Category: Feel Good Stories

From New Orleans, Louisiana;

The victim, a 40-year-old woman, was attempting to leave her driveway in the 700 block of North Miro Street around 7 a.m. Wednesday. She was blocked by a man, who followed her into her house as she ran away. The suspect punched the victim several times before the victim pulled out a handgun and shot the suspect three times.

The victim was taken to the hospital, where he died of his wounds Wednesday evening, police said.

There can’t be two victims in that story, but, there you go.

From Louisville, Kentucky;

Police say Lugene Floyd Jr., 19, was in his kitchen with his brother Saturday when another man entered the home naked and attempted to sexually assault their mother, according to court records. Records do not say where the man entered the home.

Floyd’s brother retrieved a gun and fatally shot the intruder, who was identified by WDRB News as Darryl Turbin Jr.

After the man was shot, Floyd took the gun from his brother and fled the scene prior to police’s arrival, court records show.

Floyd was charged with evidence tampering and was taken to Louisville Metro Corrections.

A lesson for the kids out there, from Opelousas, Louisiana;

Jamie Ballard, 34, was booked with illegal use of weapons, a spokeswoman said.

The incident began early Wednesday, the spokeswoman said. Ballard allegedly found a man in his yard, stealing things, the spokeswoman said.

The man ran away, but Ballard allegedly got into his vehicle and drove around trying to find the man, she said. When he found the man he thinks was stealing from him, he fired a warning shot, the spokeswoman said.

Ballard wasn’t on his property when he did that, she said, and so he was arrested.

Another life lesson from Atwater, California;

Atwater police were called just before 10 p.m. to a home in the 1900 block of Atwater Boulevard. The resident, Abraham Flores, initially told investigators he’d interrupted someone burglarizing his car and chased the man off. However, officers later learned Flores had opened fire on the burglary suspect, striking the man at least once, Detective Anthony Cardoza said.

“Unless your life is in danger, you’re not justified shooting someone, especially not justified over a property crime,” Cardoza said in a telephone interview. “Unfortunately it looks like the property owner just tried to take things into his own hands. Both men are victims and suspects in this case.”

The burglary suspect, a 22-year-old man whose name was not released, ran to a relative’s home nearby to get help. He was shot at least once in the leg and taken to a Modesto-area hospital for treatment. Police said they do not believe the injury was life-threatening.

According to police, Flores initially claimed he’d chased the burglary suspect away. The suspected burglar fled, leaving a hat and his shoes behind. Flores did not tell police he’d opened fire, officers said.

From Leesburg, Florida;

According to Sheriff’s Lt. John Herrell, Tavares police received a call just after 1 a.m. from a man who claimed he’d been abducted and brought to a house on Melrose Avenue in Leesburg’s Bassville Park neighborhood.

Two deputies arrived at the house just as two men, one armed with an assault rifle, were emerging. Sebastian D. Badwell, 22, of Sorrento reportedly fired at the deputies, who returned fire and struck the shooter in the leg near his ankle. He was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center with injuries that investigators said are not life threatening.

Deputies arrested the other man, identified as Kailon M. Harris-Caldwell, 20, of Eustis.

Herrell said deputies found five people inside the house, some with minor injuries that appeared to be from beatings.

The original call for help was from a man who said he’d been abducted from his Tavares home by the suspects and brought to the scene of the home invasion in Leesburg.

From DeKalb County, Georgia;

The man broke into an apartment at the South Hairston Road complex, held a woman against her will and fired shots at officers when they arrived, police told Channel 2 Action News.

He then barricaded himself in an apartment before police fired tear gas inside, police told Channel 2. After an hour-long standoff, the man came out firing and officers fired back, officials said.

It is not clear if the man died on the scene or en route to a local hospital. His name has not been released.

From North Little Rock, Arkansas;

The man who lives in the house told police he and a woman were watching a movie in a bedroom when he heard loud banging at his front door and a man he didn’t know began kicking it in. He told officers he warned the man that he had a gun but they kept kicking the door until it was forced open.

When the man got into the home, police say the resident fired his gun twice and the suspect left the scene.

“I was sitting in my house and I heard a loud crack and I didn’t want to assume it was a gunshot but I guess it was…followed by a yelp,” says Chris Paradis, a neighbor.

According to police, the woman who was inside the house knew the man who was shot and drove him to the hospital for treatment. He was reported to have a gunshot wound to the torso and was still being treated by late Tuesday afternoon.

From Winston-Salem, North Carolina;

Winston-Salem police say just after three this morning,a group of people was trying to break into a car.

A man yelled at them and when the suspects tried to run one of them was shot in the back.

