Category: Feel Good Stories

From St James, JM

An alleged hoodlum who reportedly attempted to rob a delivery truck driver with a knife in Montego Bay, St James on Friday afternoon, had the tables turned on him after he was shot and wounded by his intended victim.

The wounded man is now at the Cornwall Regional Hospital under police guard.

The St James police report that about 1:00 p.m., the truck driver was delivering baked products at the intersection of St James and Creek streets when he was held at knifepoint by a man.

The assailant demanded money, and the truck driver complied.

But while the alleged robber was in the process of making his retreat with the loot, the driver pulled his licensed firearm and opened fire, hitting the target.

The Barnett Street police were summoned and upon arrival, the wounded robber was taken into custody and transported to the hospital.

The stolen cash was returned to the truck driver.

Delaware

Round Two: Gun Rights Groups Prevail (Again) in Second Challenge to Firearm Restrictions in Delaware’s State Parks, Forests

Gun rights groups, including the NRA’s Delaware affiliate, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, scored an encore legal victory this week when the Superior Court of the State of Delaware invalidated parts of newly promulgated regulations imposed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) on firearms in state parks and forests.

The October 11, 2018 decision by the court follows an earlier decision in late 2017, Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club, Ltd. v. Small, deciding a legal challenge brought by the Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club, Ltd., the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, and others. There, the Supreme Court of Delaware invalidated the two agencies’ firearm rules, finding these effectively banned the carrying of firearms for self-defense in state parks and forests. The regulations were an “evisceration of the right to self-defense and defense of family in the entirety of Delaware State Parks and Forests [that was] inconsistent with” Delaware’s constitutional right to bear arms. Compared with existing legislative restrictions, the court determined the regulations were “grossly out of step” with the kinds of place-based restrictions adopted by the General Assembly. Further, while the agencies had asserted general public safety concerns as the reason for the bans, they provided no evidence in the record in support, and failed to specify which areas were truly “sensitive places” for the purposes of a firearm ban.

As a result, the two agencies went back to the drawing board and prepared new regulations “to comply with the decision of the Delaware Supreme Court in Bridgeville R&P Club v. DNREC (Dec. 7, 2017) that invalidated portions of the existing regulations governing firearms.”  In the meantime, emergency regulations took effect in late 2017 to fill the regulatory void caused by the court’s ruling. Final regulations were adopted and enforceable as of May 2018.

LINK HERE

 

 

From Aurora, CO

Police are commending a young girl after she fought off a man who attempted to kidnap her Thursday evening in southwest Aurora.

The 11-year-old girl was walking from her school bus stop in the area of eastbound Exposition Ave. and S. Nome Street at around 5:15 p.m., when a white man walking toward her grabbed her and put his hands over her mouth, according to Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz, who said in a late Friday morning press conference the girl then fought back by screaming and biting the suspect’s right ring finger, causing the suspect to let go. The suspect in the attempted child abduction ran westbound on Exposition and remains on the run.

“This extraordinary young lady did what she needed to do to get away,” said Metz, adding her actions are exactly what should be done when confronted with these types of situations.

“That’s the tip I would give to anybody,” Metz said. “If you face a situation like this, adult or a child, the best thing you can do is fight and fight hard. Scream and scream loud.”

Metz said that they believe a black, older model 4-door sedan driven by a white or Hispanic man was possibly in the area during the attempted kidnapping. He said the person is a possible witness and they ask that he come forward and contact police immediately.

A person of interest in the case was being interviewed but has not been arrested or charged, Metz also said.

During the press conference, Metz pleaded for anyone with information — no matter how insignificant it may be — to contact police, as it could help get someone dangerous off the streets. Additionally, he asked that Aurora residents report any unusual encounter they may have had in the past several weeks.

“Again, this is a very dangerous person that we’re dealing with here… we want to get as much information possible to help build this investigation and this case,” Metz said.

