Category: Feel Good Stories

From FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.

A Fayetteville landlord will not face charges for shooting an intruder.

The shooting happened Thursday evening in the 5000 block of Birch Road. Darrell Ellison had just fed his dogs when his tenant knocked on the door.

“A lady and her boyfriend that rent a trailer that I own in Hope Mills, she said they had a fight and she stopped by here to talk about it,” Ellison said.  “If i didn’t shoot him, he would’ve killed her”.

“I had (the door) locked, and he kicked the lock out,” Ellison said. “He came in the house, grabbed a hold of her and started dragging her through the kitchen, knocking all of my stuff over.”  Ellison, 74, usually keeps his gun at his side, but this time, it was out of reach.  “I had left my gun in the truck, and I went out to the truck and I got my gun, and I come back in through the back door, and he had her right here — beating on her,” Ellison told ABC11

Ellison said the boyfriend then came after him.
“I had my gun pointed right there and I told him, ‘John let me loose, (or) I’m (going to) shoot you, Ellison said.
He paused and added: “Didn’t turn me loose. Boom. That’s it.”  The boyfriend wouldn’t stop the attack so Ellison said he fired a single gunshot.

Fayetteville Police said the suspect, now identified as John Morelli somehow made it a half mile to Fire Station 12 on Hope Mills Road. Firefighters called police, who later determined that Ellison was acting in self-defense.

“Like I said, if I hadn’t been able to stop him, he would have killed her – and me probably, too,” Ellison said.

The blood from the shooting is still visible on Ellison’s doorstep. He said this whole ordeal was a nightmare.

“I’m just sad about the whole thing that happened, but if I had to do it over again, I would do the same thing. If someone’s life was in danger or mine was in danger, I would do it,” Ellison said.

From Gettysburg, PA

A Gettysburg man who was shot by an employee as he tried to rob a pharmacy has been sentenced to nearly 6 1/2 years in federal prison.

That penalty was imposed on 26-year-old Zachary E. Kuhn by U.S. Middle District Senior Judge Sylvia H. Rambo.

Kuhn pleaded guilty to trying to rob the Antietam Pharmacy in Waynesboro on June 26, 2016. The holdup came to an abrupt end when an employee drew a concealed pistol and shot Kuhn in the right hand and lower back.

Investigators said Kuhn had a gun and was demanding oxycodone, an addictive pain-killer.

Rambo ordered Kuhn to spend 3 years on probation after he finishes his 77-month prison term. She also imposed nearly $3,900 in fines and restitution.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Monica Cliatt argued in a sentencing memorandum that Kuhn is no longer a danger to society because he is partly paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair because of his wounds.

Drug addiction and mental health problems prompted Kuhn to commit the robbery, she said.

From Detroit, MI

A homeowner on Detroit’s east side shot in intruder early Thursday, police said.

The shooting took place about 2 a.m. on the 12000 block of Minden, which is south of East McNichols and east of Gunston.

Officer Dan Donakowski said the suspect forced entry through a window, but then heard the victim moving around and tried to hide behind a couch.

But the victim, a 42-year-old man, was armed and fired shots at the suspect, hitting him on his left side.

Medics transported the suspect, a 36-year-old man, to an area hospital, but his condition was not immediately available.

From Garden Grove, CA

A witness said the homeowner is his cousin and they were together when the homeowner saw two suspects coming out of a home located behind his carrying two bags. The resident challenged them with “What are you guys doing in my backyard?”

The intruders denied coming from his backyard. The homeowner, who was armed, pulled a gun out and tried to detain the two men. They, in turn, attacked the homeowner and tried to disarm him.

One of the two suspects was carrying a safe that he refused to drop throughout the scuffle. A shot went off during the fight, which in turn caused that intruder (We’ll call him suspect #1) to try to escape on foot.

Other neighbors tackled him and held him down until police arrived. Responding Officers took that suspect into custody.

The homeowner told investigators that suspect #1 might have been shot, but still managed to get into a black Lincoln Navigator with paper plates. The SUV was then driven away by a third suspect.

