Bump and a BANG!
Posted on 12/17/2001 8:31:05 AM PST by Dan from Michigan
Mother of three uses gun to stop attackers in her home.
Submitted on: December 17, 2001
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788993/16773682.html
By FRANCES STARKEY
Des Moines Register Staff Writer
A mother of three in Early shot and killed an intruder Thursday night after two men entered her home and assaulted her, authorities said.
Tracey Roberts was home with her three children, ages 1, 3 and 11, when two men entered the home, according to the Sac County Sheriff's Department. Roberts' husband, Mike Roberts, was reportedly out of town on business.
The two intruders assaulted Roberts before she got away from them and grabbed a gun, authorities said. Roberts fired several times and fatally wounded Dustin Wehde, 20, of Early, according to the sheriff's office. It wasn't clear who owned the gun.
Preliminary results from the state medical examiner show that Wehde died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Second man
The other intruder fled. He was described as 25 to 35 years old, almost 6 feet tall, with a slender build and dark, wavy hair. Sheriff's deputies were looking for him Friday evening.
Roberts was taken to Loring Hospital in Sac City, where she was treated and released. The children were reportedly uninjured.
On Friday, the 649 residents of Early were trying to figure out what happened.
Residents shocked
"I think for a lot of people there's a shock value," said Kenneth Myers, who was elected to the Early City Council in November. "As more people find out who it was, the shock will grow because they're from the town. Most of us, after a day of wondering, are just trying to find out some of the details. I don't think anyone has a clear picture yet."
Myers, a math teacher at Schaller-Crestland High School, said he was Wehde's teacher for several years.
"We didn't always get along," he said. "He wasn't as social as any of the other kids. I never would have expected him to do something like this."
No charges had been filed late Friday.
Someone had to say it. ;0
What you mean the husband didnt have a keyed gun lock on the guns with all those kids in the house??
After all, guns must always be locked up esp with those difficult keyed trigger locks which makes it very hard to find (much less open) in an emergency.
In an emergency such as this, the woman SHOULD have called 911 (police), after all isnt that whats the cops are for?
Heck, she may have inadvertently hurt one one those kids by (shockingly) displaying a GUN in the home for the kids to see (and we have learnt from the unbiased media that guns are VERY bad esp around kids).
This woman must be detained and put in a re-eduaction facility for such dangerous behaviour.
If such facility doesnt exist we must lobby leading anti-gun politicians so that they make a law for such things
/sarcasm off
(BTW, the last isn't even an exaggeration; this guy does qualify as a "child victim of gun violence" according to the VPI and the Brady bunch...)
Here's another example of two things these that fat-headed pigs like Rosie O'Donnell will not own up to: 1) There's some really bad people in this world, and 2) You must be able to defend yourself from them or die at their hands. It's not that complex a thing to understand.
P.S. Get one for the oldest Cub, too.
Intruder shot by Early woman turns out to be family friend By JONATHAN ROOS Register Staff Writer 12/16/2001 Early, Ia. - Michael Roberts plans to speak at Monday's funeral of Dustin Wehde, a family friend who, in a bizarre twist, was shot to death by Roberts' wife, Tracey, after she was assaulted by two intruders in their home Thursday night.
"I'd taken him under my wing to help him out," Michael Roberts said Saturday, promising to reveal more at the funeral for Wehde, 20, of Early.
Preliminary results from the state medical examiner show that Wehde died of multiple gunshot wounds. Roberts has posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the other intruder, who escaped on foot.
Authorities have released a description of the suspect but were saying little else Saturday about the case.
Roberts said he believes the other man was behind the attack in this northwest Iowa town of 649 and should be charged with attempted murder.
Wehde "was under the influence of the other person . . . the boss," said Roberts, who operates a computer business. He was returning from a business trip when his wife and three children, ages 1, 3 and 11, encountered two men who entered the home, according to the Sac County Sheriff's Department.
Tracey Roberts was choked with a nylon stocking, Michael Roberts said. She managed to fend off the attack with the help of their oldest son, who was armed with a baseball bat.
"My 11-year-old was protecting the two younger children and wouldn't let them in" their room, Roberts said.
Tracey Roberts had severe bruises from the attempts to strangle her, her husband said Saturday. She passed out twice but was able to regain consciousness and remove a pistol from a small bedside safe, he said. Tracey Roberts was treated and released from Loring Hospital in Sac City. The children reportedly were uninjured.
Bruce Wehde said his nephew, Dustin, "was a super friend" to the Roberts family. "They would go to church together. They'd been to paintball-shooting competitions," said Wehde, who lives two houses away from the Roberts' home.
The reward flier offers thanks to a number of people in the Sac County community, including "the Wehde family for their friendship over the past two years."
Neighbors say they and other townsfolk are more careful now to lock their doors after the attack.
"It has been very shocking. I know it happens all the time, but this is a small town and somebody you know," said Ardola Huisenga.
She and her husband, Everett, were watching television when they saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles come down the street.
"It's a pretty quiet town, so something like that really shakes people up," she said. Kenlee Schomaker and his wife, Jane, both members of the fire department's emergency medical unit, were called to their neighbor's house shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. The couple also knew Dustin Wehde and his family.
"There was a lot of blood and spent shell casings," Kenlee Schomaker said. "I have no idea what (Tracey Roberts) went through. She had to go through hell to be scared like that."
Bruce Wehde wonders if his nephew was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I think he walked in on something going on in the house. I think Dustin was coming to the rescue," Wehde said. In the darkness and confusion, "he ended up getting shot for mistaken reasons."
Dustin Wehde's funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Early Methodist Church.
Reward offered
INFORMATION: Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Michael Roberts at this e-mail address: reward@xellex.com. People can also contact the Sac County Sheriff's Department at (712) 662-7127 or the Early Police Department at (712) 273-5283.
DESCRIPTION: The intruder who fled was described as 25 to 35 years old, almost 6 feet tall, with a slender build and dark, wavy hair.
It's never the 'bad guy's fault, is it? Maybe Dustin just fell in with the wrong crowd. Either way, it was his own fault he was at the house. I don't think the lady would have shot someone coming to help. After all, if she knew this guy, she would have known IF HE WAS THERE TO HELP or not!
And kudos to her 11 yr. old son who was willing to help, and probably ended up saving ALL their lives by giving his mom a chance to get free and get the gun.
Bump and a BANG!
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.