Posted on 07/09/2009 4:26:26 AM PDT by marktwain
A Sneads Ferry man who shot a teenager charged with trying to break into the man's home Monday will not be charged, authorities said.
Landon Crews, of Crows Nest Lane, shot 18-year-old Cyle Norris early Monday morning. Detectives with the Onslow County Sheriff's Department said Norris was trying to crawl through a broken window when Crews shot him in the right forearm with No. 7 shot from a 12-gauge shotgun.
Norris and three other local men were charged with first-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy.
North Carolina state law says that Crews was within his rights to shoot an intruder breaking into his home. General Statute 14-51.1 states, "A lawful occupant within a home or other place of residence is justified in using any degree of force that the occupant reasonably believes is necessary, including deadly force, against an intruder to prevent a forcible entry into the home or residence or to terminate the intruder's unlawful entry if the occupant reasonably apprehends that the intruder may kill or inflict serious bodily harm to the occupant or others in the home or residence, or if the occupant reasonably believes that the intruder intends to commit a felony in the home or residence."
The law also states that a lawful occupant has no duty to retreat from an intruder.
"The long and the short of it is he didn't break the law," Sheriff Ed Brown said.
Attempts by The Daily News to reach Crews were unsuccessful.
Authorities said Norris, Trevor Sturgis, 21, and David Sonye, 21, tried to break into Crews' house after Joseph Michael Greene III, 16, who is also accused of attempting to break in, was forcefully put out of the home 20 minutes prior.
The four men tried to break down the front door, break out windows and climb through, authorities said.
Crews - who was at home with his mother - told investigators that he warned them several times before shooting. The four accused intruders were given a bond of $50,000 each.
The Sheriff's Department is seeking to talk with James Austin Boone, who authorities believe was at the residence around the time of the shooting.
Anyone with information concerning Boone's whereabouts can contact the Jacksonville/Onslow Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273 or Sheriff's Sgt. David South at 910-455-3113. Callers do not have to reveal their identities.
So, no happy ending?
The shooter should have used 00 (”double ought”) buckshot.
Oh, gee, aren’t we grateful to our government for not prosecuting someone for protecting home and hearth against the vermin largely produced by government policy?
It’s too bad the homeowner wasn’t able to shoot all four of them to death.
But of course, the leftist gun grabbers will say that Crews and his mother should have called 911 and hidden in a closet.
It would be un-American to leave a law-abiding citizen alone /s.
Bird shot. Gotta hurt digging all those pellets out!
I like that law!
My guess is local no 'counts, nothing to do with Camp Lejeune.
My daughter's at Camp Lejeune this summer, I'm sure this'll be the talk of the town . . . . with most people saying "what'd he use bird shot for?" No. 7 is for sporting clays, not burglars!
Good Lord though, it reads as though there was some question or even desire to prosecute the homeowner. I don’t care if there is a written law, why would anyone prosecute a person for defending themselves against such an attack?
I disagree.
Birdshot is great for home defense. If you miss your target the shot is unlikely to pass through two layers of wallboard and kill a family member.
If you are going to use a shotgun for home defense I would recommend loading with birdshot. At indoor distances it has plenty of stopping power.
That's just not true. Buck and slug loads may be fine if you don't have neighbors near you, but for populated areas, bird shot is much safer for those beyond your property. And bird shot at self-defense ranges can absolutely harm and kill people. But the NC law doesn't allow someone to "kill" an invader, only stop the threat (which very well may end up in their death anyway).
Don't take my word for it: http://www.downrange.tv/bestdefense/wall-penetration.htm
Especially watch the last two minutes.
Right on. Shoot a target a 5-ft, 8-ft, and 15-ft with bird shot and see what they look like. Makes hamburger.
The kid who was shot was lucky he didn't get hit with full full pattern.
I thought that town name sounded familiar. We go to the beach nearby every year and play Northshore golf course.
I am not talking about slug loads as I see no use with them for home self defense.
Any firearm round can kill anyone, that is true, BUT when confronted with an immediate threat that requires instant stopping power, bird shot does not measure up to the standard of immediate. Immediate requires a penetration of the central nervous system and bird shot will not do that.
I hear you on the threat to others. Frankly I believe that to be over blown except in a city apartment situation. The most important thing in shooting is hitting the target. If you cannot do that, do not shoot.
The NC law follows that used by the Federal Authorities: To stop the individual from doing what caused you to shoot, (not to kill.) Frankly if faced with this horrible decision, I want to be certain the guy is not coming back, till the last day anyway.
Vince
I agree there's a penetration problem with the larger shot sizes - but for home defense I would think No. 4 or 5 would be better than 7.
Sneads Ferry is off the beaten path for most going in and out of the Camp. If she is located at either Courthouse Bay or Stone Bay she'll probably use the back gate.
The idea here seems to be that one assumes an intruder coming into one’s home despite warnings is PROBABLY ARMED. Therefore one assumes a wounded intruder is still very dangerous and will probably return fire if able. Not a good idea to practice underkill here, probably.
“The police asked the homeowner why the intruder was shot 8 times. The homeowner replied that the pistol only held 8 rounds.”
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