Stones Crossing, Indiana

From Indianapolis’ WTHR.com of March 30, 2004:

Police investigate Johnson County shooting

The Johnson County sheriff’s department is calling Monday night’s fatal shooting an apparent case of self-defense.

The shooting happened in the 72-hundred block of Stones Crossing Road.

Investigators say Daniel Floyd confronted 44-year-old Bruce Mills, who Floyd said was breaking the windows out of a trailer.

When Mills approached him with an ax handle, Floyd shot him twice and killed him.

Police told Eyewitness News that Mills was upset because his mother died from cancer earlier in the day.

Toxicology reports on Mills are not back. His autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Prosecutors are considering charges against Floyd.

Gresham, Oregon

From Portland’s KGW.com of March 31, 2004:

Police investigate shooting in Gresham

Police are investigating a shooting that they said involved a custody dispute in Gresham.

Investigators said a babysitter shot Tommy Doyle Massagee at an apartment in the Gresham Heights apartment complex at 301 NW Eastman Parkway Monday afternoon.

Massagee was transported to Oregon Health and Science University with a single gunshot wound to his lower, left chest, according to Grant McCormick, a spokesperson for the Gresham Police Department. Updated information about Massagee’s condition has not been released.

Officers said Massagee was trying to pick up his 6-month-old child at the apartment but the baby’s mother had obtained a domestic violence restraining order against him.

The babysitter, James Alan Ooms, told police he got in a fight with Massagee and shot him. McCormick said officers questioned Ooms after the shooting and released him without any charges.

The Gresham-Multnomah County Major Crimes Team is handling the investigation and a grand jury will evaluate the case for possible criminal charges, McCormick said.

Tazewell, Tennessee

From the Knoxville News-Sentinel of March 31, 2004:

Tazewell man acquitted in road rage case

A Tazewell man who admitted shooting and killing an Alabama truck driver after a road rage incident in Hamblen County last year was acquitted Tuesday afternoon of four charges related to the shooting.

Patrick Marsh was found not guilty after a two-day trial in Hamblen County Criminal Court. Jurors spent nearly three hours deliberating before deciding the 47-year-old Marsh acted in self-defense when he pulled his pistol and shot Billy Ray Snipes near Exit 8 off Interstate 81.

Marsh’s attorney, Herbert S. Moncier, said that on Feb. 11, 2003, Snipes ran Marsh off the highway with his tractor-trailer while the two were driving. Snipes then motioned Marsh off the highway “like there was some type of collision,” Moncier said.

After the two exited their vehicles, an argument began. Marsh told authorities Snipes attacked him.

“He was cursing (Marsh), and then (Snipes) swung a punch,” Moncier said.

That’s when Marsh pulled his gun and shot Snipes, who died shortly afterward. Marsh was arrested, charged and released on $50,000 bond. He was acquitted Tuesday of voluntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, negligent homicide and second-degree murder.

“He was very pleased and appreciative,” Moncier said of Marsh. “He expressed remorse to the Snipes family and was very gracious.”

…

Bell said the issue of self-defense was the central focus of the trial.

“The jury obviously studied it very carefully, and I compliment them on their hard work,” Bell said.

…

Moncier said Marsh plans to put the incident behind him and return his attention to running his antiques business in Tazewell

Houston, Texas

From Houston’s Click2Houston.com of March 30, 2004:

Renter Fires Gun During Alleged Home Invasion

A woman and her husband were arrested and put behind bars early Tuesday morning after an alleged early morning home invasion failed in northwest Houston.

Investigators said the couple, along with four other men, forced their way into a northwest Houston apartment around 1 a.m. Tuesday and ransacked the apartment.

The renter told officials the intruders demanded money and drugs.

Officials told News2Houston the homeowner grabbed a gun and fired shots, causing the home invaders to run away.

Houston police said no one was hit by the gunfire and no injuries were reported.Officers caught up with the woman and her husband down the street. They were arrested and put in jail.

The four other men escaped.

Largo, Florida

From the St. Petersburg Times of March 27, 2004:

It sounds like the victim isn’t going to win any awards for good citizenship.

One suspect in home invasion arrested

Josie Golden has raised 23 children over the years, only eight of them her own. The rest have been nieces and nephews and grandkids.

Many have turned into good people. One is studying pharmacy at Florida A&M right now. Another works at a local nursing home.

But some haven’t turned out so well. And one of the worst, Golden said, is Antonio.

He began disobeying her in his early teens. He dropped out of school a year or two later. Then he moved out. Since then, Antonio Golden, now 22, has had 28 criminal charges lodged against him, many of them for drug possession.

On Thursday night, Golden found himself in deeper trouble than ever. Largo police booked him into the Pinellas County Jail on attempted murder and home-invasion robbery charges. And authorities are considering charging him with murder.

