Exercising the Right, to KEEP and BEAR Arms

"... the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Shortly before 5:30 a.m. on June 16th, Stephen Heller was chatting with a young woman who had arrived moments earlier at his home in Sanger, Texas, when two masked men dressed in black and wearing gloves suddenly barged into the residence. At least one was armed.

The intruders apparently intended to rob Heller, but the homeowner resisted fiercely. He was able to stab one with a knife he had nearby and shoot the other several times with a handgun he grabbed during the brawl.

Scott Howard was pronounced dead at the scene from the gunshot wounds. The other interloper, Travis Lee Smith, fled with the woman (who was apparently an accomplice) to Marietta, Oklahoma, some 40 miles north of Sanger. Smith eventually went to a hospital for treatment of his knife wounds. Acting on tips, police took both Smith and the woman into custody. Smith was transferred to a hospital in Ardmore, Oklahoma, while the woman was jailed in Marietta pending extradition back to Texas.

Homeowner Heller suffered only a few minor injuries during the scuffle with Howard and Smith.

Shawn Larsen of Clackamas County, Oregon, awoke on August 2nd to find that his bedroom window had been forced open, and that a number of his belongings had been stolen by a stealthy burglar. While searching for clues, he found the pilfered items hidden under his deck.

Surmising that the thief would return later to retrieve the booty, Larsen decided to keep watch. When the culprit did indeed reappear around midnight, the homeowner was waiting — this time with a gun. "I told him to freeze and he wouldn’t," Larsen told Portland television station KGW the next day. Feeling threatened, Larsen fired at least two shots, striking Justin Jimmy Hawkins in a shoulder and a leg.

Hawkins fled, but police soon found him after he sought help at a nearby home. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of his wounds. Following his release the next morning, he was taken to jail.

KGW reported that, according to police, Hawkins is a transient with an extensive criminal history including at least 17 arrests for crimes ranging from aggravated murder and assault to burglary, robbery, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Oregon law allows homeowners to take reasonable steps to protect themselves against intruders. The would-be victim expressed relief that he had not killed Hawkins, but was also (in the words of KGW) "relieved to know the suspect who broke into his home twice in one day is in jail."

Near sundown on August 4th, three-year-old Sangchul Bae was watching his dad hit practice balls at the Jess Ranch Golf Course in Apple Valley, California, when a coyote suddenly emerged from nearby bushes and lunged at the boy. The aggressive predator clamped its jaws on the toddler’s face and began dragging him toward the bushes. The child’s father pummeled the coyote with his golf club, causing the animal to release its grip and momentarily back off. But the coyote was undeterred and repeatedly attacked the terrified boy.

At this point, as reported by Los Angeles television station KNBC the next day, "an off-duty deputy stepped in, fired a round at the coyote and wounded him." Other accounts questioned whether the bullet actually found its mark, but in any event, the animal scurried away in the wake of the gunshot and did not return. A helicopter was called in to search for it in the open desert surrounding the golf course, but to no avail.

Sangchul Bae was rushed by ambulance to a medical center for treatment of what were described as moderate lacerations to his jaw and arm. According to KNBC, he was "stable and will undergo plastic surgery on his wounds."

Ray and Annie Friesen had been married for 53 years when, at around 2:30 p.m. on June 30th, someone knocked at the door of their home in the Beaver Valley area of Payson, Arizona. Mrs. Friesen, 73, was resting in a bedroom, so Mr. Friesen, 79, opened the door. A middle-aged stranger claimed that his car had broken down and asked if he could make a phone call for assistance.

Mr. Friesen did not invite him in but brought him a cordless phone, and the stranger then pretended to call someone from outside. However, when the stranger returned the phone to Mr. Friesen, he suddenly pulled a hunting knife and forced the elderly homeowner into the dining room, where he tied him to a chair and demanded his wallet, credit cards, and car keys. Mr. Friesen complied. The intruder then went to the room where Mrs. Friesen was resting. When Mr. Friesen heard his wife scream, he mustered the strength to break himself free of his bindings. Grabbing a handgun, he rushed to the bedroom.

According to a Gila County Sheriff’s Office report, Mr. Friesen heard his wife scream again, and, upon entering the room, saw the thug towering over her, knife in hand. She was bleeding profusely. Mr. Friesen shot the murderous thug several times, then called 911. When medical personnel arrived, they pronounced the suspect — and, tragically, Mrs. Friesen — dead at the scene. It is likely that Mr. Friesen, too, would have been killed if he had not shot the deranged intruder.

A few days later, authorities identified the killer as Mitchell Bell, believed to be a transient who had lived along a nearby river.

From an August 1st Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed by Dr. John R. Lott Jr., resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the newly released The Bias Against Guns:

"In 2001 (the last year available), ABC, CBS and NBC ran 190,000 words’ worth of gun-crime stories on their morning and evening national news broadcasts. But they ran not a single story mentioning a private citizen using a gun to stop a crime. The only network I could find that ran any defensive gun-use stories was the Fox News Channel.

"The print media were almost as lopsided: The New York Times ran 50,745 words on gun crimes, but only one short (163-word) story on a retired police officer who used his gun to stop a robbery. For USA Today, the tally was 5,660 words on gun crimes versus zero on defensive uses."

James L. Karnes Sr., 51, resides with his family in Cedar Grove, Kentucky. For many years he and a neighbor, Ronald S. Richardson, 52, had been feuding over property lines and rights. Richardson once filed a lawsuit against Karnes about boundary lines and alleged damage to the Richardson property, after which Karnes filed two trespassing complaints against Richardson. In 2000 Richardson pled guilty to trespassing and in 2001 was found guilty of the same offense. He agreed to have no further contact with members of the Karnes family.

On January 29th of this year, however, sheriff’s deputies were summoned to the Karnes residence three times between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to investigate complaints that Richardson had not only trespassed again, but had fired shots near the Karnes property. The deputies concluded that Richardson had not violated any laws, so could not be taken into custody. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., however, dispatchers received a fourth call, this time from Karnes’ wife, reporting that Richardson had shot her husband in the stomach with a .357 Magnum handgun as the feuding duo stood near a barbed wire fence.

When Mrs. Karnes ran outside to be with her seriously wounded husband, son James Karnes Jr., 26, grabbed a 9-mm handgun and followed. Fearing that Richardson now posed a threat to his mother, he fired twice, striking his father’s assailant in the chest. Richardson was pronounced dead at the scene by the Bullitt County Coroner, while the elder Karnes was airlifted to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.

Details of the tragic confrontation were submitted to a Bullitt Circuit Grand Jury to determine if young Karnes had violated any laws in protecting his mother. On April 30th, jurors ruled that, all things considered (including the record of past differences between the neighbors), he had indeed acted in justifiable self-defense.

Shortly after noon on April 29th, Yong Do Cho, owner of Joe’s Food Market in Houston, Texas, was returning to his store from a bank when three men in a gray Isuzu began following him. When one of the trio, later identified as 18-year-old Francis Dalton, fired a shot through a window of Cho’s car, the terrified small businessman sped up and raced three blocks with his assailants in hot pursuit before pulling into the parking lot of a check-cashing business. He hoped that someone in the shop, well-known for its zero-tolerance policy toward thugs, could help him.

When owner Fabern Dale Cossey emerged from the check-cashing facility, Dalton shot at him, but missed. Cossey, who was armed, returned fire, wounding the youth. Dalton and 33-year-old accomplice Flenzy Ray Jones then scurried from the scene on foot, but were soon apprehended by police. The third man escaped in the Isuzu.

Jones was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Dalton faced the same charge pending his release from a local hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.

At around 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 14th, someone began banging on a door at the residence of Gerald and Audrey Heggstrom in Glendale, Oregon. Mrs. Heggstrom, a millworker who describes herself as a night owl because she works the late shift, had dozed off in the living room when "there was a loud enough noise that it startled me. I looked out the window and he was standing by the front door."

