Cleveland, Ohio

From the Plain Dealer of November 28, 2007

Apartment dweller shoots burglary suspect running away

A man accused of trying to burglarize an apartment building at 11:30 Monday night in Cleveland got a bullet in the left leg. A resident shot him as he tried to run away.

Lawrence D. Cooke, 53, shot the suspect at 11:45 p.m. at East 133rd Street and Woodworth Road.

Police said Daryle R. Mitchell, 41, of Soika Avenue, was treated at Huron Hospital and arrested. Mitchell is charged with aggravated burglary.

An incident report says that the suspect tried to break down a rear door. Cooke heard pounding and went outside to check on it, while his wife called 911. Cooke found the suspect and told him to "stay put."

The suspect heard sirens approaching and "started reaching into his pockets and running in the field. As I got about twenty feet from him, I told him to stop reaching around. I then shot my gun near his feet to scare him, and I ended up shooting him in the leg."

Officers found a green flashlight in the field near Mitchell. The report quotes Mitchell; "I was going to buy weed at Coit and Woodworth. I didn't get any. As I cut across the field near St. Clair Avenue, I used my green flashlight to look out for skunks. Then I got shot. I didn't see who did it. I was going to catch the bus on St. Clair."

Police confiscated Cooke's .357 Magnum revolver.