Police say Golden was an accomplice of Greg V. Hall, 26, who was shot to death during a robbery attempt early Thursday morning. Hall, Golden and a 17-year-old, Henry Echols, broke into an apartment at 330 Fourth St. SW in search of drugs or money, police said. One of them held a gun.

But whoever was inside heard them breaking in and armed himself. He fired several shots, striking Hall in the head, Golden in the arm and Echols in the lower back. Hall fell dead to the floor.

Golden and Echols ran away and later went to a local hospital, where they were treated and released.

Police say the trio, possibly with a fourth person in tow, also tried to commit a home invasion robbery earlier Thursday morning at the Chaparral Apartments at 601 Rosery Road.

…

The charges filed against Golden on Thursday night were in connection with the Chaparral hold-up. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Friday in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Police did not arrest Echols, but continue to investigate him, said police Chief Lester Aradi.

Authorities are considering whether to charge Golden and Echols with murder in connection with Hall’s death. Under Florida law, people involved in robberies in which someone dies, even if it’s an accomplice, can be charged with murder.

…

Aradi said detectives are trying to determine whether the shooter should face charges or if he acted in self-defense. He did not identify the shooter.

Memphis, Tennessee

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal of March 29, 2004:

Fatal heist was ‘like a bad dream’

Ahmed Ismail said Sunday he was still trying to shake off a bad dream that began when a man walked into his tobacco store and put a gun in his face.

Within seconds of being confronted about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Ismail fired his own pistol from behind the counter of Cigarettes for Cheap at 1260 Getwell, killing the would-be robber.

Police identified the man as Alpochino Antonio Jackson, 20, who was rushed to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. He was pronounced dead just before 10 p.m. Saturday.

The gunman, a bandanna across his face, flung open the door, gun in hand, and started screaming at Ismail for the store receipts.

“It was all like a bad dream. I can’t believe it,” Ismail said. “I knew he was coming to kill me . . . I had to do something,” Ismail said.

After Ismail shot him, the man left his pistol and shoes behind, and collapsed in the parking lot, Ahmed said.

“I’m not proud of what happened,” Ahmed said. “But I had no other choice. . . I knew he was going to shoot me.”

…

Police said Sunday they were looking for a second man to question, but did not know yet if Jackson had an accomplice.

Jackson’s gun and Ismail’s gun were recovered by police, homicide Lt. Joe Scott said Sunday.

The investigation into what happened continues, Scott said, but nothing has emerged to cast doubt on Ismail’s account.

Police reports list at least one other witness in the store.

The results of the investigation will be turned over to the District Attorney General’s Office, which will decide whether criminal charges are filed against Ismail.

Springfield, Missouri

From Springfield’s KY3.com of March 28, 2004:

Shoot out sends two to hospital

Police say situation could have been much worse

Police continue ot investigate a shoot out that put two men in a local hospital–one in critical condition. Police say a fight over a woman Saturday morning in another part of springfield led two men to this home in the 700 block of West Edgewood where they burst inside and started shooting at three other men. Police say several neighbors saw it happen–two men with guns drawn went into this house and started shooting. One of the three men inside the house was also armed.

Sgt. Dave Zuhlke of the Springfield Police Department said, “A third male already in the residence stepped out of the bedroom with a pistol and fired back at the gunmen.” That man hit one of the suspects four times in the chest–the other suspect was hit just once. Police say they’re considering the man who returned fire a victim.

“Citizens have the right to use whatever force necessary to protect themselves whenever someone is coming at them with a deadly weapon and that was the situation here,” said Sgt. Zuhlke. Police say the incident could have been much worse. “We’re really lucky we don’t have a couple of bodies laying out here maybe as many as four or five bodies,” said Zuhlke.

Mobile, Alabama

From Mobile’s WPMI.com of March 28, 2004:

Mobile Police say teenager kills mom’s abusive boyfriend

Authorities say that 12 years after his mother stabbed her abusive husband to death, her 18-year-old son shot her abusive boyfriend to death as he tried to break into their Crichton area apartment.

Mobile police say 38-year-old Samuel Parker was killed late Friday night after trying to break into the residence of Terry Giles and her son, Joseph.

Terry Giles says Parker was intent on killing her son because Parker believed that the teenage boy had set Parker’s house on fire several weeks ago.

Police say Parker was armed with a knife when he tried to force his way in the front door of the apartment on Palm Street.

Authorities say Joseph Giles was NOT arrested in the shooting, though the case will be presented to a grand jury.

La Jolla, California

From the San Diego Union-Tribune of March 27, 2004:

Workers beat, try to rob homeowner

Two construction workers beat and tried to rob their client in his home yesterday, but he chased them off by grabbing a gun and shooting at them, police said.