"He" was Keith W. Newman, 39, described in a subsequent police report as a "transient from New York via Eugene."

Mrs. Heggstrom woke her husband (also a millworker, though on the day-shift), who handed her his Glock .45-caliber handgun before answering the door. When he asked the stranger what he wanted, Newman said he was looking for a woman named "Katy." Told that no such person lived there, he walked away and Mr. Heggstrom went back to bed. Mrs. Heggstrom, however, was now wide awake. "The adrenaline was still pumping from being startled like that," she told Roseburg News-Review reporter Chris Pollock. "I was sitting watching TV and the security light on the front porch came on 15 minutes later. I went into the kitchen and looked out the window, and just then I saw him [Newman] go into the garage."

She roused her husband from bed a second time, and with gun in hand he went outside to confront the intruder. "I walked over to him with the gun pointed right at him and asked him what … he was doing," he recalls. Needless to say, "It got his attention."

Mrs. Heggstrom had in the meantime called the sheriff’s office. Deputies arrived within about 20 minutes and took Newman — still held at gunpoint by Mr. Heggstrom — into custody. He was charged with burglary and criminal trespass.

Gerald Heggstrom told Pollock, "I was just protecting my family and my property, as far as I was concerned." He added that Newman "would’ve been all right if he’d left the first time."

From a May 9th USA Today op-ed piece captioned "Gun laws don’t reduce crime," by Dr. John R. Lott Jr., a resident scholar at the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute and the author of More Guns, Less Crime: "One would never know from reading the news that there exists not one single academic study showing that the federal Brady Act, assault-weapons bans, state waiting periods, background checks, one-gun-a-month rules or safe-storage laws reduce violent crime. Some research even finds that these rules increase crime.

"… Europe has everything American gun-control proponents favor, but the three worst public shootings in the past year all occurred in Europe. All took place in so-called gun-free ‘safe zones.’

"Around the world, from Australia to England, countries that have recently strengthened gun-control laws with the promise of lowering crime have instead seen violent crime soar. In the four years after the U.K. banned handguns in 1996, gun crime rose by an astounding 40%. Since Australia’s 1996 laws banning most guns and making it a crime to use a gun defensively, armed robberies rose by 51%, unarmed robberies by 37%, assaults by 24% and kidnappings by 43%. While murders fell by 3%, manslaughter rose by 16%."

At around 2:30 p.m. on December 15, 2001, police in Hartford, Connecticut, responded to a burglar alarm at Bacon’s Antiques, a secondhand merchandise store owned by Manchester resident Jeffrey Andrews. They found a broken front window, but did not find an intruder during a search of the premises.

Mr. Andrews arrived during the search and, after the police left, remained to board up the broken window. Shortly before 6:00 p.m., a man armed with a gun emerged from a back stockroom. He had apparently been hiding among old paintings, statues, commercial signs, and other paraphernalia during the police search, but finally concluded that everyone had left. As he and Andrews began arguing, the latter grabbed a gun he kept at the store for protection and fired, striking the intruder twice in the stomach. He then called the police. When officers arrived for a second time, they found Rafael Santana, 32, on the floor. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital later that evening.

As reported by the Hartford Courant for December 17th, Andrews "has a state permit to carry a gun" and "police said they did not expect to file charges" against him. According to Courant staff writers Matt Burgard and Lee Foster, the mother of Santana’s 15-year-old son acknowledged that Santana "had a history of drug abuse and criminal arrests, including a record of drug possession charges."

Since opening in 1968, Avalon Jewelers in downtown Hayward, California, had never been victimized by armed robbers. Then on December 18, 2001, two armed men walked into the family-owned store and threatened one of the owners and an employee. Unbeknownst to them, however, Rod Vargas (another owner) was sequestered behind a one-way mirror with a small arsenal of guns by his side. When the military veteran realized that a robbery was in progress, he grabbed an M1 rifle and confronted the two thugs. As he pointed the rifle at one’s head, they both turned tail and ran from the store empty-handed.

Vargas called police, who arrived within minutes. Despite combing the area for the suspects, both men got away.

Vargas, recalling how one of the miscreants "was looking right down the barrel of the rifle," told the Hayward Daily Review for December 22nd: "If we don’t fight back, we are encouraging crime."

Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on November 24, 2001, Cedar Springs, Michigan, police officer Jack Peters was on patrol when he noticed two hitchhikers who appeared to be drunk. They ran when he flashed his lights on them. One was apprehended, but the other — 22-year-old Kevin Lee Salinas — got away.

Less than two hours later, at about 3:30 a.m., Valerie Clarke was awakened by the sound of someone rattling windows and doors at the Clarke home. She woke her husband Robert, 48, who grabbed a flashlight and went to investigate while Mrs. Clarke called 911. When Mr. Clarke opened the back slider door and peered outside with the flashlight, he noticed a man standing near some outbuildings in the back yard. It was Salinas.

Rather than flee, Salinas began walking toward the house. Clarke, concerned for the safety of himself and his family, retrieved a 9 mm handgun from inside the home and, at least twice, ordered the trespasser to leave the property. Instead, Salinas continued to approach and climbed onto the back porch. When he was within about five feet of Clarke, the homeowner fired a single shot that struck him in the abdomen. He died about eight hours later in a Grand Rapids health facility.

It was later learned that Salinas was on probation for a larceny conviction. He was also wanted on a bench warrant related to an April domestic assault charge, and had been scheduled to stand trial on December 3rd for a July home invasion during which he allegedly assaulted an ex-girlfriend. He faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the litany of felony charges.

In an opinion released December 19th, Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth stated that Robert Clarke had acted in self-defense and would not face any charges for shooting Salinas. While believing that Clarke should have opted not to confront the inebriated trespasser, Forsyth noted that the Clarkes "had five kids in the house," that Salinas was drunk (two-and-one-half times the legal driving limit) and incoherent, and that he kept coming even when Clarke had "a gun pointed at him."

John Samanns, 37, owns John’s Drive-Thru, a liquor store in south Lakeland, Florida. In the wake of previous break-ins, he was sleeping at the store on December 4, 2001 when, at about 1:45 a.m., he heard an alarm go off. Armed with a Taurus 9 mm handgun, he went to the south side of the establishment, where he confronted a man who had gained entry by using a crowbar to break the deadbolt on an exterior metal gate. When the burglar raised the crowbar over his head in a threatening manner, Samanns fired two shots, one of which struck Larry D. Russell, 41, in the abdomen. Russell died.

Shortly before Christmas, the state attorney’s office ruled that Samanns was justified in using lethal force to defend himself against Russell.

Robert Gresham operates his business, Clothes Line, in Nashville, Tennessee. Shortly before 11 a.m. on December 15, 2001, John D. Buchanan, 19, attempted to rob the clothing vendor. As the youth began pulling a gun from his waistband, Gresham, who has a state-issued permit to carry a firearm, drew his own .44-caliber revolver and opened fire. As reported by the Nashville Tennessean for December 18th, the seriously wounded Buchanan fled, and Gresham "saw him drive away when he went outside in the parking lot.... Gresham told police that a second man fired at him. Gresham returned the fire, but neither man was hit...."

Shortly thereafter, several young men arrived at the emergency room of a local hospital, helped take Buchanan inside, then drove away. Gresham subsequently identified Buchanan (who died) as the man who had attempted to rob him.

According to The Tennessean, "The Metro Police Department has ruled that a clothing vendor who shot and killed an alleged would-be robber Saturday acted within his rights to self-defense. The department is calling the death a justifiable homicide.

On July 9th, a man and woman entered Norton’s Jewelry in downtown Marietta, Georgia, and asked to see some expensive items. They left without making a purchase, but owner Ronnie Norton, 54, felt uneasy, suspecting that they may have been casing the store. He mentioned the incident, along with his concern, to wife Barbara that night.

