Dardanelle, Arkansas Home Intruder Shot & Killed

Dardanelle, Arkansas

From the February 22, 2008 Russellville, Arkansas Courier:

A Dardanelle man is dead after he and an unidentified accomplice apparently broke into a residence off State Highway 22 near Dardanelle late Wednesday night, authorities said Thursday.

Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey confirmed one of the home’s occupants shot and killed Mike Jensen, 44, after Jensen and another man allegedly entered the residence by kicking in the front door.

Four people were inside the home at the time of the break-in, Gilkey said.

Jensen — who after entering the home made his way down a hallway and was at the point of entering a bedroom when he was shot — was armed with an SKS assault rifle investigators later learned was not loaded, Gilkey said.

The other intruder fled the scene in a vehicle authorities recovered Thursday morning, Gilkey said, adding investigators were working to process the vehicle in hopes of learning the second man’s identity.

Gilkey said authorities do not expect any charges will be filed against the homeowner — who Gilkey said used “a shotgun” to deter Jensen — in connection with the matter.

He said the intruders’ motive was uncertain.

“We’re just assuming that they came in there to rob the family,” he said.

UPDATE: The link above is now dead, but this February 25, 2008 Today's THV tells much the same story.