The second suspect, who was left behind, was identified as 36-year-old Long Beach resident and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Detectives were working to locate the first suspect and the getaway driver.

Investigators searching the house behind the homeowner’s house found a sliding glass window had been smashed and the house was ransacked.

From Wichita, KS

Police think a man who was fatally shot in northwest Wichita on Wednesday night was trying to rob the person who shot him.

Officers were called to a reported shooting at around 9 p.m. in the 2700 block of North Amidon and found a man in his 20s lying in the street who was pronounced dead at the scene, Sgt. John Bogle said.

The shooting took place at the same time as a robbery attempt in the street, which may have stemmed from a road rage incident, Bogle said. Police think the man who fired the shots was the victim in the robbery attempt, and the man who was killed was the suspect in the robbery.
There doesn’t appear to be any other connection among the people involved, police said.

Police think two gunshots were fired in the incident. The person who fired the shots was not injured. Investigators are talking with the person who fired the shots and with someone who was with the man who was killed.

Bogle said this may be a self-defense shooting. The case will be presented to the district attorney’s office, which will make the final decision on whether the case was self-defense or if the shooter will be charged criminally.

From MACON COUNTY, MO

Right now, authorities are still investigating the incident and trying to determine if any charges will be filed against the homeowner.  A man is dead after a Macon County homeowner shot and killed an intruder in his home early Tuesday morning.

Shortly before 4 a.m., the Macon County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a report of an intruder shot inside a residence.  Deputies responded to the scene on Macon County Route UU, northwest of Callao, Missouri.  Officers spoke with the homeowner at the scene and determined that the suspect used a ladder to get into the house through a second-story sliding glass door that had been left open.

Investigators said the suspect then made his way to the first floor and first threatened the homeowner in his bedroom with an air nailer.  After a brief verbal altercation, authorities said the suspect then pulled a handgun on the homeowner.

That is when the homeowner fired at the suspect, hitting him in the upper body.

When deputies arrived, the suspect was found dead with a loaded handgun in his possession. The suspect had fired the handgun at least one time.  The homeowner was not injured.  Macon County Sheriff Kevin Shoemaker told KTVO that, at this time, his office is not releasing the names of those involved.

UPDATE: KTVO has now learned the name of the man fatally shot during an overnight home break-in outside Callao, Missouri.  Macon County Sheriff Kevin Shoemaker identifies the man as Jonathan Richardson, 37, of Gladstone, Missouri.

From BAKERSFIELD, CA

A woman shot her adult son over the weekend to stop him from attacking his father, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.

Truman Edward Fulfer, 33, died at the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office said Fulfer’s parents were cooperative with the investigation, and no arrests were made.

Fulfer reportedly threatened to kill his parents and was stabbing his father Sunday at the home in Weldon when his mother shot him.

From ST. LOUIS, MO

A St. Louis homeowner shot and killed a man who was apparently trying to sell the homeowner his own tools, which had previously been stolen.

According to police, the incident happened around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in an alley at Alcott and Theodore in north St. Louis.

The homeowner was in his late 40s to early 50s. The man who was shot and killed a man was in his 40s. Police did not release their names.

The homeowner is well-respected in the area – a block captain who owns multiple properties, neighbors said.

The tools were stolen from a garage at one of his houses, neighbors said.

Police only confirmed that there was an altercation between the men, which led to gunfire.

“We’re talking about some property that may have come out of a garage; some tools, items like that,” said Major Mary Warnecke, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. “An argument began, it got physical. One individual fired some shots. The other person got struck and did succumb to his injuries.”

The homeowner was initially held for questioning but it could turn out to be a case of self-defense, Warnecke said.

From Mobile, AL

A spokesperson for the Mobile County Sheriff’s Dept. confirms that a homeowner near Lott Rd. has shot at a suspect for trying to gain entry to his home.

Investigators are now saying they do not know if the suspect was shot. Detectives are currently working the area and searching for the suspect and driver with them.

The suspect was described as a black male who fled in a blue vehicle.

