7/24/2005

Defensive Gun Use Stories from the last week

1) Saginaw Township, Michigan: "Homeowner: Illegal entry was more than that"

A Saginaw Township man says police let him down when they refused to arrest an 18-year-old man who broke into his house by smashing a sun room window after midnight Thursday.

Jerry Persons, 65, who had open heart surgery in May, said a state police detective told him the intruder wasn't arrested because he needed 60 stitches and officers couldn't wait at the hospital.

"I indicated I didn't think that was fair," said Persons, 4785 Clunie. "(The detective) called it an illegal entry --that's what he'll be charged with -- not a breaking and entering. I said, 'Well, he broke and he entered.' " . . .


2) GRETNA, La.: "Jewler gets best of robbers in gun fight"

. . . The shootout occurred at Breaux's Jewelers in Jefferson Parish Tuesday after one of the suspects, dressed as an old woman with a walker and straw purse, was buzzed into the store.

Store owner Mike Breaux quickly saw through the disguise and had pulled his own handgun by the time the suspect — identified as Kevin Knight — had pulled a .40 caliber handgun from the purse and started to leap over the counter.


3) White River Township, Indiana: "Prowler prompts man to fire gun"

A White River Township man shot at a prowler who attacked him at his home early Wednesday, according to police reports.


4) JACKSONVILLE, Fla.: "Fatal double shooting in Jacksonville ruled justifiable homicide"

The fatal shooting of two Jacksonville cousins by a tenant they were trying to evict was ruled self-defense because one of them was brandishing a gun and a chain, State Attorney Harry Shorstein said Wednesday. . . .


5) Wacco, Texas: "Gun shop owner apprehends suspect during armed robbery"

A juvenile is in jail charged with holding up a local gun store. Three other suspects remain on the run.


6) Anchorage, Alaska: "SHOT TWICE: Neighbor saw burglar break, enter window"

An intruder was shot twice after he climbed through a window in a mobile home and was met by an angry resident early Wednesday morning, Anchorage police said.

Shane Crousser, 20, whom police have charged with first-degree burglary and third-degree assault, was recovering from his bullet wounds at the Anchorage jail on Wednesday evening.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, police said, an intruder entered a window of a trailer home at the Manoog's Isle Mobile Home Park on Lake Otis Parkway north of East Dowling Road. A neighbor heard glass shattering and saw the break-in occurring, police spokesman Ron McGee said. The neighbor called 911.

While on the phone with the police, the neighbor saw the resident get into a fight with the burglar. Then he heard shots, McGee said.

The burglar got into a dark-colored Ford Explorer and drove away.

A short time later, police say, Crousser showed up at an emergency room with gunshot wounds to his upper left thigh and lower right calf. They said they don't know what was behind the break-in and fight. . . .


7) Santa Monica, Ca.: "Drive-Through Shooting Leaves Suspect Dead"

A gunman who allegedly tried to rob two men in the drive-thru area of a fast-food restaurant in Santa Monica Thursday was shot and killed during a confrontation with his intended victims, police said.

The violence occurred about 4:45 a.m. outside a 24-hour Jack in the Box at Lincoln Boulevard and Grant Street, said Santa Monica police Lt. Frank Fabrega.

The man, who was about 25, died at the scene. Authorities withheld his name pending notification of relatives.

"The victims ... said they were in the drive-thru area when a masked suspect approached their vehicle and displayed a knife and a handgun," Fabrega said.
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These are just some of the stories that Nicki was nice enough to send me.