Posted on 10/10/2008 7:06:08 AM PDT by KeyLargo
'I didn't want to shoot anybody'
A CREST HILL MAN WAS PREPARED FOR 35 YEARS FOR A DAY HE HOPED WOULD NEVER COME.
October 10, 2008 From Staff Reports
CREST HILL -- The same six bullets sat in the cylinder of the man's .38 special for 35 years until he fired four of them at someone who crashed through his bedroom window Wednesday.
"I often wondered if I could pick it up and pull the trigger," the shaken and emotional man said Thursday morning, hours after he gunned down an intruder in his basement apartment.
The apparent housebreaker, 34-year-old Demetrious Groves, a downstate man who moved a block away from the apartment about three months ago, was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center. He died about an hour after he arrived.
The apartment's resident, a 68-year-old man, said he was watching the news on television when he got up and went into his bedroom about 6 p.m.
Because the man has not been charged with any crime, The Herald News is not identifying him.
"When I got to the door, I heard a loud thump at my window," said the retired electronic technician who served aboard an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War.
"I took a few steps to my window, and this big black guy threw himself through my window," he said.
The intruder hit the floor, he said, rolled and popped up. The resident grabbed the .38 from his night table and squeezed off four shots.
"I think the last shot, I must have hit him pretty good and he fell down," he said. "He was talking to me. He said, 'A black guy was chasing me so I went through your window.' I said, 'Why did you go through my window? Why didn't you go around the building?'"
Police Chief Dwayne Wilkerson said detectives were "still investigating all facets of the case." If Groves was being chased, his pursuers have not been identified.
The resident called the police. When they arrived, he was ordered to the ground, handcuffed and taken to the police station. A detective interviewed him before he returned home.
"Before I left, they told me he had died," he said of Groves.
Investigation continues Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for State's Attorney James Glasgow, said the incident remains under investigation and noted that the resident was cooperating with the police.
The man said he did not know where the bullets hit Groves. Deputy Coroner Bob Brenczewski said his office would not release that information. Coroner Patrick O'Neil said only that Groves suffered "multiple gunshot wounds."
The man said he bought the never-before-fired gun for protection decades ago.
"I live here by myself in a garden apartment, and the neighborhood down the street's getting kind of rough," he explained.
He called his reaction to the man coming through his window "instinct."
"I don't know what else to call it, just instinct," he said. "I've had the gun sitting on my night stand for years, loaded. I didn't want to shoot anybody. I was hoping I'd never have to use it."
The morning after Groves' death, he said he was visited by a man who asked, "Did you shoot my brother?"
"He was nice," the resident said. "He wasn't agitated or mad or anything. He said he wanted to see where he was shot."
He said he brought the man into his bedroom, which was splattered with Groves' blood.
"I told him I was sorry," he said. "He just shook my hand or hugged me, or whatever. He cried a little bit, and he left."
The dead guy could also have moved there to look for new victims.
Good shooting.
I’ve shot up plenty of ammo much older. Very few misfires, even with the old paperhulled shotgun shells.
Obviously a nice Greek boy.
one look at the dead guys rap sheet would quickly dispel any thoughts that he was a victim, IMHO.
Aren't there plenty of prisons downstate?
I have ammo that is that old or older, and it fires just fine. Inside the house, not in a wet or damp area, etc.
Ammo made years ago is better than today’s, IMO.
No report as to whether the “crasher” was packing? Gun or knife? How about a follow-up on the perp’s rap sheet contents?
>even with the old paperhulled shotgun shells.<
Are you insinuating that I’m old because I have bought and shot those “old paperhulled shotgun shells”? LOL
A few years ago the young woman who lives across the street from me came home later than she was supposed too so her friends dropped her off at the corner so she could sneak into her house. I guess someone saw her getting out of the car and decided to follow and grab her.
Her screaming woke me up but by the time I got outside I saw her heading to her neighbors house the perp was back in his car. There was a large bang on her neighbors door and then a crash as she went threw a window .
No one was upset at her for that ... off course she had been screaming bloody murder and her skirt had been torn off
a totally different scenario than the one in this thread but there is no way that I would have told her she shouldn’t have broken into the house
Old? A classic perhaps!
This was stuff from the 30’s to work in a short chambered 16 ga. until I got my press set up to roll them the correct size.
I still pick up paper hulls. Next to Hoppes 9, it’s the best smell in shooting.
You can search the net for specifics, but most DOD ammo used corrosive primers/powders into the sixties.
Again, this is not a problem if you clean your weapons after a firing session - the “corrosive” nature of the components is not a problem to the ammo itself if storage conditions are adequate.
Most military ammo was built to withstand temperature and moisture storage extremes that commercial ammo just can’t tolerate. I have fired thousands of WWII rounds without the slightest problem.
I used to have a brand new box of Remington 410’s that were from the late 30’s. Somehow the box got stuck in the bottom of my Dad’s old heavy canvas backpack for 30 years. When I found them again I flipped out. I wrapped the box with paper and stuck it in a Crown Royal pouch for another 25 years. I finally sold it to a collector for a very tidy sum.
I’ll bet, ammo with the box (especially in good condition) brings a good price.
It was in near perfect condition because the backpack stayed in the very bottom of the trunk unmoved for many years. The offer was just too good for me to pass up. I hope it brought back many memories for the man.
On the upside, I have very little powder residue behind the ear...
Ok what would you do if you were in my older brother’s situation. You have absolutely no idea because you are sitting on the computer typing while he was running for his life. I think when you are afraid and in fear of dying you would do almost anything you could. If he were doing anything other than trying to find safety why would he jump through someone’s window at 6 in the evening. Your comment makes no sense. You are obviously a cold heartless indiviual.
He killed some one how would have liked for him to have been treated. What if it were your brother.....think before you speak. That man was not a victim he is still breathing. The victims are my brother (who if he was doing anything it was running to find safety) and his two children, his mother, father, sisters, and brother. God Bless you. I pray you never experience what my family is going through.
He had lived in the area for over a year. He was employed not a thug, a father, son, brother, uncle and friend,. So because he lived near a rough area that means he should have killed my brother. The dead guy Mr. Demetrious Groves Sr. has never robbed anyone in his life, he has never assaulted anyone in his life, he is my brother. He moved there to be with my other brother, to work, and to be a productive member of society. What would you do if you were put in his situation. Would run to someones home, or just stand there. I am his sister. What would you do?
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