From Charleston’s The Post and Courier of August 26, 2005
Store owner takes law into his own hands
Intruder suffers shotgun wounds at business that has been frequent target of crime
Cecil and Jerry Reynolds were fed up with people breaking into their tire store.
About 4 a.m. Thursday, Jerry "did what the law allows him to do," Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon Jr. said.
Reynolds, 49, shot a man in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun. It happened outside Reynolds Tires when an alleged burglar drove into him with a stolen car. Charles-ton County Sheriff's officials said.
After he was shot, driver Clayton Brown swerved the stolen black Volvo and crashed near the store. Brown, 38, was at Medical University Hospital in critical condition Thursday night.
Jerry Reynolds didn't want to talk Thursday about what happened.
"I'm proud of him," said his father, Cecil Reynolds, 78. "He's a pretty levelheaded guy."
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Ralph Hoisington told sheriff's authorities that Reynolds will not be charged, Clark said.
Historically, South Carolina case law has upheld the use of deadly force as a defense when a person's life, home or business is threatened.
In 2001, then-Attorney General Charlie Condon instituted a home-invasion policy that protected citizens from prosecution if they were defending themselves against intruders.
Cannon doesn't recommend that every business owner take the law into his or her hands, but he said Reynolds had every right to protect his property.
Brown will be charged with second-degree burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle, police said.
Passenger Tajuana Ford, 25, of Charleston, faces similar charges.
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