Independence County, Arkansas

From the Batesville Daily Guard of May 3, 2007

Shots fired at armed midnight intruder

Responding to a call for help around midnight, the parents of Rebecca Little of 150 County Line Road arrived to see a man armed with a shotgun fleeing from the residence.

When told to stop, the man reportedly turned and pointed the shotgun at the parents, and a shot was fired at him in return before he fled into a wooded area.

Sgt. Mike Price with the Independence County Sheriff’s Office said Little told him that she was awakened by someone knocking and then pounding on her door around midnight.

Unable to see anyone outside, Little said she called her mother and step-father, Tony and Debbie Mesa, to come to her house.

“When they arrived they saw a white man, approximately 18 to 25 years old in a white T-shirt and jeans with short blond hair, run from the area of the house near the master bedroom into the backyard,” Price said.

“The suspect was carrying a shotgun with a black synthetic stock. Mr. Mesa yelled for the suspect to stop and at that time the suspect turned around to face Mr. Mesa in a threatening manner. Mr. Mesa stated he then fired his pistol at the suspect, but didn’t’ believe he had struck the suspect,” Price said.

The intruder then reportedly fled into a nearby wooded area in the direction of Marce Lane, and the family left the residence to call police, mistakenly leaving a door unlocked.

Price said when officers arrived they searched the area but couldn’t find anyone and then called for Little to return home.

After the family left someone reportedly entered the home, pulled a bed comforter and sheets from a bed and threw them in the floor. Two other comforters, a cell phone on a charger and a package of diapers were reportedly taken from other areas of the residence.

No suspects were listed at the time of the incident, according to Price.