The daughter of the homeowner tells NBC 15 that the suspect approached the front of the home before moving to a window around back and throwing a brick through it. It was then that the homeowner shot the suspect 5 times.

The daughter said, “I hope it hit them.”

From RALEIGH, N.C.

Not sure this will make ya “feel good” but it will get your heart pumping this morning.

A store worker has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a young man who tried to rob a Raleigh store at gunpoint in July, police say.

Police said that 21-year-old Derrick Malik Wiley was a suspect in the mid-July robbery at the Mini Mart on the 5500 block of Old Wake Forest Road.

Wiley and a store employee exchanged gunfire the night of July 14 and Wiley was shot in the leg, police said.

Police found Wiley about two and a half miles from the store and he died in the 4200 block of Waterbury Road.

The owner of the Mini Mart told CBS 17 two days after the shooting that the incident began when someone outside the store saw a man wearing a mask walking inside, so they called 911.

Once inside, the suspect pointed a gun at the store clerk, who handed over about $400 in cash, the store owner said.

The owner says as the suspect ran outside, the clerk followed him out the door and told the suspect that the police were on their way.

That’s when the suspect shot at the clerk, who then shot back, the store owner said.

Ramy Ramsis Hanna, 47, is charged with voluntary manslaughter after a grand jury returned a true bill of indictment Monday, police said.

From DeLand, FL

A man says he climbed onto a DeLand convenience store’s roof Saturday morning in an attempt to get into the business, because he was thirsty, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

The Woodland Food Mart was closed when Michael Monacelli, 31, told deputies he tried to get inside the store because he was dehydrated and needed something to drink. He tried getting in by breaking a window, the suspect told deputies. Unable to get into the business, Monacelli climbed a tree and onto the roof, according to the arrest report. He told deputies that he then crawled into a hole on the roof  for shelter.

The suspect, who became stuck on the roof, was found around 8 a.m. by the business owner opening up for the day when they heard Monacelli’s calls for help.

“I’m dying. I need help,” the business owner said he heard Monacelli saying.

Deputies said when they arrived, they had trouble hearing Monacelli’s cries for help because he had crawled inside a hole behind the business’s sign. Deputy body camera video captured the encounter.  Volusia County Fire Rescue came out and used a ladder to help Monacelli, who was only wearing shorts and socks, get down from the roof, according to the report.

Monacelli repeatedly told EMS and deputies he needed water and was given a bottle of water, the body camera videos shows.

While explaining how he came to be on the roof, a deputy confronted Monacelli about his reasoning, pointing to the full bottle, saying “You’ve had that water for almost 30 minutes and you’ve had two sips of it.”

“I was trying to put your thing first above my hydration,” Monacelli told the deputy, referring to his questions.

As he was being placed into a patrol car, Monacelli said he didn’t even try to climb on the roof, “it just happened.”

Monacelli was cleared by medical personal before he was booked into the Volusia County Jail on charges of  attempted burglary and property damage.

Things are a bit quiet on the self-defense use today so I thought this would be a nice feel-good story.

From Jefferson County, KS

A Kansas hunter shot what may be a state record bull elk in northeast Kansas, and it was the first elk he’d ever seen outside of captivity.

Stories of a rogue bull elk showing up the past two Septembers at the same Jefferson County property where DJ Klenklen had just landed permission to hunt drove his imagination wild.

“If I see this thing, I’m buying a tag,” Klenklen, 28, said he told his wife during the summer months leading up to the season.

The landowner had told him about the elk and, knowing Klenklen was an avid whitetail deer hunter, asked him if he wanted to hunt it. But before he bought a tag, he wanted to make sure it was there.

“We’re thinking of packing up, it’s about 6:45, and he bugles, man, and it made the hairs stand up all over my body,” Klenklen said.

“I heard him start coming through those trees and he was just coming like a freight train. I’ll never forget the sound of him coming through those trees.

“He’s making this noise — I don’t even want to try to replicate it, but it’s like a drum. And it’s really deep and short. And then he came out of the woods, and, man, I have never felt adrenaline like that in my life,” he said. “I was shaking so bad.”