The next afternoon, as they were preparing to close the store, Mrs. Norton noticed two men loitering outside. She told her husband, who promptly retrieved a .32-caliber handgun from its carrying case and slipped it into his belt. As the Daily Oklahoman for July 17th noted, "Norton always carries a gun or keeps one within arm’s reach."

The two men eventually entered the store. One asked to see a $2,500 wedding set. As Mr. Norton walked toward the safe, with one of the men close behind, Mrs. Norton noticed the latter place his hand in his pocket. Suspecting the worst, she bolted for the front door, but was grabbed and thrown to the floor by the other man (who was also armed) before she could escape.

When Mr. Norton turned around, he found himself staring at a 9mm pistol pointed at his chest. As described by Daily Oklahoman reporter Ed Godfrey, "The gunman ordered Norton to the floor but he refused," whereupon the thug "repeated the order and waved the weapon in front of Norton, giving the jeweler a chance to grab the man’s wrist and push the gun away."

During the ensuing skirmish a shot rang out and Dexter B. Dunnum, 23, slumped to the floor, seriously wounded. Norton believes that Dunnum may have been one of the persons who had raised his suspicions the day before.

As Dunnum fell, his accomplice began shooting at Norton, who initially thought that the shots were coming from Dunnum. When Norton realized they were coming from the accomplice, he ducked behind a counter and began trading shots.

Norton was not injured. Apparently, neither was the accomplice, who ran from the store, jumped into a waiting car with two other men who had stayed outside during the robbery attempt, and escaped.

Dunnum also attempted to flee, but collapsed and died on the sidewalk in front of the store. According to state Corrections Department records cited by the Daily Oklahoman, Dunnum’s criminal record included convictions for first-degree robbery, grand larceny, and possession of stolen property.

Norton thought that he had killed the gunman with his own weapon, but it was subsequently confirmed that the fatal shot had come from Dunnum’s gun during the scuffle. The news surprised Norton, as "I had it visualized I had pulled my own gun and done it."

Mr. Norton told reporter Godfrey that once the gunman pointed the gun at his chest, "From that point on, all I could think about was him shooting me in the back of the head. I thought I was going to die, and I had to do something."

Ronnie Norton now keeps a gun with him everywhere he goes, and told Godfrey that he may start carrying two. "I have it on me when I go to the shower," he asserted to underscore the point. "I will have it on me from now on. I don’t ever see me not having that gun...."

Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on July 5th, Dale Clinton Beatty, 22, emerged naked from his residence in East Naples, Florida, and began causing a ruckus in the driveway of neighbor Gerald House, 55.

House’s wife Jill and their 20-year-old son Justin were awakened by the noise and went to investigate. They asked Beatty to leave and, when he refused, returned home to call 911. Beatty followed and pushed his way into the residence.

Gerald House, 55, is a former Marine. Armed with a handgun, he confronted Beatty (a second-degree karate black belt) and ordered the intruder to leave. Beatty balked, and House repeated the demand several times as his neighbor became increasingly agitated and menacing. According to Collier County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sheri Mausen, "there was some kind of confrontation" during which House fired a single shot that struck Beatty in the chest. The wounded man was rushed by Medflight to a hospital in Fort Myers, where he was later pronounced dead.

The sheriff’s office did not charge Gerald House in the shooting since, according to Mausen, investigators believed that he had acted in self-defense. State prosecutors told reporters, however, that they would take a closer look at the evidence to confirm if House was indeed justified in using deadly force. Under Florida law, persons are allowed to protect themselves from imminent danger or great bodily harm, but according to Assistant State Attorney Mike Provost, "If you can run away, you are obligated to run away." On the other hand, Provost explained, that obligation does not apply to persons under siege in their homes.

At 6 p.m. on July 13th, Brian Bloom left his home in Conover, North Carolina, to investigate the source of some animal sounds coming from his front yard. As he looked around, a fox suddenly scampered from under his car and charged at him. During an interview with the Hickory Daily Record for July 17th, Bloom recalled that when he attempted to fend off the aggressive creature by kicking it in the snout with his right leg, it sunk its teeth into his left leg. "I then tried a couple of karate moves, and tried to snap its neck," he told Daily Record staff writer Kim Gilliland, "but he wouldn’t let go. Then when I started to choke him, my fiancee got me my pistol, and I shot him one time with my .40-caliber hollow points, but he didn’t budge. I shot him again, and then a third time, but he still had a-hold of my leg. My fiancee finally got a stick and pried his mouth open, but he was dead by then."

Bloom called animal control and the Conover Police Department. Since the fox had behaved so strangely, he was advised to begin treatment for rabies, since early care is crucial (there is no remedy for the disease once symptoms appear). "They gave me a tetanus shot first," he told Gilliland, "then they shot me in the left calf twice, the thigh, right and left arm, and in the butt, both sides." He also faces an additional three-month vaccination regimen, since the state laboratory in Raleigh confirmed that the fox was indeed rabid.

According to Catawba County Animal Control, it was the county’s first confirmed case of rabies in a fox this year, though a half-dozen raccoons had been diagnosed with the malady. "That was one crazy fox," Bloom reflects, "and I hope I never see one like that again."

"... the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

John Yun, 36, owns the Spenard Motel in Anchorage, Alaska. The motel had already been robbed twice since the first of the year when, on January 30th, a young man waving a gun and wearing a mask entered the office at about 3:30 a.m. He pointed the gun at Yun, the lone clerk on duty, and demanded money from the cash register. Yun complied, but when the thug realized that there was little cash in the drawer, he became agitated and aimed the gun at Yun’s head.

As Yun stated in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News for February 2nd, "he said he was going to kill me. And I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to have to do something.’" As summarized by Daily News reporter Elizabeth Manning, Yun "pulled a .38-caliber handgun from his vest pocket and shot the man at least twice. The robbery suspect fell to the ground, and Yun tried to call 911." Upon attempting to dial, Yun saw the man move, thought he was reaching for his gun, and heard him say he was going to kill him. And so, "Yun pointed his gun down toward the floor and fired more shots, this time not looking at the man as he pulled the trigger. Then he moved to another phone in the office away from the motel’s front desk and dialed 911 again. Police and an ambulance arrived a few minutes later."

The 19-year-old would-be robber survived. He was taken to a local medical facility for treatment of arm, leg, and face wounds. Police declined to identify him until charges are filed following his release from the hospital. Police said Yun would not be charged since he acted in self-defense and has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Johnny Tyson, 39, entered Lin’s Super Market in Savannah, Georgia, on January 27th. Carrying a brick, he hit store owner Xiao Ming Lin in the head, knocking him to the floor. Then Tyson reportedly jumped the counter and went to the cash drawer. Lin’s son, who also works at the store, pulled out a gun and opened fire. Tyson, struck by multiple shots, died at the scene. Lin was treated for a relatively minor brick-inflicted forehead injury prior to giving his statement to police. The market had been robbed on two previous occasions since the Lin family assumed ownership six years ago.

The next day’s Savannah Morning News quoted police Lieutenant Richard Zapal as saying, "you’re supposed to protect yourself. If he [Tyson] went in there to rob him, he deserved to be shot." Zapal told crime and public safety reporter Paula Reed Ward: "we’re looking at justifiable homicide. Right now, we’re not looking at any charges [against Lin]."

On January 24th, South Carolina Attorney General Charles M. Condon issued a memorandum to all solicitors, sheriffs, and police chiefs directing that Palmetto State citizens who act to defend their homes will not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted. Condon described homes as "the family’s fortress of protection" and "the line in the sand where criminals dare not cross."

