A couple of folks have sent the link to this story in the Salt Lake Tribune about Arnold Breitenbach, a Vietnam Veteran, who served in 1969 and earned a CIB and a Purple Heart that year, so he decided to put CIB-69 on his vehicle license plates. The state of Utah denied his request because the number 69, aside from meaning a lot of things, brings to mind a certain sex position.
Breitenbach, who served as gunner on an armored Army personnel carrier, says he doesn’t think everyone has such a dirty mind that they would be offended.
But he lost an appeal in January.
I wonder if he tried using “CIB-1969”. I wonder if the state of Utah just skips over their randomly generated combinations that end up with “69” in the sequence of numbers, too. I’d like to remember that year, too. I was 14 years old and got my first hickey from Debbie Austin (who was nine months older than me) that summer, but I guess I won’t be getting any license plates to commemorate that milestone in my young life.
But I think that the state of Utah is overreacting a bit. I hope they come to their senses in favor of Mr. Breitenbach.
A man walked into the JK Food Mart at Carroll and SPID and tried to buy two cartons of cigarettes with a credit that was denied. The clerk told police the man then grabbed the cigarettes and ran outside.
Earlier reports said the suspect told the store owner he had a gun, but that information isn’t in a follow-up brief from CCPD.
As the suspect was getting into a waiting car, the owner fired three shots. None of the bullets hit the robber or the driver. But the robber took off running down Carroll Lane.
The getaway driver stayed put and is now being questioned by police. No charges have been filed against him.
Bullets are still cheaper than cigarettes. For the time being, anyway.
From NRA News, a pizza delivery man in Georgia, a legal concealed weapon carrier, successfully defended himself and his wares from a fellow wielding a club and an elderly man used his personal weapon in Kentucky to defend himself from a fellow who had cut him with a knife, in the elderly man’s home;
Chief Tango sends us another story from Oklahoma where it took a firearm to settle a family spat;
Pontotoc County Sheriff John Christian said the incident occurred when a man went to the home of his ex-girlfriend, where she resided with the father of her children.
The two men scuffled and the father of her children allegedly shot and killed the man. Christian said the woman had left the man the day before and returned to the father of her children.
Law enforcement is investigating whether or not the shooting was in self-defense. Christian said he is not releasing names until next of kin has been notified.
This morning’s short story comes from Alabama where a homeowner prevented a burglar from turning his life around with property that wasn’t his;
Officials say a Gadsden man tried to get away with stealing from a home in Etowah County, but his departure plans were cut short by a homeowner with a gun. The Etowah County Sheriff’s office says the homeowner shot twice at Joseph Lennoard Hankins III, then held Hankins at gunpoint until deputies arrived. Hankins allegedly stole three butane torch kits and a quiver of hunting arrows from a home near the Tidmore Bend community.
Chief Tango sends a few more stories, the first is from Arkansas, where an 80-year-old homeowner took out the trash;
A white male suspect, identified as Garrett Heath Halbert, entered the residence through the front door where he attacked the 80 year old home owner. During the physical altercation, the home owner shot the suspect.
Radio traffic indicated the homeowner accidentally shot himself in the arm during the altercation.
According to Wesley the homeowner was transported to Wadley Regional Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Police say a resident at the complex heard some noises coming from outside his bedroom window and went outside with a weapon to investigate. He spotted two men standing by the window and fired several shots at them. One of the suspects was hit. The other took off.
A witness told police she saw the second suspect running away from the apartment complex and that he had dropped a backpack with ‘burglar tools.’ The man ran north on New Braunfels to Betty Jean, where a K9 found a hoodie sweatshirt and gloves. Police believe the pair had parked a getaway car there.
Our story this morning comes from Oklahoma where a 70-year-old farmer gave chase to burglar;
On Tuesday morning, his home surveillance camera captured Erick Rose breaking into his home near McLoud. The farmer returned home as Rose was walking out with a stuffed pillowcase in hand.
“I hollered out to him. I said ‘Hey, fellow, what is going on here?’ I said, ‘You don’t want to do this.’ He told me, ‘Fella you better back off or I’m going to blow your head off.’”
Rose is seen on the video getting in his truck and gunning it out of the driveway. The farmer threw his gun in the passenger seat and gave chase.
“When he was pulled up at the stop sign he took a couple of shots out of the door and then he turned and he shot and he hit my pickup,” said the homeowner. The bullets were fired from his own stolen gun.
During the 15-minute chase, Rose spun his truck sideways and the farmer rammed into him.
