Chief Tango sends us our feel good stories this morning. The first is from South Carolina where an intruder was stopped in his tracks;
Deputies said the call came in around 12:45 a.m. about two people being shot at a home on Woodhaven Court in Easley during a robbery.
When deputies got to the scene, they said one of the suspects and the homeowner were found shot. The suspect was dead, and the homeowner was taken to the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.
DeKalb County deputies say that a man called 911 reporting that someone was trying to get into his home on Wigley Avenue. The homeowner retrieved his revolver and shot the alleged intruder several times from inside the home.
Deputies say the alleged intruder, Cecil “Monty” Gant, 44 of Dutton, was able to leave the scene in a car driven by another person, deputies say.
It’s been a few days since our last feel good story, so Chief Tango found five to make up for it. The first is from Ohio, where a couple of youths tried to rob a shoe store at gun point;
The two armed suspects entered the store in the Northwest Plaza Shopping Center, 3217 Siebenthaler Ave., about 11 a.m. and one brandished a gun, police said.
“Somebody just tried to rob my store and I killed one of them,” a caller told a 911 dispatcher. “I shot him. He had a gun.”
Detectives interviewed the owner and a female customer who was in the store at the time of the shooting, said Dayton police Lt. Matthew Dickey.
Police did not release the name of the shooter Monday, and it’s unlikely that he will face charges, although the suspect who fled the scene may be charged when he’s in custody.
“At this point, it does appear to be self-defense, but we are going through a full investigation to determine that,” Dickey said.
The next is from Pennsylvania where a woman defended herself with a pellet gun;
Sunbury police believe a man broken into this house Sunday night. When the woman who lives there came home and saw the intruder, she shot him at least twice with a pellet gun. Investigators say the man got away through the back door of the house. Cops believe the home invasion was random.
“Being this close, I just found out about it so I’m getting a little concerned, but not that concerned because we can protect ourselves,” Brian Clark said.
Around 7:30 a.m. Friday, a man and his girlfriend were in their living room at their home in the 2900 block of Little Hanaford Road in Centralia when a homeless 43-year-old stranger entered armed with a knife, police said.
The homeowner grabbed a shotgun, police said, and ordered the intruder out of the house. The two walked outside, but instead of leave, the intruder pushed the homeowner down stairs on the back porch. The intruder then grabbed a machete sitting on the porch and approached the homeowner.
Thinking quickly, the homeowner hit the intruder with the butt of the shotgun, knocking him to the ground. He then held the intruder at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived.
Finally, our last cross-country stop is in Alaska;
The unidentified victim of a break-in phoned MATCOM dispatch early this morning at 3:06 am to report that there was a burglary in progress at a residence on Limberlost Avenue in Wasilla. During the call, the 65-year-old homeowner said that the individuals had forced open her kitchen door and gained access to the residence.
But, the burglar’s foray into the woman’s home would prove to be short-lived. The homeowner, awakened by the burglars attempting to start the ATV, and armed with a pistol, fired a single shot at the burglars causing them to flee the house, get into a vehicle and speed away from the property.
The trooper investigation at the residence revealed that two unknown individuals pulled up into the woman’s driveway and attempted to hot-wire and steal an ATV parked there. When they were unsuccessful at that, the decided to break into the home instead.
This feel good story is a few weeks old and I couldn’t find it in our daily presentations, but here it is, nonetheless. It’s from New Hampshire where John Conway fell asleep on his couch and was awakened by a drunken fellow who burst through his door threatening to shoot the family. John threw his besotted ass out of the house, but Mr. Inebriation was persistent;
“When I threw him out I was holding the door,” Conway said. “He was ramming it, kicking it. I had the phone, I was trying to dial it.”
The police station is just 3 miles away but the waiting felt like an eternity.
“My husband had enough of it. He opened up the door and power-kicked him and he flew, hit the floor and he was out; made it easier for the cops,” said Christann Conway. “Rolled him over handcuffed him and that was the end of that.”
OK, no guns, but still a happy ending for everyone on the right side of the law. Sometimes all you need to do is kick a drunk, anyway.
Ohio sends us our feel good story this morning from Philadelphia where Sharon Doyle who confronted a knife-weilding thug at work;
The 46-year-old store owner returned to Stan’s Health Foods in the Mayfair section of the city later that day. As she continued to work alone, police say a 47-year-old man entered the store with a knife in hand, immediately announcing a robbery.
The man went behind the counter, grabbed the register and threw it to the ground, forcing it open, according to investigators. After grabbing some cash, he allegedly stood up and put his knife to Doyle’s chest.
Unbeknownst to him, Doyle was armed not only with her .38 revolver but also years of law enforcement training. Before becoming a store owner, Doyle worked as a secret service agent in Philadelphia, protecting visiting dignitaries such as President Bush. She’s also a former Philadelphia Police Officer.
[…]
Doyle pulled out her weapon and fired, striking the man in the torso. He collapsed to the ground and Doyle called police.
“When police arrived he was behind the counter, unconscious on the ground,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. “He still had a $100 bill clutched in his left hand.”
Today’s feel good story comes from California where a homeowner protected his home and family from an intruder. You know that the LA Times had a tough time reporting this one;
A resident at the house called Rialto police around 11:30 p.m. to report the intruder — identified by police as 20-year-old Andy Garcia — as he was trying to enter her home in the 1000 block of North Primrose Avenue through a window.
Garcia was confronted by the male homeowner, who fired several shots from a handgun after an altercation, according to Rialto police.
Garcia attempted to flee but collapsed in the home’s backyard. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries, police said.
Chief Tango sends us a link to our feel good story to kick off the week, this time it’s from Florida where veteran Marvin Lail took on an armed thief at the local 7-Eleven;
Marvin Lail, an Army veteran trained in hand-to-hand combat, wasn’t going down without a fight.
“I went around to the back of the car, and he kept trying to get the wallet, and showed me the big gun,” Lail said.
But even the sight of a gun wasn’t enough to scare the concealed-carry permit holder, who desperately tried to defend himself.
“He showed it to me and said, ‘I got a gun!’ I said, ‘You’re going to have to kill me to get my money!’” Lail explained.
The great-grandfather managed to keep his wallet during the scuffle. Eventually, the video shows a 7-Eleven employee coming outside and the suspect casually walks away.
“I wasn’t going to give in. He said, ‘Give it up old man! Give it up old man!’ No, the adrenaline just started flowing,” Lail said.
Chief Tango sends us our feel good story from Idaho where former Marine Anthony Broyles faced down a jerkwad who approached him and his daughter with ill-intent;
Broyles had a fun day planned with his daughter at Higgins Point along Lake Coeur d’Alene.
“Me and my daughter were parked here and I was standing by the vehicle on the rail. There was a van that was parked in that direction with two gentlemen sitting in it,” said Broyles.
Broyles said a man came towards them with a knife as they looked towards the lake.
“I turned around and there was a guy that was sneaking up on me…probably about 15 feet behind me and he asked me if I had any money,” said Broyles.
Broyles obtained an Idaho concealed weapons permit in 2014. He said he pulled out his gun.
“I pushed my daughter back, pulled out my weapon, cocked it and aimed it at him,” said Broyles.