Condon’s action was taken in response to a recent rash of home invasions in North Charleston and elsewhere. "As Chief Prosecutor of South Carolina, I am today declaring open season on home invaders," Condon wrote. "That season is year-round. Citizens protecting their homes who use force — even deadly force — will be fully safeguarded under the law of this State and subject to no arrest, charge or prosecution. In South Carolina, would-be intruders should now hear this: invade a home and invite a bullet."

Condon believes that the new policy will help local police protect private property and homes against break-ins because "law enforcement officers cannot be everywhere at once." He is convinced that home invaders "will think twice, and even a third time, knowing the risk of their own death is waiting on the other side of the innocent homeowner’s door."

On January 13th, 21-year-old Tariq Beaudouin attempted to break into a home in Omaha, Nebraska. However, 19-year-old resident Anthony Sims was home. Upon pulling his gun, Sims shot and killed Beaudouin. Incredibly, police arrested the teen and charged him with criminal homicide.

Two days later, however, the Douglas County Attorney’s office announced that Sims would not be prosecuted. Chief Deputy County Attorney Ron Kleine told reporters: "There’s no question of who was the shooter here. The question is was it justified or not and we don’t have any evidence to show that it wasn’t justified at this point." Nebraska law allows homeowners to use lethal force to protect their homes.

The Associated Press reported on February 2nd that a state wildlife agent was patrolling a remote area of Galliano, Louisiana, for deer and rabbit poachers when he stopped to check a vehicle parked in a sugar cane field. The driver, Shawn M. Esponge, 36, exited the car armed with a revolver and fired at the agent. The agent returned fire, mortally wounding Esponge.

When the confrontation was over, the agent discovered a body later identified as Thomas J. Gavin near the car. Apparently, Esponge had shot Gavin shortly before the wildlife agent arrived. Police found marijuana and crack cocaine inside the car, and believe that the two men knew each other. Authorities said Gavin’s death would be investigated as a homicide.

On January 13th, Danea Maurice Fogle, 21, tried to rob Hillcroft Car Stereo and Alarm in Houston, Texas. Wearing a ski mask and carrying a semi-automatic handgun, he entered the business shortly before 6 p.m., emptied the cash register, and demanded that the store owner hand over a miniature TV on display in a glass case. The store owner complied.

Meanwhile, the store owner’s two brothers were watching the robbery on a closed-circuit TV in the back room. As reported in the next day’s Houston Chronicle, "one of them grabbed a shotgun and shot the robber, who died at the scene." Houston police told reporters that the handgun wielded by the miscreant was stolen. The slain man was a suspect in a number of other robberies in the Richmond and Chimney Rock areas.

No charges to be filed against shooter in August robbery attempt

Sept. 11 - The Allen County Prosecutor's office says it will not press charges against a store clerk for shooting a would-be robber.

Back in August, 35-year old Matthew Novak was working at a Cap-n-Cork liquor store at the corner of Broadway and Jefferson in Fort Wayne, IN.
     That's when 25-year old Cecil Eugene Wilson and another suspect entered the store, in an attempt to rob it.
     Wilson was killed, while the other suspect fled the scene.
     Wilson's death was ruled a homicide.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/WKJG/M324584.asp

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Posted on Wed, Aug. 27, 2003

Robber was shot after firing first
Witness recounts liquor store holdup
By Carin Chappelow
The Journal Gazette

A liquor store employee who was not scheduled to work shot and killed a would-be robber late Monday after the robber first fired a rifle, a store employee who witnessed the shooting said.

Details of the holdup and shooting at Cap n' Cork remained sketchy Tuesday, but Fort Wayne police confirmed it was an employee who shot the robber, who died at a local hospital. Police recovered at least one weapon from the store at 1031 Broadway, but had not confirmed how many shots were fired or whether more than one weapon was discharged, said officer Robin Thompson, department spokeswoman.

A store employee who was working Monday night said the robber fired a rifle into the air and then the clerk fired back, using his own weapon.

The employee, who declined to be identified because of safety concerns, said the clerk who shot the robber wasn't even supposed to be working Monday. He came in to cover for someone else and the employee said he credits the man for saving the lives of everyone inside the store.

Authorities did not release the identity of the clerk and had not been been able to identify the robber as of Tuesday evening, Thompson said.

An autopsy was conducted on the man, but the Allen County Coroner's Office did not release details Tuesday on the manner or cause of death.

A weapon was found near the man who was shot, but police could not confirm whether he had been armed with it, Thompson said. The Fort Wayne detective bureau declined to release additional details, citing the ongoing investigation, but detectives were looking into whether the employee had a personal gun permit, Thompson said.

The Cap n' Cork employee who witnessed the shooting said the clerk carried a weapon for protection because he rode his bike to and from work. He said the clerk was emotionally shaken and did not work Tuesday.

A second would-be robber escaped from the business after the shooting. That man had not been found as of Tuesday evening, police said.

After detectives receive autopsy results and conclude their investigation, the case will be presented to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office, which will determine whether the shooting was justifiable or whether charges should be filed, Thompson said.

Earlier this year, the prosecutor's office declined to file charges in a robbery-shooting at a convenience store last November.

Patrick E. Byrd Jr., 26, was shot multiple times after he entered Sunoco, 5133 Coldwater Road, pointed a gun at an employee and demanded money, police said. Employee John W. Washington III, 27, pulled his own gun and fired several shots. He then followed Byrd out the door and fired more shots, police said. Byrd, who did not fire his weapon, died at a local hospital.

The prosecutor's office ruled the shooting was justifiable because it was in self-defense.

If the death of Monday's robber is declared a homicide, it will be Allen County's 16th in 2003. All have occurred within Fort Wayne city limits.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/6629317.htm

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Two women capture suspects
WBR police compare them to 'CSI' officers
By EMILY KERN ekern@theadvocate.com

Advocate staff photo by Mark Saltz

Port Allen homeowner Dwayne Coulon, center, talks Thursday afternoon with West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputies Glynn Scalise, left, and Sonny Massey, right, after the arrests of two men accused of burglarizing Coulon's residence. The fishing poles in the foreground are some of the items the suspects stuffed into their vehicle before the women intervened, deputies said.

PORT ALLEN, LA-- Two women with knees bent and feet planted wide apart to ensure a steady aim held a pair of would-be burglars at gunpoint Thursday afternoon until West Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies could arrest the suspects, the Sheriff's Office said.

At first, a neighbor calling 9-1-1 reported seeing a suspicious vehicle in the 4900 block of Rebelle Lane, said sheriff's Sgt. Glynn Scalise, one of the first law-enforcement officers on the scene shortly after 3 p.m.

A second call heightened the law- enforcement response when a caller reported that a woman was holding two men at gunpoint while arguing with them, Scalise said.

"She (one of the women) was yelling at them, and I couldn't tell what was going on," Scalise said, imitating the women's posture and comparing them to crime-fighting officers on the popular television series "CSI."

Scalise said deputies quickly gained control of the situation.

One of the men already had his hands up inside a brown Toyota hatchback, Scalise said.

The other was lying sprawled on the ground beside the car, Scalise said.

Laurence Berry, 40, 1408 Johnson St., Baker, and Anthony Mims, 48, 10658 Northdale Drive, Baton Rouge, were booked into the West Baton Rouge Parish Jail on counts of burglary, felony theft, possession of crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, Scalise said.

The homeowners, one of the women and the husband of the other woman stood outside Thursday afternoon for a while talking with sheriff's deputies about the afternoon's unusual events.

John Fairchild's wife, Dana, was on her way out of town when she noticed something going on at her neighbor's house, John Fairchild said.

On closer inspection, she saw another neighbor pointing a gun at the two men, John Fairchild said.

John Fairchild said his wife always carries a weapon when traveling.

After sizing up the situation, Dana Fairchild grabbed her gun and joined her neighbor, John Fairchild said.

"Several of us over the years have had stuff stolen," John Fairchild said. "It's good to see people looking after each other."