The suspect is described as a 39-year-old skinny white male, measuring approximately 6-feet-4-inches tall with facial hair on his chin. Police said he was last seen wearing sunglasses, a large black coat with a hood, blue jeans and black shoes.

 

From Owensboro, KY 

Time and again, as the Free Thought Project has consistently reported, police officers will enter the home of an innocent person and kill them. As is the case most of the time, the officers aren’t charged despite gross negligence leading up to the innocent homeowner’s death. Or, if the homeowner does successfully defend themselves, they are often charged. In rare instances, however, homeowners defend themselves against the officers who come onto their property with no warrant or mistakenly and they are deemed justified in doing so.

David Turley, 63, was one of these homeowners who defended his home against who he thought was an intruder—but was actually a cop—and he has not been charged. What’s more, according to Turley, the cop opened fire on him and all Turley did was return fire. Luckily for Turley, officer Zachary Morris was a bad shot.

According to police, the incident happened Wednesday morning just before 6 a.m. in Turley’s neighborhood. Police say Morris was responding to a call about a “suspicious person” and when he arrived in the neighborhood, someone matching the description

Police say Morris pursued the person until he lost sight of him behind some houses. That’s when Turley heard someone trying to come into his yard.

“I heard some commotion over there by the fence,” said Turley. “I saw someone standing there with a flashlight on the ground, so I walked over to see what was going on. As I got closer, POW POW! And when he did, I had my weapon by my side and I just pulled up and fired and I started toward the ground to take cover.”

Turley told WFIE News that after he heard two bullets wiz past his head, he had no other option but to return fire.

“Once they shot two times at my face, I had no choice. I was in fear of my life, and I returned fire.”

Unlike Morris, Turley did not miss and the bullet struck the officer in the lower section of his bulletproof vest and fragmenting off into his abdomen. Luckily, the officer was rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and is in good condition.

Turley said that he had no idea his bullet hit the officer until other police arrived.

After the incident, Turley was brought to the station for questioning. Instead of arresting him for shooting a police officer, however, Turley was let go without charges.

Police did confirm that Morris indeed fired his weapon. However, they have not confirmed whether or not he shot first. Indicating that he may have shot first though, is the fact that Turley was not immediately charged.

Turley explained to WFIE that he did what he did because he had no other choice but to protect his family.

“I got five grandkids in this house,” he said. “I’d lay my life down for every one of them.”  Police told WFIE that they have not determined whether or not they will charge anyone. However, since Turley is currently a free man after shooting at an officer, his chances look pretty good.

From Knoxville, TN

The man shot and killed allegedly trying to break into a home in northwest Knoxville doesn’t have a criminal record in Tennessee.

24-year-old Christopher Austin Desmarais was killed yesterday when police say he tried to force his way into a house on Lamp Drive.

Police say Desmarais beat on the door and tried to get into the home around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. When that didn’t work police say he tried to get into a window while armed with a handgun.

Records show a resident shot Desmarais with a shotgun.

“If the person who fires the weapon is in their residence, there is a statutory presumption that they acted reasonably, and so they don’t have to prove that they reasonably believed they were in danger,” said LMU law professor Brennan Wingerter.

Wingerter says a prosecutor would look carefully at Tennessee self-defense laws to consider the next steps.

“How likely it is that the person charged with the crime would be successful in showing that this was justifiable,” Wingerter said.

She says the timing of the killing could matter. The statute says the suspect has to have entered the home–in the past tense– for self-defense to be justifiable.

“A jury may look at that and say, ‘Well, the act of entering is enough,’” Wingerter said.

Wingerter says a lawyer would also want to know if the residents knew the alleged intruder and knew if they had a weapon.

From Clallam County, WA

Sgt. John Hollis said a road rage incident led to Steve Thompson of Joyce, 62, telling deputies he shot Garry Edwards of Joyce, 46, in self-defense with a 9mm Springfield XD handgun.

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office likely will recommend assault charges against Edwards.

“The facts and circumstances available to us at this time suggest [Thompson] acted in self-defense,” said Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King.

