Coon Rapids, Minnesota

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune of November 28, 2006

Coon Rapids man kills home invader

A man who kicked his way into a home in Coon Rapids was shot and killed by the 73-year-old homeowner late Monday night, according to reports.

The homeowner told police that the suspect, and a perhaps a companion, kicked in his rear garage door in the 11700 block of Bittersweet Street at around 11 p.m., according to reports. The man told police he shot and killed the intruder with a rifle.

Police said the homeowner heard people talking and believes there was a second suspect who escaped. The dead man was not carrying any identification, according to police.

No other information was available.

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press of November 28, 2006

Charges unlikely for Coon Rapids man who shot apparent intruder

A 73-year-old Coon Rapids man who shot and killed an apparent intruder Monday night "appears unlikely" to face charges, a top Anoka County investigator said today.

The resident told police he was awakened to sounds of what he thought was someone breaking into his house on Bittersweet Street in Coon Rapids, sheriff's Capt. Bob Aldrich said. He grabbed a rifle that he kept in his bedroom around the time a man in his late teens or early 20s entered the room.

"(The resident) fired a single shot, and the suspect was struck in the torso," Aldrich said. "The suspect was able to stumble or stagger down the stairs and then collapsed near a door. And died."

Authorities this afternoon were still trying to identify the suspected intruder, described as a man in his late teens or early 20s, Aldrich said.

The resident declined to speak with reporters when he returned home early this afternoon.

County prosecutors will make the final call on whether or not charges will be filed, but Aldrich said police released the resident without booking him.

From LaCrosse’s WKBT.com of February 16, 2007

No charges against Coon Rapids homeowner who killed intruder

Authorities say they will NOT charge a 73-year-old Coon Rapids man who shot and killed a teenage intruder in his home in November.

Gerald Whaley shot 17-year-old Anthony J. Parks with a .22-caliber rifle he kept loaded by his bed after Parks entered his home and appeared in the doorway of his bedroom.

Assistant Anoka County Attorney Bryan Lindberg wrote in a five-page letter to the sheriff's office that he believed the state would be unable to prove that Whaley broke the law in defending his home.