Category: Feel Good Stories

This morning’s feel good story was provided by Chief Tango and happened in Florida;

Homeowner Christopher Bane called 911 to report the break-in. He said he was home alone with his 11-year-old son when he heard the intruder, so he grabbed his gun and walked out to confront him.

As he did so, deputies said [intruder Calvin Yoder] fired shots his way. Bane fired back, and during the hallway shootout, Yoder was killed.

“Apparently the homeowner has been a victim of burglary recently, and so he was on alert. He was on edge,” said Sarasota County Sheriff’s Spokesperson Wendy Rose. “And as soon as he heard glass breaking, he armed himself to protect himself and his 11-year-old child, who was in the home.”

FOX 13 News

Not smart to make your stand in a hallway, Mr Yoder, but I’m sure you’re having that discussion with your Maker now. He also had a long history with the police – car jacking, burglary, and battery. he made his mark on the world, or at least left a stain.

Chief Tango sends us a link to our feel good story once again. This time it’s from Florida;

PBSO said a man who owns Motorcycle Avenue at 2725 North Federal Highway caught two people stealing motorcycles from his store. He chased them from unincorporated Delray Beach into Boynton Beach where he shot one of them, according to the sheriff’s office.

PBSO said the other person escaped.

The shooting victim was taken to Delray Medical Center where he is in critical condition, according to the Boynton Beach Police Department.

Chief Tango sends us our feel good story to kick off your week and this time it’s from Nebraska;

Bellevue Police say 21-year-old Tyrell Dalia of Omaha was killed in the incident that happened after 9 p.m. Saturday.

Witnesses told police that Dalia had a gun when he broke into the apartment near 19th Avenue and Main Street in Bellevue.

One of the people inside the apartment confronted Dalia and shot him. Dalia died at the apartment.

Court records show that Dalia was out on bail while awaiting trial for a January incident. Dalia faced two felony charges for trying to escape from police after officers broke up a dispute between him and his ex-girlfriend.

Our first feel good story comes from Texas;

The owner told police he heard something, went to investigate, saw a man in his SUV and then fired shots. He said he did not know if he hit the man.

Not long after, a man covered in blood began knocking on doors of homes a few blocks away.

He was treated for gunshot wounds in the leg and foot and then arrested.

The next story comes from North Carolina;

They tell News 13 when the homeowner warned Hicks to leave he refused. The homeowner’s daughter says her father fired several warning shots before shooting Hicks in the right knee.

“He’s very upset about it. He didn’t want to do anything to harm him but he was trying to keep himself safe and I mean you got to do what you got to do,” Angila Carroll said.

Deputies found Hicks hours later at a hospital in Tennessee.

Chief Tango sends us another feel good story for this morning, this time it’s from Phoenix where a good guy with a gun stopped a bank robber, cold;

The suspects robbed the Desert Schools Federal Credit Union at Cactus and Tatum about 2:15 p.m., then tried to get away, according to Phoenix police.

But the bank robbers, with covered faces and carrying handguns, didn’t get far.

Authorities said that a good Samaritan exchanged gunfire with the two bank robbers, identified as 21-year-old Vincent Robert Jones and 29-year-old Lyndell Cherry.

Police said the good Samaritan was in the bank and saw the suspects’ vehicle running in front of the bank, so he went outside and took the keys out.

When the suspects realized the keys were gone, they robbed a couple in a truck at gunpoint.

The good Samaritan was armed with a handgun and tried to help the couple being robbed. Cherry allegedly pointed a handgun at the good Samaritan who then fired his gun, striking Cherry.

“I heard a pop,” a nearby witness said. “That’s when multiple shots went off. I got behind the beam right there just to be safe and get out of the way.”

Cherry was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries.

Jones took off in the stolen vehicle, running a red light, before crashing at 44th Street and Thunderbird. Jones tried to run from the collision, but was quickly taken into custody by responding patrol officers, according to the police report.