“I would hate for someone’s life to get cut short because of a stupid mistake they made at a young age,” said Stephon Gatewood.

Gatewood lives a few houses down from the commotion.

He woke up this morning when police knocked on his door and tried to get more information about what happened.

Gatewood says break-ins happens all too often.

So often in fact, he tries to limit his losses.

Make sure I don’t have anything valuable in there and leave them unlocked. I would rather someone just go in there and look around rather than just break my windows and not get anything at all,” said Gatewood.

Gatewood would like to see more of a neighborhood watch to deter the break-ins.

As for the break-in suspect who was shot, police haven’t said who shot him, but several shell casings were found nearby.

He was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

From Sewickley, Pennsylvania;

The man had just come from the Northwest Savings Bank in Sewickley around noon Monday.

The suspect, Stephen Mattie, was allegedly running down the street with a bandana covering his face.

He was reportedly dropping money as he ran down Locust Street before being stopped by a boxing coach who happened to be walking by.

“He was fumbling money all over the place,” said Jaryd Boyer. “I see some guy just coming down, masked up.”

Boyer and his friend stopped him.

“Just went up to him, grabbed him and my boy came up behind me and made sure he didn’t have a gun,” Boyer said.

Moments later, police arrived and arrested Mattie, who is facing robbery and terrorism charges.

From Parkland, Washington;

A 16-year-old suspect will face burglary charges when he is released from the hospital — after a Parkland homeowner shot him in her home Saturday night.

Pierce County sheriff’s deputies [WTF?] woke up when her dogs started barking, heard a scratching sound then saw an intruder down the hallway. She grabbed a handgun and told the supsect to stop. When he kept coming, she fired a warning shot through a window but that didn’t deter the teen. She then shot him in the arm and called 911.

When deputies arrived, the intruder was screaming in pain. While waiting for deputies, the homeowner said the suspect kept yelling, “I’m so high!”

The deputies, one of whom is a trained military combat medic, applied tourniquets to the suspect’s arm until an ambulance could arrive.

From Norman, Oklahoma;

A couple took matters into their own hands when they discovered a burglar in their home, shooting him while police were on the way.

The couple woke up around 3:30 a.m. to the sound of Jerrold Allery Jr., the alleged burglar, rifling through cabinets in their home.

The woman pulled her handgun out of her dresser and loaded it in the dark. She said she’s had extensive training with the weapon after a previous home invasion.

However, she decided to give the gun to her military-trained husband, and the two confronted Allery together in the kitchen. They were determined not to be victims and to defend their home.

They said they told him to lay down but he refused. The woman called police and, on the 911 call, both can be heard ordering him to lay down.

Allery allegedly continued walking away from them, refusing to lay down, until he walked up the steps leading out of the sun room. There, he reached a door he couldn’t open while, below him, the couple continued to yell at him.

That’s when he turned around and, according to the affidavit, “began moving towards” the man with the gun. That’s when the homeowner shot Allery in the chest.

“Their safety was obviously at risk,” said Sarah Jensen with the Norman Police Department, “and they felt like the only way to ensure their safety was to fire the handgun.”

From Cocoa, Florida;

Jaleen Malik Howard’s last action to protect his apartment from three home invaders may have provided one of the biggest clues into who killed him.

Cocoa police said the 19-year-old — at home early Tuesday with his girlfriend and child — managed to exchange gunfire with a trio of men who stormed into his second-story apartment.

Bullets from a .40 caliber and 9 mm handgun pocked the wooden staircase and a nearby window in a chaotic scene, say police and neighbors.

One round from Howard’s gun struck and fatally wounded Rahkwon Shiem Yarveez Oquendo, 22, causing him to collapse in the street in front of the Peachtree Apartments on Peachtree Street east of U.S. 1. Howard was also shot, bloodied and dying in the stairwell in front of where he lived in Apt. 24 as neighbors attempted to comfort him.

From Riverside, Illinois;

Someone kicked in the side door of a home at 8:11 a.m. in the 500 block of Berkeley Road in Riverside after ringing the doorbell and getting no response, according to a statement form Riverside police.
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The homeowner, who has a valid concealed carry license, picked up his gun and yelled for the intruder to get out, police said. The homeowner and suspect never saw each other.

The suspect or suspects drove off in a dark-colored SUV, according to police. No injuries were reported.

From Temple City, California;

A man who broke into a Temple City business early Monday was shot and wounded by the owner, authorities said.

Sheriff’s Lt. Tom McNeil said the injured suspect was expected to survive.

Deputies caught a second suspect who fled the scene when he crashed several streets away, in the 4400 block of Temple City Boulevard.