“At that time I was able to get out of my truck and stand in the middle of the county road and I took a shot at him with my rifle,” said the 70-year-old.
Police took over from that point and when Rose’s car was disabled, he was courteous enough to exit his vehicle brandishing his firearm, providing deputies the chance to save taxpayers some money; bullets are cheaper than incarceration.
Our first story this morning comes from Texas, like many of our stories about good guys with guns;
McCaffrey said a family was asleep when two men kicked in the front door and started shooting. A resident on the couch woke up, grabbed his handgun and fired back. In all, he fired about 10 shots toward the intruders.
The suspects backed away, climbed into a getaway car driven by a third suspect. The resident ran after them and the shootout continued as the suspects sped off.
No injuries were reported.
Next up is Massachusetts, believe it or not, where a family was attacked by a real rabid animal;
The fox then attacked and bit Nick Stanley, 18, as he was working outside in a shed in his Hill Street yard Sunday.
“At that point my wife saw it and ran over and was yelling and it started to go off but then it turned and attacked her, and chased her. She was kind of running backwards kicking and finally fell over and was laying down kicking it,” said Nick’s father, Dana Stanley.
The fox backed off again and Nick Stanley’s mother and two siblings ran to the house.
“They said it bit my son. If a rabid animal bites somebody, you need to present the carcass to the state so they can inspect it to determine if it has rabies or not,” Dana Stanley said.
Fearing for his family, Dana Stanley got his legally-owned gun.
“I had come to the edge of the deck to try and see where it was and it had started running up after me. My kids were behind me — between me and the door — so I had one choice and I put it down right on the back deck of the house,” he said.
Local police and the animal control officer came to the house and retrieved the carcass. In less than 24 hours, the state lab determined the fox was rabid.
Top Kone sends us our first story this morning from Kentucky;
Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders said the video shows 30-year-old William Brandon Sexton walk into the store and order the clerk to the back.The clerk refused and that’s when Sexton pulled out what the clerk thought was a loaded gun.The clerk then pulled out his semi-automatic weapon and the two were gun to gun before the clerk shot Sexton in the hand, sending the bullet into his chest.
[…]
Investigators said the gun used by Sexton was a fake and a note threatening to kill two clerks was found in his pocket but not used in the attempted robbery.
Police also said all four of the suspects are heroin addicts and they believe the robbery was fueled by their need to get money for drugs.
From Chief Tango comes three more stories. The first is from Florida, where Jeffrey Tyrone Smith tempted lured his victims with a cheap Dodge pickup on Craig’s List and tried to rob them;
Upon arrival at the Sunoco, Smith approached the victim and stated that he would take them to the truck, but he need a ride.
As with the first robbery, Smith got in the back seat behind the driver.
Smith then directed the victim to the Ocala Ridge Subdivision.
According to the victim, Smith directed him down several dirt roads and they made numerous turns. The victim stated that he started to get a gut feeling that something was wrong and became suspicious.
The victim told deputies that Smith eventually led them to a residence located at 5375 Northwest 6th Place.
The victim stated that he saw cars parked on the side of the house, but did not see a pickup truck.
He said at that point he really felt something was wrong.
According to reports, once Smith exited the vehicle, the victim grabbed his gun and stuck it in the front of his pants.
The victim with the gun stated that his friend then exited the vehicle and walked toward the backyard with Smith.
The victim stated that all of a sudden he heard his friend yell, “Son of a b***h.” He said that is when he saw his friend bending over in pain, like he had been punched in the stomach.
At this point, the victim did not know that his friend had been stabbed.
The victim told deputies that Smith then turned and ran toward him, at which time he drew his gun and fired a single shot, striking Smith.
According to the victim, Smith fell to the ground, but continued to try and get up to come at him. The victim said he told Smith to stay down.
The victim stated that he and his friend then retreated to their vehicle, because they did not know if Smith had friends in the house that would try and harm them.
The victim said he called 911, and it was at that time he realized his friend had been stabbed in the abdomen.
It wasn’t Smith’s first attempt at robbery using this ploy, but it’s likely his last.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday a man entered a home in the 8200 block of McCourtney Road in Lincoln, where the 65-year-old victim was staying while the homeowner was away at work.
The intruder, later identified as Smith, entered an unlocked door carrying a crowbar. When he was confronted by the homeowner’s friend, a fight ensued. The victim grabbed a shotgun that the homeowner kept in the house. The pair struggled with the gun, which discharged into the front porch. The fight continued down the home’s exterior stairs, where Smith beat, choked and kicked the victim.