Dana Fairchild was unavailable for an interview because she had resumed her trip shortly after deputies arrived, her husband said.

The other woman involved declined to be identified or interviewed for this story.

The homeowner, Dwayne Coulon, said he was checking soybeans in back of the spillway near Maringouin when he received a cell phone call from a neighbor about the burglary at his home.

His first reaction was, "I don't need this," Coulon said.

But on second thought, he said, "It's good to have good neighbors."

Scalise said the two men admitted to stealing tools and several fishing rods and reels to buy crack cocaine. The items were recovered inside the Toyota, Scalise said.

One of the men said he was "glad" he got caught, so that he can finally receive help, Scalise said.

Deputies will try to match some of the recovered items not belonging to the Coulons to other nearby burglaries, Scalise said.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/090503/new_csi001.shtml

Laying down the law, FR post

Laying down the law

Fed up with crime, 67-year-old man fires on 3 engaged in shootout in his front yard

BY STEVE REEVES

The last time police came by his Tripe Street home to investigate complaints about drug dealing in the West Ashley neighborhood, William Gates made it clear to them that he had had enough.

"I told the police, 'Bring the coroner and body bags the next time you come out here,' " he said. "Nobody is going to run me out of my home."

YALONDA M. JAMES/STAFF

William Gates of West Ashley talks about how he fired a 12-gauge shotgun three times early Friday at three men who were having a shootout in his front yard. Gates apparently wounded two of the men, who he said were drug dealers.

The coroner and body bags weren't needed Friday morning because when Gates made good on his statement, he only wounded the men he shot. But it wasn't for lack of trying.

"I shot to kill," he said. "I'm not going to lie to you."

Roused from his sleep by the sound of gunfire about 4:30 a.m. Friday, the 67-year-old Gates took up his 12-gauge Browning automatic shotgun, stepped out onto his front porch and fired three blasts at men he said were drug dealers having a shootout in his front yard.

When the shooting stopped, three men lay wounded. Gates is said to have hit two of them, and the third is thought to have been hit during the initial shootout.

Gates, a semi-retired brick mason who drives a battered blue Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with an airbrushed tag on the front bumper that says "Godfather," said Friday afternoon that he was only protecting his wife and house from what he describes as out-of-control neighborhood thugs in their teens and 20s who drink beer and sell and take drugs in his yard. He said gunshots fired near his house during drug-related disputes are a common occurrence.

"I had had enough," he said. "If I have to go to jail, so be it."

While police did not publicly approve of what Gates did, they filed no charges against him Friday.

"We have no plans to arrest him," Charleston Police Chief Reuben Greenberg said. "We can't see from where we sit where a crime's been committed. People have the right to provide for their safety, and we believe that is what he was doing."

Greenberg said the decision on whether Gates will be charged will be made by the solicitor's office, a decision likely to come early next week. Meanwhile, Greenberg said police patrols in the neighborhood will be increased.

Gates was born in the house on Tripe Street. It was his parent's house, and they passed it on to him when they died.

Tripe Street was a good part of the neighborhood at one time, Gates said, but began going downhill fast about 10 years ago. The narrow, tree-lined street is home to many houses that have seen better times and, according to police, the area is a magnet for illegal activity, much of it drug related.

"Drugs, stealing, a little bit of everything," said Gates' wife, Yvonne.

She said that last year someone fired a shot through their living room. The bullet hole can be seen in the wall that faces the street.

"The good Lord was with me that day because I had just moved my grandbaby from that couch," Yvonne Gates said. "She would have been killed because the bullet hit the couch."

The Gateses' yard is littered with empty 32-ounce beer cans and other trash they say was put there by the young people who loiter in the area until the early hours of the morning.

William Gates' anger finally reached critical mass early Friday morning when he and his wife were awakened by the gunshots, which police say was likely the result of a dispute over drugs, outside their bedroom window.

Gates said he heard his wife yell and fall to the floor.

"I thought they shot my wife," he said. "I went and got my gun and fired three shots."

Investigators were trying to determine exactly who shot whom, but it is known that Kevin Hazel, 27, was found lying in the bushes in front of the Gateses' house. He had been shot in the back with a 9 mm pistol. Matez Hazel, 24, and Christopher Hampton, 22, both suffered shotgun wounds.

All three were in intensive care recovering from their wounds. Police said Friday they don't know yet whether the three men, all of whom previously have been in trouble with the law for drugs, will be charged with any crimes.

Police found a 9 mm handgun and three spent shell casings next to Matez Hazel, and said he had a small amount of marijuana wrapped in a $5 bill in his sock.

Gates, who is an avid hunter and proudly displays two large mounted deer heads among the photographs of children and grandchildren in his living room, had all seven of the guns he owns confiscated by the police until their investigation is complete. He vows that he will be ready if friends of the three men try to retaliate, and he smiled as he said he planned to acquire a gun to protect himself.

"They better make sure they get me if they come back, because if they don't get me, I'm going to kill all of them," Gates said. "I'm 67 and don't have that long to live anyway."

Gates said all he wants is peace and quiet and to be able to come home to his wife and not see drugs being sold in front of his house. He said he refuses to move.

"Why should I go?" he said. "I'd sooner be dead."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/080203/loc_02shootingx.shtml
http://charleston.net/stories/080603/loc_06defense.shtml
Self-defense at issue in frontyard shooting
http://layline.blogspot.com/2003_08_01_layline_archive.html

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Last suspect in fatal holdup is caught
BY KEVIN DEUTSCH
kdeutsch@herald.com

Deputies on Thursday arrested the third and final suspect wanted in connection with the deadly attempted robbery of a Pompano Beach jewelry store.

BSO detectives Thursday arrested Damian Jerome Wilkey, 19, at his home at 1317 NW Second Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Wilkey and three other men tried to hold up Jewelry Francy's at 231 SW 6 St. on July 30, according to BSO. One of the robbers died at the scene.

During an interview with detectives, Wilkey confessed, telling investigators how he and the others had plotted to rob the store, according to BSO.

Despite their plans, the robbery went bad for Wilkey and his armed accomplices when the store's owner, 40-year-old Meliton Aguirre, pulled a pistol and fired at them.

One suspect, Jamel Shelton, 20, of Pompano Beach, was found bleeding to death in the store parking lot.

Another suspect, Collin Cheatom, 21, of Pompano Beach, was arrested July 31 for his part in the crime. Cheatom had gunshot wounds to his elbow and wrist when deputies found him.

David Spencer Hollis, 22, of Pompano Beach, was arrested Sept. 8 in connection with the aborted robbery.

Wilkey, Cheatom, and Hollis are all being held without bond and are charged with killing Shelton.

The charge stems from Florida's law that a person involved in a crime can be held responsible for any death that occurs during the crime.

Four employees inside the store at the time of the robbery attempt were not hurt.

http://www.macon.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/6872749.htm
http://www.click10.com/news/2466269/detail.html
http://www.sheriff.org/about_bso/admin/media/newsdetails.cfm?pk=841&sType=M

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VIGILANTE AIRS REGRETS SHOPKEEPER SAYS... -

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VIGILANTE AIRS REGRETS SHOPKEEPER SAYS HE'LL NEVER GET OVER FATEFUL DAY
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The life-rendering thud of a heavily tattooed body on the streets of Marda Loop transformed a city shopkeeper into a reluctant folk hero.

It was 2 p.m., Nov. 8, 1986.

A crisp Saturday afternoon forever forged into Steven Kesler's memory. Kesler and his wife had bought the I.D.A. on 33 Ave. S.W. in early 1984 and were no strangers to drug-loving robbers.

This hold-up, however, would turn out to be dramatically different.

Two bandits entered Kesler's store demanding money and drugs. With his two daughters and his wife in the store, a shocked Kesler opened the till and pressed the alarm button.

