Nashville, Tennessee

From Nashville’s NewsChannel5.com of June 13, 2006

Man Shoots in Self-Defense, Police Say

Tuesday, an ex-con was in a hospital bed, and the citizen who put him there said it was self-defense.

Police don’t want people to go looking for trouble, but they say people have a right to defend themselves and their family. East Nashville residents tired of being targets said they're not going to let criminals control their streets.

“We work hard every day, and we come home and stuff's torn up or stolen,” victim Teddy Frazier said.

Frazier watched Monday as a stranger started casing his 1991 Chevy Silverado

"He's looking in the window, pulling up on it," he said.

The 46-year-old electrician grabbed his gun and confronted the thief.

“The marks are here where he was trying to pry open the window,” Frazier said.

“I told him: ‘You need to get off my truck.’ I warned him twice before I actually pointed the gun at him,” Frazier said.

Frazier said the man lunged at him. The pool of blood in the grass tells what happened next.

“I had no choice. I went ahead and shot him,” Frazier said.

Floyd Cleveland took one bullet to the leg. As soon as he's out of the hospital, he'll be charged with aggravated assault and attempted burglary.

He's no stranger to the system. Cleveland has been arrested for burglary and assault. In fact, he had just been paroled May 22 of this year.

Police said it appears Frazier acted in self-defense, and he agrees crime fighting is best left to the cops

“My advice is … to call police and report it,” Frazier said. “This stuff needs to stop. There ain't nothing else I can say. People need to quit being scared.”

Detectives are running Floyd Cleveland's fingerprints to see if he's responsible for any other crimes in east Nashville.

Police are investigating what may be a similar case nearby. Saturday night, two robbers mugged a man on Bethwood Drive. Less than 20 minutes later, someone shot the robbery suspects near the Casey homes. Detectives continued looking for the shooter.