The workers pistol-whipped the victim and at one point handcuffed him and covered his mouth with duct tape, police said.

“They figured he was rich, and they would rip him off,” said San Diego police Sgt. Rich Nemetz. “They all know each other.”

The victim, in his 50s, had hired a contracting firm to work on his house. Two workers came to the home on Avenida Chamnez about 5 p.m. and first talked about the job, Nemetz said. Then, when the man left the room and returned, one worker pistol-whipped him.

At some point, the victim’s wife drove up with their two children. Her husband got outside, but the robbers caught him again and threatened the wife with a gun, Nemetz said. The woman and children drove away and called police.

Meanwhile, Nemetz said, the robbers ordered the homeowner to open his safe and give them money. He opened the safe, but pulled out a handgun.

The robbers ran outside, toward Via Espana, with the victim behind firing his gun, police said. Neighbors called police after hearing two shots and seeing him return home with his head bleeding.

Robbery detectives were investigating last night. No arrests had been made by press time.

UPDATE: See this discussion here from a supposed witness.

Roseville, California

From the Roseville Press-Tribune of March 24, 2004:

A would-be burglar was detained at gunpoint Thursday morning by an alert homeowner in the Woodcreek Oaks area, police say.

The homeowner was awakened after midnight, and heard the sound of a vehicle door slamming. Having forgotten to close his garage door, the resident looked out an upstairs window and spotted a man walking into his garage, and a white sport utility vehicle cruising in the cul-de-sac.

The resident then got his handgun and confronted the man, police say, inside his truck, noting that three garage door openers in his vehicle had been moved from the driver’s side visor to a seat in the truck. The resident ordered the suspect to lie down while dialing police on his cell phone.

Roseville Police took David Owen Cerniglia, 21, into custody without incident on suspicion of burglary. He is currently being held in the Placer County Jail on $25,000 bail. His listed address is Sacramento.

“I strongly encourage residents to keep their vehicles inside their locked garages at night if at all possible,” said Joel Neves, Roseville Police Chief. “If you must leave a vehicle parked outside at night, do not leave any valuable items or garage door openers inside the vehicle.”

The arrest comes after a series of burglaries in the west Roseville area, where police believe thieves break into vehicles parked outside of residences and use garage door openers to gain access to items.

Queens, New York

From the New York Post of March 25, 2004:

CLERK SHOOTS HOLD-UP MAN

An attempted robbery at a Queens bodega led to gunplay last night when an armed clerk shot the bandit in the head, police said.

Devin Keitt, 26, allegedly tried to rob at gunpoint the Ramon Food Market on 107th Avenue in Ozone Park at 8 p.m., cops said.

But he was foiled by Edwin Marte, 35, who shot Keitt once in the head with an unlicensed gun, police sources said.

Keitt managed to run almost a block and a half from the bodega before collapsing, according to a police source.

He was rushed to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition.

Police sources said Marte is facing a weapons charge and Keitt is facing attempted robbery and weapons charges.

In most of America, of course, having a gun in one’s store would not be a criminal act.

Ft. Gratiot Township, Michigan

From the Detroit Free Press of March 23, 2004:

Gun toters halt robbery attempts

1 is shot, 5 arrested in two separate incidents

Applying the school-yard axiom that turnabout is fair play, would-be robbery victims thwarted their attackers in two recent separate incidents — one by facing down the alleged bandit in a standoff, the other by shooting a man in the butt.

The self-defense actions drew praise but also caution about returning to Dodge City-style six-gun justice.

Farmington Hills police said a 32-year-old Novi woman, who had a permit to carry a small-caliber pistol in her purse, stopped a man armed with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun from taking her $40,000 diamond ring and Rolex watch.

[This incident is covered below on March 20]
…

Dwyer said the incident is making him rethink his opposition to the state law that eased concealed weapons permit regulations.

Two other men — a father-son team accused of trying to rob a 65-year-old retiree — are expected to be arraigned this morning in St. Clair County.

The men already had robbed one woman before being stopped by the home owner’s bullet on Friday, police said.

The Ft. Gratiot Township home owner answered his door on Keewahdin Road about 8 p.m. and was accosted by a 20-year-old Worth Township man armed with a handgun. When the young man’s attention was diverted, police said the home owner grabbed his own .38-caliber handgun and fired.

“The round ended up coming out of his buttocks, so I’m sure he’ll be thinking about that old man every time he sits down for a while,” said Detective Lt. Mike Bloomfield of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department.

The man fled with his 45-year-old father and with $100 from the home owner’s wallet, police said.

The two were arrested after seeking treatment late Friday at a Huron County hospital, claiming to be victims of a road-rage incident, police said.

Bloomfield said he didn’t know whether the home owner had a permit for his weapon.

