Fairbanks, Alaska

From Anchorage’s Alaska Journal of Commerce of December 2, 2005

Robbery victim shoots suspects

Two men suspected of robbing a man in his mobile home were shot in the driveway by the victim as they fled, Fairbanks police said.

The man were hospitalized Thursday night with non-life-threatening wounds to their legs.

The name of the resident was not released.

Detective Dave Elzey said the men were shot at about 7 p.m. in the Peaceful Lane Trailer Court in the Lemeta Subdivision.

Police said two armed men entered the mobile home the man shares with his pregnant girlfriend and stole $50 and a cell phone.

The robbers appear to have picked the trailer at random or picked it by mistake, Elzey said. They told the trailer resident, "Where's your money? Where's your money? You know what we're here for."

"There doesn't appear to be anything here of value," the detective said. "This doesn't appear to be drug involved."

The trailer resident told police he suspects a drug dealer formerly lived at the residence.

The man told police he was not acquainted with the robbers, but they knew he had a safe and demanded to look inside.

The resident declined to give his name to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. He said he feared for his family's safety.

"I've got a son on the way," the man said. "I am not looking to mess around."

The man said he moved into the trailer a few months ago and has been burglarized twice, spurring him to install video monitoring equipment.

"It sounds like he'd had enough," Elzey said. "That's when a gun was eventually purchased."

One of the robbers may have shot back, Elzey said.