The two men had tried to break into an automotive business in the 4700 block of Miller Drive around 4 a.m., the lieutenant said. The owner was at the shop.

One of the suspects pried the door open, got inside and was shot, McNeil said. The owner had been burglarized in the past, McNeil said, but he did not know if it happened at the same business.

From Albuquerque, New Mexico;

When officers spotted the suspects speeding away from the store in a white van, they followed them.

“This is two area commands, we have a massive scene here,” said APD Officer Simon Drobik.

The pursuit ended in a Smith’s grocery store parking lot, where shots were fired.

“We came in here quick stop just to pick up some cherries because they were on sale we were supposed to do a quick in and out,” said Leandrew Deswood, who was inside Smith’s during the shooting.

Police say an officer shot at the suspects.

They say one of the suspects was taken to a hospital where he later died and the second is in custody.

From Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania;

“The (intruder) came from across the street and went into the victim’s garage. While in the garage, the (intruder) retrieved a gas can and walked into the victim’s house. The (intruder) began pouring gasoline all over the floor,” according to a news release.

The home owner pushed the intruder out of the home, while at the same time, his daughter retrieved a handgun and gave it to her father then called 911, police said.

The intruder repeatedly “kept coming at” the homeowner, knocking him the ground, police said.

“The (homeowner) got to his knees and fired one shot at the (intruder), striking him in the left arm and abdomen,” police said.

The intruder stayed on the ground until paramedics and police arrived at the scene, and was taken to a local hospital for treatment for his wounds.

From Jackson County, West Virginia;

Officials say [Billy] McFarland drove up to Ravenswood to pick up a woman with whom he had a previous relationship. We’re told he held that woman against her will in his vehicle with a gun he had purchased several hours before the shootout.

Officials tell WSAZ police originally responded to a call that McFarland was driving erratically and tried pulling him over. They say officers knew something was wrong when that woman jumped out of the vehicle.

They tell WSAZ once she jumped out, McFarland stopped and began shooting her while she was on the ground, trying to get behind the police vehicle. At that point, we’re told McFarland saw officers and began firing at them. That’s when police shot back, hitting him multiple times.

McFarland is listed in critical condition and is still alive.

From New Philadelphia, Ohio;

Police had received a report at 5:55 p.m. Thursday about a shooting incident in the 400 block of North Broadway involving a man with a gunshot wound in the lower leg. He was transported to a hospital and then flown by helicopter to Akron City Hospital, where he was treated and released.
With consent, police searched the apartment and found and confiscated a semi-automatic handgun.

Earlier Thursday, police had received a report of a residential burglary on North Broadway. Nelson said that a safe was stolen, which contained cash and the .40-caliber handgun.

“The shot went through his leg, but he’s lucky it wasn’t a hollow-point bullet or the damage would have been much more severe,” Nelson said.

The safe had been cut open in the apartment, where five other people were present, he said. Instead of arresting the suspects now, officers expect to seek charges against them through the Tuscarawas County grand jury because the five were there when the safe was opened, or shared its contents.

“Everybody in the apartment admitted to being addicted to crystal meth,” he said.

The apartment manager served them with an eviction notice Thursday night, he added.

From Rochester, New York;

Police were initially called to the area for the reports of a person shot.

Once they got on scene, officers discovered that a group of four teens attempted to rob a 40-year-old Rochester man of his vehicle and other things of his. Police say one of these men had a weapon on him and threatened the victim.

The victim, who owns a legally registered handgun, shot the armed suspect in the upper body at least once.

The suspect was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital and is in stable but serious condition.

Police say all of the suspects who tried to rob the victim are in custody. Jayelon Johnson and Summeran Patterson – both 19 – and an unnamed 14-year-old were charged with first-degree attempted robbery and fourth-degree attempted grand larceny.

The man who the group attempted to rob was unharmed during the whole incident.

From South Beloit, Illinois;

South Beloit Police say around 2 a.m a female friend of a father and his two teenagers stopped by their house. The female said she had another female friend in her car, who the father said was allowed inside.

Authorities say when the female left the house, three masked men entered the house, one armed with a knife.

As the father was being restrained, he managed to break free and start fighting with the suspects. The father’s two teenagers also started fighting the suspects at this time.

The father was able to grab the knife of one of the suspects and stab them with it. At this time, the teenagers left the house.

The two women and the three masked men all left the house in a dark colored vehicle.

From DeKalb County, Georgia;

It happened outside of the Kroger parking lot located along Wesley Chapel Road near S. Hairston Road around 4:15 p.m. DeKalb County Police said a group of armed individuals followed the victim to the parking lot, where investigators believe they planned to rob or carjack the victim.