King said Tuesday that investigators have more questions and that the incident remains under investigation.

Edwards suffered a single gunshot to his upper left arm and chest, Hollis said. King said Edwards, who was initially transported to Olympic Medical Center, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Edwards was listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday morning, according to hospital personnel. King said deputies attempted to interview him and his wife Monday.

The shooting was reported at about 4:50 p.m. Monday on the 100 block of Whiskey Creek Beach Road, about 18 miles west of Port Angeles off state Highway 112. Four deputies and one Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal police officer arrived at the scene at about 5:10 p.m.

When they arrived they were met with a chaotic scene that involved a vehicle that had been run off the roadway, a man who had been shot in his left bicep and several people and vehicles in the road.

King said Thompson was released because it appears he acted in self-defense, though the investigation will be forwarded to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for a charging decision.

King said the incident appears to have started with Edwards’ belief that Thompson had been trespassing on his family’s property while hunting.

“Somehow Edwards received word Thompson was trespassing,” King said. “That’s something we’re still going to be working on.”

King said that investigators are checking GPS data for Thompson’s vehicle to determine where he has been in the past few days.

He said that Thompson said he was hunting on Merrill & Ring land in the area. It is currently muzzleloader elk season and a black powder rifle and hunting equipment were found in Thompson’s vehicle, according to King.

King said there’s no evidence that shows Thompson was trespassing Monday, but said he is suspected to have trespassed in the days prior.

Edwards’ adult son told investigators that Thompson had trespassed in the past and that Edwards went to confront him.

“It’s still our position that even if an individual is trespassing, it does not justify the events that transpired, regardless of if they were trespassing or not,” King said.

Thompson told investigators he was driving back to state Highway 112 when Edwards’ vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, blocking him.

Thompson said he drove around the vehicle and that Edwards followed him, eventually passing him in a no passing zone and sideswiping him, causing Thompson to lose control of his vehicle.

King said damage to Thompson’s and Edwards’ vehicles was consistent with Thompson’s claim that Edwards forced Thompson off of the road.

“According to Steve’s son … by the time Steve opened the door … Garry was at the door and started punching him and assaulting him,” Hollis said.

“After being rammed off the road and this guy attacking him, he was in fear of his life,” King said.

Thompson suffered bruises and cuts to his face, officials said.

From COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

Police in Colorado Springs say a homeowner shot and killed an apparent burglar over the weekend.

Investigators determine 30-year-old Houston Malachai Cookson was trying to break into a home Saturday night. A woman called 911 while her husband confronted Cookson with a gun.

Responding officers found Cookson on a rear patio suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso. Cookson later died of his injuries.

Officers determined Cookson had items that had been stolen in an unrelated incident.

Police Lt. Howard Black tells KKTV it appeared the homeowner was protecting his residence and family. Colorado law allows a person to kill an intruder in self-defense.

From OCEANSIDE, CA

An Oceanside homeowner got a shock at work when his phone alerted him to intruders inside his tented condo.

James says around 5 in the morning in late September, his heart dropped when the security alert showed him a real-time image: an intruder, wearing a headlamp in his 11-year-old daughter’s bedroom.

“Seeing a stranger in my house, especially my daughter’s room, is very nerve wracking,” said James.

His daughter wasn’t home. No one was. His condo, along with the entire Pamilla Del Oro community was wrapped in a fumigation tent. That day was the last of a three-day fumigation.

As it turns out, the burglars had sliced the tent and removed a screen before making an appearance on James’ phone. He called 9-1-1. Police showed up soon after.

“They set up a perimeter and called the guys out. One came crawling out,” said James.

James showed 10News a photo of that man handcuffed. Two other intruders captured on by the cameras got away. None of them wore masks. They didn’t take much from the home, only a few fishing knives.

“We took our valuables out before the fumigation,” said James. Police arrested James Brown, 47, on residential burglary charges.