Then came the moment Kesler has grown to regret. The then-40-year-old Yugoslavian immigrant grabbed his shotgun and chased one of the crooks out the door before pumping 120 pellets into 27-year-old Timothy Smith.

As Smith lay dying on the street, $115 still clutched in his fist, Kesler ran back into the store where he encountered the other robber holding a gun to his wife's head as she filled a bag with drugs.

His daughters, 11 and 13, were cowering under some shelves. A furious gunfight erupted.

Both men ran out of ammunition before Kesler began to beat the robber about the head with his shotgun.

The bandit suffered shoulder wounds and was charged with a number of offences.

Kesler was charged with second-degree murder.

The public was outraged.

Kesler had become the poster boy for every small businessman who ever stared a crook in the balaclava.

More than $40,000 was raised for his defence fund and Kesler became a national celebrity.

On June 25, 1987, after months of hype, 12 days of emotional evidence and 15 hours of deliberation, a jury acquitted Kesler.

His lawyer James Ogle stood outside the steps of Calgary's Court of Queen's Bench and told the country's media there was no message in the ruling.

"(There is) no signal except that this man, in these circumstances, was justified," Ogle said.

The message actually comes nearly two decades after the sensational shooting. It comes from Kesler himself.

"I wouldn't have done the same," said Kesler yesterday, from the same store in Marda Loop he still runs with his wife.

He said he would have suffered the robbery and let police deal with the bad guys.

"I have regrets. A man died," he said.

"We have to consider the mother of that man and her unconditional love for him."

Kesler says he will never get over the events of that fateful November afternoon.

"People say that time heals wounds," he says in a disbelieving tone.

"I am actually amazed at how many people carry the memory of my case.

"It's been more than 16 years and I've been reminded (by customers) at least once a week. It is, in a way, troubling."

Last Sunday in Edmonton, electronics store owner Shand King was charged after a pair of thieves who rammed a stolen truck into his store were fired upon.

They were prying a $20,000 Plasma TV from a wall before the store opened when the shots rang out.

One of the robbers was wounded but will live. The other is at large and, as of this writing, neither has been charged.

Shand's wife Betsy says the store has been robbed four or five times in four years.

Ogle says many of the public emotions that dominated Kesler's case will be revived for Shand's trial.

"If I was the prosecution, I wouldn't be anxious for a jury trial in Alberta," said Ogle yesterday.

So, does vigilante justice pay?

Kesler suffered five robberies in the first two-and-half years he owned his drug store.

Since the shooting, Kesler's been robbed only once.

And even though a jury of his peers acquitted him of any crime, his conscience is serving a life sentence.

Hardly worth it.

3rd Attacker In A Week Meets Match

TAMPA - For the third time this week a would-be victim in Tampa turned the tables on an attacker.

Late Thursday night, the 63-year-old victim of an attempted carjacking pulled a .357-caliber Magnum on his assailant and fired, critically wounding him, officials said.

The victim of the attempted carjacking, Benjamin Lee Tate, is no stranger to intruders at Engine Rebuild Specialists, 6214 E. Columbus Drive, his east Tampa business. Tate's forceful retaliation Thursday was his third in three years, Tampa police Capt. Bob Guidara said.

Tate shot two burglars - one in 2000 and another in February, Guidara said. Both suspects survived. No charges have been filed against Tate, whose business is in a high- crime area in east Tampa, Guidara said.

``He definitely hasn't had much luck, being targeted as many times as he has,'' Guidara said.

``I'm not looking for trouble,'' Tate said.

``I'm just here doing my job.''

Police said Tate was changing oil in a car at the shop about 11:30 p.m. Thursday when a man approached.

With his hand behind him as though he had a gun, the man said he would shoot Tate if he didn't hand over car keys and cash, police said. Tate shot him instead.

Michael E. Garner, a 31- year-old roofer who has a prison record for theft and drug convictions, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, police said.

He remained in critical condition Friday, Guidara said, but the wound did not appear to be life threatening.

Garner, of 6229 E. Eugene Ave., had a knife concealed under his belt, police said. He is expected to be charged with attempted carjacking, attempted armed robbery and carrying a concealed weapon, police said.

In February 2001, Garner was sentenced to more than a year in prison for grand theft, criminal mischief and drug possession.

He was released in December 2001, records show.

Tate's incident is the third this week in Tampa in which victims retaliated or outsmarted attackers.

On Wednesday night, outside his downtown Thai restaurant, Lawrence Storer, 33, was approached by a gunman who demanded money, police said. Storer led the robber into the Sumos Thai Cafe where he retrieved cash. While the gunman, identified as Shantavious Wilson, 24, was in the restaurant, Storer ran and called 911 from his cell phone, police said.

Wilson pointed the gun at Storer, who eventually got back in his Ford Explorer and ran Wilson over, killing him, police said. Prosecutors are reviewing the case.

Late Tuesday night, two Carrollwood women outwitted a man who broke into their house and threatened them with a sawed-off shotgun, officials said.

Cathy Ord, 60, and her roommate, Rose Bucher, 63, disarmed the man with kindness.

They fed him a ham sandwich, complete with pickles, and served up a bottle of spiced rum.

They even offered him their shower and a disposable razor to shave. After several hours, Alfred Joseph Sweet, 42, passed out and Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies were called to remove him from the home, officials said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 885-6973.
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGAZ7S86HMD.html

Another crime victim takes matters into his own hands

Tampa - Tampa police say a crime victim may have taken matters in his own hands.

Investigators say Michael Garner tried to rob the owner of Engine Rebuild Specialists on Columbus Drive in Tampa. The owner, Benjamin Lee Tate, fought back by shooting him in the chest. Garner is in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital. He has been charged with attempted car jacking and attempted armed robbery.

Michael Garner

Play Video

Tampa Police say they believe Tate was justified in shooting Garner, but they're still investigating. This is the third time he has shot at someone trying to rob him.
http://tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=5438

Woman shoots her alleged carjacker in New Orleans

October 25, 2003

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A homeless man remained in intensive care Friday after he allegedly tried to carjack a woman but was foiled when she pulled a gun and shot him twice in the chest.

Thorlief Thorbjornsen, 42, allegedly approached the woman in a parking lot at about 5 p.m. Thursday in the central business district, near federal and state courthouses.

The woman, 32, told police that Thorbjornsen indicated he had a handgun and demanded she get out of her Jeep Cherokee. She reached into the center console of her Jeep, pulled out a 9 mm pistol and shot Thorbjornsen twice in the torso, said Capt. Marlon Defillo, a police spokesman.

Thorbjornsen did not have a weapon.

Defillo said police will not book the woman but as a formality will turn the case over to the district attorney’s office for review.

When Thorbjornsen is released from the hospital, he will be arrested and booked with attempted carjacking, Defillo said.
http://www.acadiananow.com/news/html/8D1A11C6-BF48-4B0A-9479-0363C83984B5.shtml

MS: Break-ins prompt some in city to take up arms

Jeremy Hudson
10/24/2003
The Clarion-LedgerUse of deadly force hot topic after two homeowners kill intruders in two monthsGeorge McNeece didn't have time to grab his shotgun when three men rushed into his south Jackson home a week ago, stuck a gun in his face and demanded his car keys.

The 83-year-old Longwood Drive resident handed over the keys to his 1994 Mercury and didn't try to resist the gunmen. Even if he would have had time to grab a gun, though, he wouldn't have shot them.

"I would hate to know I killed a man for a car, I know that," McNeece said Thursday.

Cornell Hattix, however, said shooting a robber or burglar inside his home wouldn't bother the 58-year-old Woodward Avenue resident.

"Things aren't going to get any better until we drop some of them over here," Hattix said. "People are sleeping with loaded guns right beside them. And I'm one of them."

Residents' use of deadly force to defend their homes has been debated in the wake of two Jackson homeowners gunning down two burglars in less than two months.