CBS 5 – KPHO

The next story is from Texas;

Dallas police were called to the 3300 block of Whitehall Drive near Forest Lane about 3 a.m., when a resident reported seeing a stranger inside his car, said Dallas PD spokeswoman Tramese Andrews.

The resident later told police he started shooting at the alleged burglar because he “feared for his life,” Andrews said.

The suspect was shot once. He limped away from the scene, leaving the car owner’s stolen property on the street.

Police found the suspect while they were responding to another call and transported him to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Chief Tango sends us our feel good story again, from Texas;

Ricardo Rosas, 51, had been sleeping around 2 p.m. when he heard a knock at his door.

He was walking into his living room toward the front door when Raymond Valdez, one of the suspected burglars, allegedly kicked in the door and entered the house, according to police.

Police said Rosas keeps a handgun for protection and was familiar with the practice of burglars to knock on doors to determine whether anyone is inside.

When Valdez, 28, entered the house, Rosas fired, striking him in the chest, police said.

Valdez then fell back then ran to a beige two-door Honda driven by an unknown male accomplice.

A third suspect who police said was serving as a lookout also jumped into the car before it took off headed east Locknere Lane.

A short time later, police received a report of a man with a gunshot wound to the chest being admitted to the Baptist Medical Center downtown.

Chief Tango sends us a link to this morning’s feel good story which involved a Democrat legislator in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;

Rep. Marty Flynn and another lawmaker were walking to their residence after a late dinner with other legislators when two males accosted them and demanded their wallets just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

Flynn is a former Lackawanna County prison guard who is licensed to carry a handgun. He drew his pistol and fired during the attempted holdup.

At least one of the two would-be robbers was armed, police said, but neither Flynn nor the other lawmaker, Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie, was injured. It remained unclear who fired first and how many shots were fired.

Harrisburg police arrested four juveniles between the ages of 15 and 17 who are being prosecuted as adults, and said they recovered the gun used in the crime.

Another story comes from Oklahoma;

According to detectives, an intruder had broken in [Frances Banks’ and her husband, Cardell Banks’] back door.

“I’m in there screaming. Any more I talk about it, my heart is fluttering,” said Banks, recounting the horrific ordeal just a few hours after it happened.

Cardell, who had been a preacher and lived in the same house for 40 years, loaded his gun, then headed for his bedroom door.

“My husband just told me to stay back,” Frances Banks can be heard saying during the 911 call.

Cardell peeked out of his bedroom and found himself staring down the barrel of an intruder’s shotgun.

“He said, ‘Get down on the ground’ and he said ‘You get out of here,’” said Frances, referring to her husband’s encounter with the gunman.

Cardell ignored the intruder’s orders and started firing.

“I shot at him. I don’t know if I hit him, but I shot at him,” said Cardell, calmly explaining what happened to a 911 operator minutes after the shooting.

Cardell then handed the phone to his wife while waiting for police.

“My husband was so brave. He took the phone from me, dialed 911, and gave it to me to talk to the dispatcher,” said Francis.

Cardell had shot the intruder in the chest.

From the Philadelphia Daily News (by way of Stars & Stripes) comes the story of William Lawler, a former Army lieutenant and a firearms instructor who was walking with his girlfriend in Philadelphia when they were confronted by Dondi DeCosta brandishing a 13-inch knife;

Right away, Lawler said, he moved his girlfriend away, unholstered his gun and held it at his side.

“Nine times out of 10, all the gun owner has to do is show the firearm, and the threat goes away,” he said.

Not this time: DeCosta instead moved toward the pair, Lawler said, threatening, “I’ll cut you up.” When he got within 5 or 6 feet, Lawler said, that was it. Lawler leveled the Glock and fired once, hitting DeCosta in the groin.

“My intent was to stop him, not kill him,” Lawler said yesterday. “I hope he’s OK, and hopefully he will be prosecuted.”

Mr DeCosta survived injuries and is safely removed from society.