Klenklen said he got two clean, broadside shots at the bull at about 60 yards, and the bull didn’t go far before it fell.

“All’s you could see in the milo was his antlers sticking up, and it was a beautiful thing,” Klenklen said.

The whole story is HERE

I remember my first Buck, the thing stomped through the woods just like that.  I was using one of my friend’s fathers guns, a 303 British.  I remember watching that huge beast stomp out under the power lines, steam blowing from its nostrils.  I shot and it seemed like an hour went by and nothing happened…then the huge beast dropped with a tremendous thud.   I could not have been any more proud than I was carrying all 3 points back to the truck.  I no longer feared Godzilla.

Have a great day.

From PEORIA, AZ

A man discharged his gun into the ground to scare off a man with a knife and brass knuckles in Peoria.  Peoria police report that on September 13 they were called to an apartment complex near 82rd Avenue and Bell Road.

Witnesses say a man, identified as 28-year-old David Rubio, attacked three people by pushing them, pulling their hair, or punching them.  While hitting the last victim, Rubio allegedly pulled out a knife and brass knuckles and again advanced on the victim.

The victim pulled out a handgun and fired one shot into the ground, causing Rubio to run away.  He was later located, arrested, and charged with aggravated assault.

From Clovis, NM

A Texas man says he shot a would-be mugger who came at him with a knife early Friday morning outside a Clovis motel.

Zion Flores, 20, of Mission, Texas, said he was in his car about 8:15 a.m. when two men came toward him, one slashing his tire with a knife. Flores said he responded by pulling a gun and firing in self-defense.

“I seen them coming to the window, I just lowered the (car) window, and ‘Pop, pop, pop,’” Flores said.  Clovis police said a 40-year-old man was hospitalized with gunshot wounds to his buttocks. He was in stable condition at a Lubbock hospital on Friday afternoon.  Police and prosecutors said no arrests had been made Friday afternoon.

“They (police) want to complete their investigation to determine if it was self defense,” said Assistant District Attorney Jake Boazman.  “It’s not in dispute who did the shooting.”

Flores said the second man ran from the scene at the Travel Lodge motel after he shot the first one “in the ass.”

Police Capt. Roman Romero said in a news release that “all relevant witnesses and subjects were transported to the Clovis Police Department for interview. … The investigation into this event is ongoing.”  Flores said he is staying at the motel while working in Clovis.

From  COLUMBIA, SC

An employee at China Kitchen Restaurant allegedly shot a man who police believe was trying to rob the eatery, according to a statement Friday from the Columbia Police Department. The worker will not be charged, and police are calling the case “self-defense.”

When police arrived on the scene at the Forest Drive restaurant at about 11 p.m. Thursday, they found a man on the ground who had been shot in the upper body, according to the statement. He was wearing all black and a covering over his face.

Employees told police the man entered the store with a gun and demanded money from the register, according to the statement. One employee tried to grab the gun away from the man.

A struggle ensued and another employee shot the burglar, according to police. That other employee was carrying his own gun, police said. The suspected robber was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the statement.

From ANCHORAGE, AK

A man suspected of robbing an Anchorage tanning salon was shot by a person inside the business.  Anchorage police apprehended the robbery suspect and are seeking the shooter.

Police just after noon Friday took a call of shots fired on west Dimond Boulevard.  Investigators learned a man had robbed Sunsation Tanning Salon but was shot by a man inside. Both men fled.

Police found the robbery suspect in a vehicle near Dimond Boulevard and King Street. Police say he suffered a gunshot wound to the lower body that is not life-threatening.

From BROOKLAND, AR 

Police in northeast Arkansas say a suspect was fatally shot by an employee during an apparent attempted robbery at a vape shop.

Craighead County Sheriff Marty Boyd says officers responded to a shots fired call Thursday afternoon at Emerald’s Triangle LLC near Brookland, about 125 miles northeast of Little Rock. Boyd says the robbery suspect was found dead when officers arrived.

Authorities are still investigating what led to the fatal shooting, but Boyd says a store associate shot the suspect. No arrests have been made.

Emerald’s Triangle says no employees were injured.