The most recent episode occurred Tuesday when Christopher Stiff, 31, was shot twice by Tommy Christian, 53. Stiff had just pried open the back door to Christian's Floral Drive home, police said.

In September, Sinartha Bradfield, 31, of 1807 Linda Lane, fired a shotgun blast through his bedroom window when he heard glass in the window being broken out, police said. The blast killed Anthony Mayers, 31, of 304 Jennings St.

Both Mayers and Stiff had lengthy criminal histories, police said.

Both cases will be presented to a Hinds County grand jury to determine if the homeowners should be charged.

Hattix, who recently spearheaded the formation of a neighborhood watch group, cited the 2,154 house burglaries in Jackson this year as cause for him to bear arms. By forming the neighborhood group and staying in contact with officers, he said he's done all the Jackson Police Department has suggested to him.

"The only thing I can to do is try to protect myself and my family," Hattix said. "I used to put my shotgun up after hunting season, but I've started sleeping with it by my bed since my neighbor was almost broken into last week."

Jackson State University criminologist Jimmy Bell said he thinks people like Hattix are rare in that residents aren't propping a gun next to their nightstands in anticipation of pending danger. Bell also said he considers the two fatal shootings of burglars isolated incidents of people reacting out of fear.

"I don't think it is going to give burglars a reason to think twice, because burglars aren't organized enough to anticipate which house might have the potential to fight back with the use of firearms," Bell said. "Burglars are going to randomly pick homes they feel are the easiest target to them, which usually is an unoccupied house. Sometimes, they guess wrong."

Jackson police spokesman Robert Graham said it's best that residents call 911 when faced with a dangerous situation, but the law allows for people to protect themselves and their property.

"We can't give a blanket statement on what a person should do in the situation where someone has come into their home, because every situation is different," Graham said. "What may be a good option under one circumstance, may not be a good option under another set of circumstances."

Alan Lange, a Highland Circle resident in Jackson, said he'd rather have a gun, rather than not have one.

"Nobody relishes the thought of actually having to shoot someone, but the way I look at it, a gun is like a parachute," Lange said. "You better hope you have it when you need it."

The potential for mental distress can be a great burden on a homeowner who shoots and kills a burglar, said Ron Drabman, professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

"It really depends on the person, though," Drabman said. "Some will carry the good feeling that they protected themselves and their family. Others will second guess themselves because they think there could have been another way to handle it."

Those who second-guess themselves, Drabman said, have a greater propensity for developing post-traumatic-stress syndrome.

Hattix doesn't think he would be among the second-guessers, though.

"I've got my wife and my granddaughter here," Hattix said. "I'm going to protect them any way I can. I would never doubt myself for protecting my family. They are why I keep a shotgun, not a handgun. I don't want to miss."

Woman shoots Rottweilers after they attack llamas

EVANSVILLE, Minn. - When Kim Fedje went to check on her livestock she didn't fully load her rifle because she didn't think she'd need it. She was wrong.

Fedje was getting ready for work earlier this month when she heard dogs barking on her western Minnesota property. Her fiance told her to take the .22 when she checked on the farm animals.

"I only put in about 10 shells but am not sure because I wasn't counting and didn't expect anything to be wrong," Kim said.

Fedje first checked the animals in the barn, then headed to the pasture shared with her neighbors. There, she said, she saw her neighbor's herd of llamas clustered in a tight circle. Llamas only stand in such a circle to fight off predators, Fedje said.

"I yelled, 'Here, llamas!'," she said.

Instead of llamas, she got big dogs - a pair of charging Rottweilers.

"I thought 'Run!' and at the same time knew that if I ran I would be dead," Fedje said. "I aimed my .22 and started firing."

The first three rounds missed. The next killed one dog at about 20 feet. The next, her last round, wounded the other dog.

Her fiance reloaded the rifle, found the wounded dog and killed it.

With the dogs no longer a threat, they checked the llama herd. All 13 animals had been attacked; nine required stitches, and one had a hamstring ripped out, Fedje said.

"The whole herd is ruined," said Joni Neal, owner of the llamas.

Douglas County prosecutors referred the investigation to Alexandria city prosecutors because one of the owners of the dogs is a department head with the county. That owner, Paula Carpenter, director of the land and resource management office, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment from The Associated Press.

(TX) Woman blasts intruder 11-03-03
Intruder dies at hands of armed East Sider By Vincent T. Davis San
Antonio Express-News Web Posted : 11/03/2003 12:00 AM

A 21-year-old man was shot and killed late Saturday on the East Side when he broke through a woman's front window at the Morningview Oaks Apartments.

According to a police report, Ernest Flores III broke through Judy Abram's living room window as she played dominoes with her sisters.

Abram yelled at Flores to leave, but he kept advancing. She ran to her bedroom, grabbed a pistol, and told him she had a gun. When he continued to enter the room, Abram, 55, fired two times while screaming, "Can't you see I have a gun? Get out of here!"

The police report said Flores continued to break through the window as Abram fired the remaining four bullets at him. She dashed to her bedroom to reload, but when she returned, Flores was gone.

Staggering next door, Flores crashed through a neighbor's front window and fell face down on a table where police found him with one gunshot wound to the upper chest.

Police said Abram acted in self-defense and no charges are expected to be filed.

The police report said that prior to the break-in, Flores left a neighbor's house across the street rambling that someone was after him. The neighbor said the last time she saw Flores he was crawling across the street and breaking through Abram's window.

By Sunday afternoon, a maintenance man had replaced the bullet-riddled blinds and two broken windows, but talk of the break-in buzzed on the street. Several children poked their heads into a television news van parked at the location, while residents milled around and compared notes on the incident.

Neighbor John W. Prince didn't join those in the street.

The 79-year-old spent Sunday afternoon listening to 1960s soul music with wife
Gwenderlyn, 69, in their house on the corner of BookerTee and Morning View.

When asked about the shooting, Prince said when he heard the gunshots he did what he had learned during the Korean War — he automatically hit the floor.

"I can't stand it. It bothers me," Prince said of hearing gunfire.

The 13-year Army veteran and his wife have lived on the corner since the early 1990s, and both said their neighborhood is usually quiet.

"Somebody showed up at the wrong place," he said. "And that's going onaround the city."

vtdavis@express-news.net

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=310&xlc=1078777&xld=310
11/03/2003

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S. Caorlina, Masked home invader killed by resident 10-23-03
Authorities call deadly shooting self-defense
By BENNY LEE SMITH | Staff Writer
Posted on October 23, 2003

Authorities have ruled Monday afternoon's shooting death of a Woodruff man as an act of self-defense.

Woodruff Police and Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy's office agreed that 26-year-old Tyrone Davis Alexander fatally shot 22-year-old Chadwick Avandoor Shelton in self-defense.

An incident report listed the men as acquaintances.

The fatal shooting happened about 2:30 p.m. Monday. Woodruff police were called to a residence at 476 Sharpe St. in response to a shooting.

When an officer arrived, he saw Shelton lying on the ground in the front yard of the house with a gun lying under his right hand.

The officer checked Shelton for a pulse then checked to see whether EMS was on the way. The officer then began asking people standing around the yard what happened.

Alexander approached him and said, "I did it; I shot him," according to an incident report.

Another officer arrived and took the revolver from Alexander.

In the meantime, EMS workers arrived and transported Shelton's body to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

Officers then took Alexander into custody and transported him to the Woodruff Police Department for questioning.

Alexander, who lives in Woodruff, told officers that he was inside Natasha Dianna Pena's residence when the incident occurred.

Both Pena and Alexander said Shelton and another masked man came through the front door of the home and pulled out guns.

The men told Alexander to "Give it up."

Alexander told officers that the two men pushed him into Pena's bedroom and kept threatening to shoot him. Alexander said he then reached for a gun and shot Shelton, who immediately fell to the floor.