Smith was able to get away in a waiting vehicle, but not before the victim was able to get a description and the license plate number of the car, which was driven by Daniel.
The two were arrested after an 11 mile chase. The down side of using a shot gun is that it has to be pointed at the target when the firearm is discharged.
The next story comes from Wisconsin where a crime spree (three burglaries) ended at the barrel of a shotgun;
The third and final break-in happened at about 10 a.m. in the 7100 block of Gladstone Drive.
“A woman call 911, telling the dispatcher she had locked herself in a bathroom after her husband went to investigate the sound of a garage door being kicked in,” DeSpain said. “She heard a gunshot and didn’t know who fired a gun or if someone had been shot, so she took refuge in the bathroom.”
Arriving officers didn’t know what to expect at the scene, a homicide or something else, while at the same time, the car seen at the Anthony Lane burglary was spotted on Piedmont Road.
“Some officers executed a high-risk traffic stop on the car, and others continued on to the Gladstone address,” DeSpain said.
At the Gladstone house, officers found out the husband, armed with a handgun, had confronted the two burglars in the garage, with Scott fleeing the garage and Harrison getting into a struggle with the homeowner, the homeowner’s gun discharging during the struggle.
Nobody was hurt, and Harrison dropped his handgun after the gunshot, being held by the homeowner until police arrived.
This morning’s story comes from Texas, like so many of our stories;
The husband was sleeping on the couch in front of the TV when the suspect broke in and was able to grab his gun and fired shots at the intruder.
Precinct 3 officers said the suspect took off in a car after while continuing to exchange fire.
The family had just moved in last week in order to get away from crime, according to officers.
Chief Tango sends us some more stories to brighten up your morning. the first is from Georgia;
Witnesses told police that three men and three women were inside the affected apartment. One of the women left the unit and encountered Quintavious Reed in a breezeway. Reed forced the woman back inside the apartment.
Investigators said Reed got into a struggle with one of the men inside the unit. The victim, who had a gun, fatally shot Reed. A second man inside the apartment was grazed by a bullet. Two guns, including one Reed was carrying, were confiscated by investigators.
No one has been arrested. Police said they will complete their investigation and pass along their findings to the district attorney.
A female Atlanta Police officer pulled her eight hours and looked forward to going home. But when she arrived at her suburban residence, she says she quickly realized crime had followed her to her doorstep.
She saw her front door open and figured she was being burglarized. Within minutes she was involved in a confrontation and that suspect was shot.
[…]
The incident took place in Clayton County. According to the incident report, the off-duty Atlanta officer says before she ever saw the suspect, she called 911 about an unfamiliar car by her front drive — the engine still running.
She says as she was giving the Clayton County dispatch tag information on that vehicle when the intruder appeared and came toward her — engaging her physically.
The forces that stand against evil were busy this weekend as the weather across the country warms up a bit. Our first stop is Kentucky;
Troopers say Gregory W. Codington, 45, of Sarasota, Fl. was shot by the homeowner after he allegedly forced his way into the home and then got into a altercation with the homeowner. During that altercation, investigators say the homeowner fired several shots from a handgun, killing Coddington.
Troopers say it appears that homeowner and Coddington did not know each other and this was a random attack.
Williamston Police say it happened at 516 Warren Street in Williamston. The call came into police at approximately 9:50 p.m. Saturday.
Police say detectives determined Markese Lee forced his way into the home and exchanged gunfire with a resident inside the house. Lee was shot and taken to Martin General Hospital where he died.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said a motorist exchanged gunfire on Saturday with someone he knew who approached his vehicle and robbed him in the 8900 block of J.M. Keynes Boulevard, off North Tryon Street in the University City area.
Neither the robber nor the victim was reported injured, but police said the victim’s 2-year-old daughter suffered minor cuts from broken window glass. The toddler, who was in the back seat, was treated at Carolinas Medical Center, police said.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article17422658.html#storylink=cpy
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the intended robbery victim was returning home from work when he was approached by an unknown number of robbery suspects. During the incident, the unidentified man opened fire and accidentally struck a nearby neighbor.
Nicole Greenberg, 18, lives down the street and said she heard four shots.
“At first I didn’t think it was a robbery at all. I thought it was a drive-by,” Greenberg said.
She heard screaming and looked down the street. Greenberg could see a woman kneeling over a man who had been shot, yelling, “someone call 911, call 911!”