From PINEVILLE, NC

Authorities believe a deadly shooting Tuesday in Pineville was in self-defense.

A fight led to the shooting near Willow Run Road at the Willow Ridge Apartments off Park Road.

“I heard shot and I was nervous too because we can’t believe that happened,” resident Samantha Ciebadrel said.

Donald Lee Blakney, 29, was shot and killed during a break-in at an apartment, officers said.

The occupant woke up went outside and confronted the suspect when they got into a scuffle and the occupant shot and killed Blakney.

“I was walking into the living room from the bedroom, and I heard a muffled noise that I thought could have been a shot,” resident Dewain Cherry said.

Cherry heard more shots fired.

“There were two more shots that were extremely loud and scared me and I dialed 911,” Cherry said.

Police said it appears to be a case of self-defense, even though Blakney was not armed. A firearms expert said that is state law.

“If you’re attacked by someone, say he’s breaking in your house and he comes at you and attacks you, you’ve got a right to use deadly force right then,” said Larry Hyatt, with Hyatt Guns.

From WORCESTER, MA

A city man who was shot by a store clerk during an attempted robbery in May at a Vernon Street grocery store was ordered held without bail Wednesday pending a dangerousness hearing next week.

Police and prosecutors said a masked man, later identified as Juan L. Ahorrio, entered No Name Grocery II at 49 Vernon St. on the night of May 26 carrying a large black knife. Mr. Ahorrio allegedly went behind one of two customers in the store, put the knife to her neck and demanded that the clerk, identified in court records as Byron Lara, give him all the money from the register.

Mr. Lara, who was licensed to carry a firearm, then pulled out his handgun, according to investigators. When the customer fainted and fell to the floor, Mr. Ahorrio allegedly lunged at Mr. Lara with the knife.

The clerk fired three rounds at Mr. Ahorrio, police said. Mr. Ahorrio dropped the knife and ran out of the store, according to authorities. Mr. Lara chased after him, ordered him to the ground and returned to the store to check on the customers, police said.

When officers arrived minutes later, paramedics from Worcester EMS were treating Mr. Ahorrio for three gunshot wounds, investigators said. The paramedics said they had been driving by when they saw Mr. Ahorrio on the sidewalk. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, according to authorities.

The female customer had some minor scratches to her neck from the blade of the knife, but did not require medical attention, according to court records.

Initially charged in Central District Court, Mr. Ahorrio was indicted Aug. 23 by a Worcester County grand jury on charges of armed assault with intent to rob, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon. The indictments moved Mr. Ahorrio’s case to Worcester Superior Court, where he was arraigned anew Wednesday and entered not-guilty pleas.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Casella filed a motion for a dangerousness hearing for Mr. Ahorrio and Judge Janet Kenton-Walker scheduled the hearing for Tuesday at the request of the prosecutor and Mr. Ahorrio’s lawyer, John J. Roemer. Ms. Casella is expected to argue Tuesday that Mr. Ahorrio poses a danger to the public and should be held without bail for up to 120 days while awaiting trial.

Mr. Ahorrio is also facing a violation of his probation from a 2011 Worcester Superior Court case in which he pleaded guilty to armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery and was sentenced to 3 to 5 years in state prison with 5 years of probation to follow. The alleged violation, which is also scheduled to be heard Tuesday, is based in part on the pending charges, according to court records.

From Chicago, IL

A man allegedly trying to break into a Chicago apartment has died after two men inside the apartment took his gun and fatally shot him.

From Ona, West Virginia

The Cabell County Sheriff says a man’s hand was nearly severed by a homeowner using a machete after a break-in

 

From JAMESTOWN, ND

A man was arrested following a home invasion and three hour stand-off in Jamestown.

Police received a call of an intruder inside a residence early Sunday. The homeowners were not at the residence, but had been notified by a surveillance system that there was an intruder inside. They returned and found 2 broken door frames. They were able to get a family member who was home safely out before police arrived.