The other man, whom Alexander identified, ran out of the room and out of the house. Authorities had not issued a warrant for the man by Wednesday evening.

A wounded Shelton crawled out of the home into the front yard of the house.

Spartanburg County Coroner Investigator Alan Mason said an autopsy performed Tuesday revealed that Shelton, who lived on 236 Buncombe St., died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

http://goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031023/NEWS/310230356

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N. Carolina, No charges planned in fatal shooting

By Jonathan Weaver, Salisbury Post

Pending any developments in the case, District Attorney Bill Kenerly said no charges will be filed against a man who shot and killed an acquaintance on Aug. 18.

Kenerly said evidence in the case indicates that Gary Shrewsbury, 45, of 240 Lamb Drive, shot Ralph Avins in self defense.

Shrewsbury shot Avins with a .357 Magnum after he said Avins, 33, of 855 Tanner Road, Richfield, approached him about 4 a.m. outside Shrewsbury's home.Avins was brandishing an axe handle-type stick and wearing a mask, according to reports.

Shrewsbury said he did not know the prowler was Avins until after he fired a shot. The round hit Avins in the stomach.

Avins reportedly removed the mask and asked Shrewsbury why he fired the shot.

Shrewsberry then called 911.

"I just had to shoot somebody that tried to jump me when Iwalked out my door," a breathless Shrewsbury told a telecommunicator. "Please hurry."

Then, to Avins:"You should have never charged at me, Ralph ..."

When the telecommunicator asked who the victim was, Shrewsbury told him Ralph Avins.

"He's the one who tried to break into my brother's house the other day," Shrewsbury said.

Explaining what happened, Shrewsbury said: "Like I said, Iwas going out to my car. Then all of a sudden Iturned around, he was coming in behind me. Had his hands up. And ... Ijust shot.

"Ihad my porch light on and then when Icome out, Inoticed it was out. I thought it just blowed out. He must've knocked it out because as soon as Iwalked out he was back here behind this corner. Ijust seen a shadow, and he was coming at me.

"... All Iwas trying to do was protect myself."

Shrewsbury did not return a phone call from the Post Monday.

The law of self-defense excuses a killing altogether if, at the time of the killing, "it appeared to the defendant and the defendant believed it was necessary to kill to save himself from death or great bodily harm; this was a reasonable belief; the defendant was not the aggressor and the defendant did not use excessive force," according to "North Carolina Crimes, A Guidebook on the Elements of Crime."

It's not clear what Avins was doing outside Shrewsbury's home. "The only person who really knows is him. Based on the clothes he was wearing and the items he had with him, it appeared it was a possible robbery attempt," Sheriff's Lt. John Sifford said.

Avins died at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center two days after the shooting.

He was buried the day before his son, Tylor, turned 6, said ex-wife Valerie Avins. His daughter, Kaycee, is 14.

Avins worked construction, erecting cellular phone towers, Valerie Avins said. He had been a foreman with Mid-Atlantic Telecommunications.

"He was a hard worker,"she said. His family "didn't want for nothing."

"He had a big heart. He would have given you the shirt off his back," she said.

Ralph Avins loved his children, and "he always stressed that they should do well in school because he didn't want them doing hard labor,"Valerie Avins said.

Married March 8, 1996, the two stayed in touch even after they divorced, Valerie Avins said. Ralph Avins had brought his son home from a weekend visit the Sunday night before he was shot. "Everything seemed normal," she said.

Contact Jonathan Weaver at 704-797-4266 or jweaver@salisburypost.com

http://salisburypost.townnews.com/articles/2003/09/30/news/30-3_fatal_shoot_folo.prt

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(NC) Sex offender killed after forcing his way into house 11-01-03
http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/homicide_110103.htm

Knock on door leads to shooting death
11-1-03
By Amy Wolfford Staff Writer
News & Record

GREENSBORO -- Thomas Earl Alston told police he was watching television with his girlfriend Thursday night when there was a knock on the door.

The man at the door -- 28-year-old Chester Kendale Lane -- asked Alston, 32, for a ride, then pulled a handgun, Alston told Greensboro police. The pair, who apparently didn't know each other, wound up exchanging gunfire about 9:15 p.m. outside Alston's apartment at 1008-E Rucker St., Greensboro police Sgt. Jane Allen said.

Neighbors in Brevard Park heard eight to 10 gunshots. Lane dropped to the sidewalk, with two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another in the right thigh, said Dr. Thomas Owens of the state medical examiner's office. Lane, who has Randolph County ties but whose address is unknown, died minutes later at Moses Cone Hospital.

The investigation continues and no charges have been filed while police investigate Alston's claims of self-defense. Allen said once the investigation is completed -- she's not sure how long that will take -- the case will be presented to the district attorney, who will decide if charges should be filed.

Alston could not be located Friday for comment. Police are checking to see if Lane was involved in a breaking and entering of a nearby house minutes before the fatal shooting. Officers had been called to the Brevard Park neighborhood and heard gunfire when they were taking a report of a man who broke into a house at 3939-A McIntosh St. and shot at two female residents as they ran off to call police.

The women, whose names have not been released by police, were uninjured. A woman at the house Friday said the victims did not want to comment.

Lane is listed on the state's sex offender registry -- with his address listed as unknown -- for being convicted of taking indecent liberties with a 13-year-old girl in Randolph County in 1994. He served 2.5 years in prison for that charge.

N.C. Department of Correction records also show Lane was convicted of possession of cocaine in 1991 and 2001, larceny in 1998, disorderly conduct in 1999, driving while intoxicated in 1992 and 1998, and receiving stolen goods in 1993. He was listed as an absconder from justice because he had not been reporting to his parole officer, as ordered, on his latest drug charge.

Relatives could not be located Friday for comment.

The case is the city's 29th homicide of the year. Thirty-one were investigated last year.

GREENSBORO -- Thomas Earl Alston told police he was watching television with his girlfriend Thursday night when there was a knock on the door.

The man at the door -- 28-year-old Chester Kendale Lane -- asked Alston, 32, for a ride, then pulled a handgun, Alston told Greensboro police. The pair, who apparently didn't know each other, wound up exchanging gunfire about 9:15 p.m. outside Alston's apartment at 1008-E Rucker St., Greensboro police Sgt. Jane Allen said.

Neighbors in Brevard Park heard eight to 10 gunshots. Lane dropped to the sidewalk, with two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another in the right thigh, said Dr. Thomas Owens of the state medical examiner's office. Lane, who has Randolph County ties but whose address is unknown, died minutes later at Moses Cone Hospital.

The investigation continues and no charges have been filed while police investigate Alston's claims of self-defense. Allen said once the investigation is completed -- she's not sure how long that will take -- the case will be presented to the district attorney, who will decide if charges should be filed.

Police are checking to see if Lane was involved in a breaking and entering of a nearby house minutes before the fatal shooting. Officers had been called to the Brevard Park neighborhood and heard gunfire when they were taking a report of a man who broke into a house at 3939-A McIntosh St. and shot at two female residents as they ran off to call police.

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Ohio, Woman fends off burglars with shotgun

News Herald reports

WOODVILLE -- A Woodville Township woman fended off two burglars with a shotgun early Sunday morning after they entered her home by kicking in the door.

According to Sandusky County Sheriff's Office reports, Shirlene Houston of 6375 Sandusky County Road 107, grabbed a shotgun when she realized there were burglars in her home and yelled, "What do you want?"

Houston, 47, said she saw two males in light colored clothing and fired two rounds into the air, causing the men to run back out of the home. One of the men fired a few shots back at her with a handgun, but no one was hit or injured. The woman's son Jimmy, 27, wrestled with one of the burglars outside, but the man was able to get away.

Sheriff's deputies were unable to locate the men and Houston said she didn't notice anything missing from the home.

Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2003

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/news/stories/20030603/localnews/414778.html

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