Police said the victim was able to shoot the three suspects during an exchange of gunfire. The victim and none of the other bystanders were injured. Police said the suspects did not hit anyone with their gunfire.

Police transported two on the men with gunshot wounds to the hospital. One later showed up at an area hospital. All are expected to be okay.

From Las Vegas, Nevada;

A central valley homeowner shot and killed an intruder Wednesday morning, Las Vegas police said.

Police were called at 11 a.m. to the 2800 block of Hermosa Street, near East Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway, Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said.

From Santa Cruz County, California;

The woman, identified as 32-year-old Samantha Vetter, broke into a home in Ben Lomond on Monday afternoon and stole multiple firearms, investigators said, according to KSBW.
When deputies arrived, Vetter sped away in a stolen Lexus, abandoning her pet dog, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said.

Later that day, another deputy spotted the Lexus in downtown Boulder Creek, and authorities again gave chase.
“The deputy continued to pursue the woman until he lost sight of her,” the sheriff’s news release said.
Officials searched for the vehicle and waited at nearby intersections, but didn’t catch a glimpse of it.
That is, until evening.
That’s when residents on Branciforte Drive in the Santa Cruz area reported a silver Lexus blocking a driveway, police said.
A woman was walking door to door asking residents to not call the police. She was also asking for gas, officials said.
When police arrived in the neighborhood, they found a 45-year-old man named Chad Tartala by the Lexus, according to the release. He told authorities that the woman he was with was up the driveway looking for gasoline.
Inside the Lexus, officials found stolen property from the earlier burglary, police said.
Meanwhile, officials made a reverse 911 call to residents, asking them to shelter in place “because of the public safety threat Samantha represented,” the news release said.
Other neighbors began calling 911 to report that they saw a woman trying to get into parked cars in the area.
One of the residents who received the reverse 911 call saw Vetter climb over his driveway’s fence and walk toward his house, police said.
The man armed himself with a handgun and shouted at Vetter to stop, but “she continued toward him, challenging him to shoot her,” according to the news release.
“Finally, fearing for his and his family’s safety, the resident fired a single warning shot into the soft dirt in front of his porch,” the news release said.
Vetter then followed the resident’s commands to lay flat on the ground, and deputies arrived and arrested her.
Vetter, who is homeless and from the San Lorenzo Valley, was arrested on suspicion of burglary, vehicle theft, evading a peace officer, carrying a loaded firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm and violating probation, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.
Tartala, the man who was with Vetter, was arrested on suspicion of narcotics and stolen property charges, police said.

From Toledo, Ohio;

Police tell the Toledo Blade the suspected domestic incident occurred around noon. The neighbor reportedly saw the suspect, Bernard Neyland, 59, of Toledo, attacking the victim with an ax in a pickup truck.

According to WTVG Channel 13, police say Benjamin Hand, 29, came out of his home and shot Neyland.

“I heard this lady screaming,” an unidentified neighbor tells WTVG. “She was saying, ‘Help me! He’s killing me! He’s killing me!’”

Neyland was taken to University of Toledo Medical Center but died of his wounds, the Blade reports.

From Chicago, Illinois;

[Kinta] Harris wrote a robbery note at a nearby library, then walked into the MB Financial Bank branch about 9 a.m. at 3030 E. 92nd St., went straight to a teller and slid the note on the counter, the complaint said.
When the teller started to put cash into his bag, Harris told them to hurry before he hurt someone, and motioned to his hip to suggest he had a gun, according to the complaint.
When he was walking out, a bank security guard who had found Harris to be suspicious confronted him and told him he couldn’t leave with the money, the complaint said.

Harris didn’t give him the money and instead ran off, according to the complaint. The guard chased after him and fired a single shot, striking Harris in the leg. Harris kept running.
Chicago police officers later saw a man who matched Harris’ description near 90th Street and Escanaba, the complaint said.
They arrested Harris, and took him to the University of Chicago Medical Center for treatment.
While in custody, he admitted to the robbery and confirmed he was the man wearing a wig, reading glasses and a long black coat in surveillance pictures, the complaint said. He told officers he had been fired from his job in October and needed money to pay his bills, including parking tickets.

From Wisner, Nebraska;

A Wisner family wakes up to an intruder and quickly take action.
Police say, on the 24th of May, Jaben Sateren broke into a home in Cuming County.

The break-in was anything, but typical.

That’s because he was not wearing any clothes.

The homeowner, Brook Anderson, grabbed his gun and shot the intruder in the leg twice and held him at gunpoint until officers arrived.