“This is one of those ones that you hear as a policeman and you go, ‘All right!’ ” Bloomfield said. “I mean, a guy breaks into a man’s house armed, prepared to do harm, and the man defends himself. That’s great.”

The pair also are suspected in a Sanilac County armed robbery in which an elderly woman was tied up in her home and robbed.

State Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods, reacted guardedly to the two self-defense cases.

“We have to be careful we don’t end up having the wild, wild west,” she said.

“People should feel able to protect themselves in their own homes, there’s some argument there,” said Jacobs, who as a state representative voted against the concealed weapons law in 2002. “But do we want a bunch of vigilantes running around with guns to do the police’s work?”

The Senator Gilda’s of the world just don’t get it, and some never will.

Salinas, California

From Salinas’ KSBWChannel.com of March 22, 2004:

1 Dead In Salinas Home Invasion

Victim Shoots, Kills Alleged Robber

An early-morning home-invasion robbery turned deadly for one of the alleged robbers Monday.

…

Police said three people were involved in the invasion — two men and a woman.

Investigators said the woman was the one to get the victim to open his door, and once he did, the two men forced their way inside — at least one of them armed with a gun.

The 23-year-old resident was then tied up.”He was tied up and left in a room. He able to get out … there was a gun in the room that belonged to him. From what it looks like … he came out into the room where the others were kind of ransacking … and when he came back out he shot one of the people that had a gun,” Salinas Police Department Sgt. Mike Groves said.

The woman and the other man fled the apartment and remain at large.

…

Authorities said the shooting appears to be justified and that they don’t plan to charge the victim with murder.

Springfield, Ohio

From the Springfield News Sun of March 22, 2004:

Woman kills intruder

A Springfield woman shot and killed a 21-year-old man early Sunday, reportedly after the victim and a companion broke into her Chestnut Avenue home, police said.

Matthew J. Marino, 21, whose address was not immediately available, was pronounced dead at Mercy Medical Center at 3:45 a.m., Springfield police Lt. Michael Hill said. Officers found Marino lying on the driveway at 346 Chestnut Ave. with a gunshot wound in his abdomen.
…

Springfield police received a call at 2:50 a.m. from Melany Yancey, 49, of the Chestnut Avenue address, Hill said. She told them that while she was home alone, two men wearing bandannas kicked in her front door and came upstairs.

Yancey told police she sealed herself in her bedroom, but the two men tried to break in. She took her .40-caliber handgun and fired a shot in the direction of the door, she said, and someone fired back.

Yancey reportedly said she heard the intruders move into the bedroom of one of her two adult sons, neither of whom were at home. She ran out of the room, attempting to escape, and fired two rounds at the intruders, she said. One of bullets hit Marino.

Yancey told police she ran to a neighbor’s house where she dialed 911.

Hill said police had not found the gun reportedly carried by the intruders, but officers did find a shell casing from a weapon other than Yancey’s handgun.

Police did not expect to charge Yancey with any crime, Hill said.

Moncks Corner, South Carolina

From the Charleston Post and Courier of March 20, 2004:

(Requires Registration)

Berkeley jury acquits man in fatal shooting

Eagerton claimed self-defense in confrontation with victim



A Berkeley County jury acquitted an Alvin man Friday, saying he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot an unarmed man in the back two years ago.

The jury deliberated about two hours before clearing Archie Clifford Eagerton III, 26, of voluntary manslaughter in the April 1, 2002, death of Justin Maurice, 20, of Carnes Crossroads.

Eagerton claimed self-defense, while prosecutors said Maurice was trying to remove himself from a hostile situation and was shot as he turned away.

The two men did not know each other.

…

Eagerton said he had stopped by the Santee River the day of the shooting and gave some people he barely knew a ride.

One of them, Perry Howard, had a previous dispute with some people the victim was with at the Laurel Hill Boat Landing, Eagerton said. They wanted to attack Howard, and by association, Eagerton.

Eagerton drove off in his truck and was pursued by Maurice and four of his friends in a Chevrolet Beretta. Eagerton was chased nearly 12 miles to his rural Berkeley County home.

…

Eagerton said Maurice picked up his pregnant wife in the back yard of their Recluse Lane home and threw her to the ground.

“We were telling them to leave and that we didn’t want any trouble,” Eagerton said. “It was five against one. I had to do what I had to do.”

Sheriff’s investigators originally charged Eagerton with murder. That charge was dismissed during a preliminary hearing by a magistrate who didn’t think the crime fit the statutory requirements of the charge.

Eagerton’s attorney, Beau Seaton, said the case should never have gone to trial.

…

“Based on all the evidence, the jury felt Mr. Eagerton was in fear for his life and so he acted in self-defense,” Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings said. “I respect the jury’s decision.”