Grand Rapids, Michigan

From Grand Rapids’ WOODtv.com of October 8, 2007

Photographer shoots, kills intruder

A well-known local photographer shot an intruder to death early Monday morning when the man broke into the gallery, according to police.

About 12:30 a.m. Monday, people who live in apartments above the photography shop on Division Avenue just north of Cherry Street heard breaking glass and a popping sound, and called 911.

Detectives say a man smashed the front window to get in, waking up the business owner who lives just behind the shop.

Allen Stevenson, 43, of Muskegon Heights confronted the owner, Jeff Dykehouse, who then allegedly shot the intruder. Stevenson was dying on the floor when police arrived on scene and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Dykehouse is a well-known Grand Rapids photographer who spearheaded "Emily's Big Picture Project." Dykehouse photographed pediatric Hospice patients free of charge. He lost his own child to leukemia.

Grand Rapids Police Captain Jeffrey Hertel said, "When officers arrived, the individual was inside the business, lying inside the front door. There's broken glass, so there's some indication there was some type of break-in."

Police have not determined how many gunshots were fired and have been talking with people who live nearby. A gun has been recovered.

A neighboring artisan says the gallery's owner has been targeted before.

Stevenson previously was convicted for breaking-and-entering, possessing burglar tools, and receiving and concealing a motor vehicle.

From the Grand Rapids Press of October 16, 2007

Shooting of burglar ruled justified

Rattled by sounds of a burglar breaking into his downtown photography studio and apartment, Jeff Dykehouse called a neighbor in the early hours of Oct. 8, intending to ask if he could see what was going on from his vantage point.

Before that talk could take place, authorities say, Dykehouse shot and killed Allen Stevenson inside the 120 S. Division Ave. building.

It was the third time in under a year the artist had faced threats from an intruder.

Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth was to announce today he will not file charges against Dykehouse for the fatal shooting. Forsyth's conclusion that Dykehouse, 45, acted in self-defense was based in part on the actions of Stevenson, a 43-year-old convicted felon, and on Dykehouse's prior experiences.