Jackson, Mississippi

From Jackson’s WAPT.com of September 28, 2007

Jackson Homeowner Shoots At Would-Be Burglars

Students at McLeod Elementary School were on lockdown Friday afternoon as police searched for two men involved in an attempted home invasion.

Homeowner Fredrico Hamblin said he saw a car in his neighborhood most of the morning, passing in front of his Riverwood Drive house several times.

The two men tried to get into his home through the garage, Hamblin said, so he opened fire, shooting five or six times.

Hamblin said he thinks he hit one of the men. A stray bullet hit a neighbor's car.

"I was just trying to get them away from my home. I shot five or six times. One of them dove over the car. I think that's when I shot him," he said.

Both men ran into a wooded area; police found one of the men about a half-hour later behind the Mississippi Basketball Association Complex.

Police used a helicopter and dogs to search for the other man, and nearby McLeod Elementary was put on lockdown.

A constable arrested another person believed to be the driver for the two men nearby.

Police said Hamblin will not face charges related to this shooting because he was protecting his home.

From the Jackson Clarion-Ledger of September 29, 2007

Gunshots deter break-ins

Jackson residents fend off invaders

There were similarities in two attempted burglaries in Jackson on Friday.

The residents of both homes were watching television when the alleged suspects were caught in the act. And in both cases, the suspects were fired on.

Around 7 p.m., Patricia Parker, 53, who lives in the back of the duplex at 420 Barksdale St., said she was watching Wheel of Fortune when she heard her boyfriend calling her name from outside.

"I opened the door and this dude was laying on the porch," she said. "Otis was over him with a knife. I said, 'Otis, let that man go on.' "

Instead, her boyfriend, whom Parker would identify as Otis, went back into the duplex to retrieve a pistol to further convince the man to leave. But as her boyfriend made his way back to the porch, the man slipped past him and into Parker's home.

Otis followed the man into a back bedroom and fired shots, she said, and he continued to shoot at the man as he ran away.

Precinct 2 police found the suspect running down President Street toward Baptist Medical Center. He was wounded at least once in the right leg.

Sgt. Eric Smith said the man may have been trying to break into the back of the home to steal an air-conditioning unit.

The man, whom police have not identified, was being treated at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Neither Parker nor her boyfriend was charged, but police did take the boyfriend in for questioning.

And about 1 p.m. Friday, Fredrico Hamblin was at home at 1715 Riverwood Drive in northeast Jackson, watching SportsCenter when he heard rustling in his garage.
"It was too obvious," he said of the attempt to burglarize his home. "They stuck out like a sore thumb."

He said he chased the burglars away, firing five or six shots at them. It was unknown Friday evening if he hit hit either of them.

Within moments of the attempted burglary, which coincided with Hamblin's 28th birthday, police had two men in custody and were searching nearby woods for a third.

"The homeowner did a good job," Jackson Police Cmdr. Ron Sampson said.

(Much More)

From the Jackson Clarion-Ledger of October 8, 2007

Man who shot at burglars arrested for gun possession

A Jackson man who shot at two teenagers trying to break into his home has been arrested by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Fredrico Hamblin was not charged for defending his property, but instead was charged as a felon being in possession of a gun, Jackson Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeffery Scott said.

Jackson police did not aid in the arrest Friday.

The details of Hamblin’s previous felony conviction was not known.

During Friday’s execution of the arrest warrant, Scott said a large sum of money and narcotics were seized at the home at 1715 Riverwood Drive.

Oji Khanyyan, 17, and Christopher Ross, 18, were arrested for attempted house burglary for trying to break into Hamblin’s home two weeks ago. Neither were injured.