a female accomplice fled the scene, and police were still looking for them.
Shortly after a woman knocked on the door, two men forced their way into a home, in the 3500 South block of 4400 West, about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, police said.
The invaders shot and killed the family's Great Dane dog, taped the homeowner's wife to a chair, and one of the intruders took the husband around the house at gunpoint looking for valuables, police said.
That's when the homeowner snatched the gun from Montoya and shot him, said West Valley City police Lt. Lamonte Cox. According to court records, Montoya was charged with second-degree felony attempted murder in 1994. He was also charged and pleaded guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault the same year.
West Valley City police Sgt. Bill Merritt said investigators are determining how the robbers chose their victims. The homeowner said he hadn't met or seen Montoya before, which sets the incident apart from other home invasion robberies, Merritt said.
Random home robberies are unusual, Merritt said.
"We're looking for a possible link [between the homeowner and robbers]," he said. "Very rarely is it a random hit."
The homeowner on Friday evening declined an interview request through a relative, who said the man's attorney advised him not to speak to the media about the incident.
The couple's baby was not hurt, Cox said.
Not necessarily through criminal activity. Could be that the wife knew the woman from somewhere, or the men could have run into the husband somewhere, or knew someone who had known about the couple, without their knowing the perps at all. The police will be looking for all kinds of connections, and this will help them identify the two who took off when their accomplice was shot.
I agree. In this area (West Valley City), there have been a lot of home invasion robberies that have turned out to be drug dealers ripping each other off for drugs and/or cash.
Statistically, especially in this area, random home-invasions are rare. There’s usually a connection. The cop wasn’t committing to anything particular. It’s not known whether it’s drugs, some other criminal activity, a kid who found out somehow that the person has money and valuables (a lot of times, a disgruntled teenager will do this kind of caper to get enough money to go on the lam from mom and dad), or no link at all.
Not in Utah, which is very pro-gun. You’ve gotta have rocks in your head to be a home-invasion robber in the western states (with the exception of Colorado, which is the west’s version of Greenwich Village). In my locale, there was a home invader who took a 12 gauge round to the chest and was dead before he hit the floor, homeowner was cleared with no problems.
You are right. They are only half-full of harmless potheads.
Wrong.
Colorado was a very early adopter of the "make my day" law, allowing homeowners to use deadly force with no fear of charges against the themselves.
The worsening Lib attitude in the metro areas is the result of the ongoing exodus from Kalifornia.
Actually they are. Home invasions are most often a falling out among drug dealers and thieves.
Got it straight from a cop’s mouth.
I am curious about the home owner’s usage of an attorney. He certainly has a right to consult an attorney and not talk to the police directly. If the home owner has no connection to this home invasion, I am not sure why he would consult an attorney. My suspicions are raised on this incident although I applaud him for his defense of his family.
Robbers like this shouldn’t use guns. They’re only likely to get them taken away and used on them by the homeowner.
There’s definitely a pothead in this discussion, but I have to take you’re word for it that you’re harmless. So they let you post from jail?
Either Merritt has a lot of ‘smart’ criminal friends who tell him about their MO, or he is one of our new ‘thought’ police, looking for hate crimes! The homeowner on the other hand knew what to do, and should be praised for his patience in ‘finding the right moment’ to save Merritt from the embarassment of another catch and release! We need more like him, tho’ why he let them get past shoot dog can only be explained by his patience in letting them tie up his wife, sic.
“’Random home robberies are unusual,’ (Police Sgt.) Merritt said. That is a statment of fact.”
meaning, else otherwise how could illegal aliens afford to take those low paying landscaping service jobs that Americans just won’t do?
awesome story...but come on, babies are innocent. Why impart the parents wicked spirit to them? And some criminals do change and repent, you know.
“I’m going to give the LEOs some slack here...
1) There is no way to know what the cop actually said, given the slovenly state of the media.”
most intelligent post award!
“instant justice”
Cost:.........one bullet
Benefit:......permanent satisfaction
side benefit..warning to copycats
Good. The dems and other marxists want to take this right away from us.
Citizens defending themselves is becoming too popular. This strikes at the very core of liberal values. If people can solve problems on their own, they aren’t as easy to control. Without victims to spread fear among the sheep, they become less relevant.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
“Home invasions are most often a falling out among drug dealers and thieves.”
Is that conclusion really given any credence in our police departments? I may have lead a sheltered life, but all the robberies I’ve heard of had to do with neither!
Which do you (or your friend) consider is usually the homeowner, the drug dealer or the thief? Or is this just something the police are trained to ask to get a reaction?
” If the home owner has no connection to this home invasion, I am not sure why he would consult an attorney.”
The second after you ever ‘pull the trigger’, you need to call an attorney in this country....that would be especially true if he has a concealed carry permit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.