Officers found the suspect still inside. He refused orders to surrender and the James-Valley Special Operations Team made entry and took the suspect into custody.

20-year old Chase Urie, of Proctor, Minnesota is being held in the Stutsman County Jail on charges of Criminal Trespassing, Criminal Mischef, and Minor consuming. Police have not yet said if Urie was armed or what his intentions were.

From Greenwood, SC

A man who had been admitted to the hospital for gunshot wounds to his face and hand is now facing an armed robbery charge, Greenwood police said Monday.

Antonio Rodreges Nicholson, 38, of 3824 Highway 25 S., Greenwood was arrested Friday and charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

Greenwood police heard multiple gunshots at about 3:30 a.m. Friday, according to a report, and soon after learned someone had been taken to Self Regional Medical Center’s emergency room with gunshot wounds to the right hand and the face, according to a report.

Officers went and spoke with the man, who said he had been shot in the area of White Oak Lane and Cokesbury Road. Officers searched the area, but couldn’t find a crime scene. The man drove himself to the emergency room, and the car he had been in had blood all along the driver’s side, with a large, bloody Bowie knife on the floorboard, the report said.

Through an anonymous tipster, police learned the man in the hospital had tried to rob someone in the area of White Oak Lane, and the person he tried to rob shot him in self-defense, said Greenwood Police Department Public Information Officer Jonathan Link.

From  COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

An intruder was fatally shot Saturday night after the alleged victims say he attacked one of the homeowners.

The victims, a husband and wife, tell 11 News the incident started around 8:20 Saturday night when the wife saw someone outside the house. At first, she thought it was her husband — until she took a closer look. Not recognizing the man in her yard, she yelled for her spouse to come downstairs while she ran up to call 911.

The husband says the door somehow got open, and the prowler made it into the house. According to his account, which has not been confirmed by police, the suspect attacked him, and he fired his gun in self-defense. Despite the gunshot wound, the victims say the suspect was still trying to fight when the officers arrived and was only subdued after a stun gun was used by an officer.

The suspect later died from his injuries. Police have not commented on the victims’ account that the suspect was both shot and tased. A spokesperson with the Colorado Springs Police Department confirmed that there was one person shot when officers arrived and that there appeared to be an element of self-defense to the incident.

“It appears as though the homeowner was protecting his residence and family members when this incident occurred at the house,” Lt. Howard Black said.

He declined to say more.

The shooting happened at a home in the 2700 block of Flintridge Circle.

Sunday morning, after confirming the shooting victim’s death, police were calling the incident a homicide investigation.

From SHREVEPORT, LA

Shreveport police are on the scene of a fatal shooting that happened during a home invasion in the 3000 block of Marquette Sunday afternoon.

Police tell NBC6/FOX33 reporter Zyneria Byrd that a homeowner came home just after 3 p.m. Sunday and found two burglars inside.

The homeowner fatally shot one of the intruders, while the other escaped through a window.

Shreveport police have the second suspect in custody and said no charges will be filed against the homeowner.

Neither the suspect in custody nor the deceased has been identified.

From ENID, OK

A man is in critical condition after police say he was shot by a homeowner who claims the man refused to leave his property.

The Enid Police Department received a call around 7 a.m. Friday in reference to an unwanted guest at a home on the 4800 block of W. Ritchie Avenue.

“The caller stated that they woke up and found a man sitting at their kitchen table”, according to a news release.

Sergeant Nick John of the Enid Police Department said the homeowner told investigators that the man was an acquaintance of theirs and when he was told to leave, he walked outside. Police say once the man was outside, he continued to walk around the outside of the house and was looking in the windows of the residence.

At that time, the homeowner went outside with a pistol and told the man to leave the property again. He refused to leave and charged at the homeowner, at which time two shot were fired, Sergeant John said.

The homeowner reportedly told investigators the first shot was fired into the ground as a warning shot and the second shot struck the man, who was transported to Bass Hospital and later transferred to OU Medical Center in critical condition.