Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Kentucky: Hillview man charged in break-in at bait shop

Hillview, Kentucky

From the Louisville Courier-Journal of January 22, 2009
Hillview man charged in break-in at bait shop

A Hillview man been charged with burglary after allegedly breaking into a Louisville bait-and-tackle business and being shot at by the owner Saturday.

Eric Lee Wade, 24, is accused of breaking a window and entering Pepper Tackle Shop on Dixie Highway in Valley Station about 11:30 p.m., said Lt. Jim Mueller with the Louisville Metro Police robbery unit.

A 16-year-old Jefferson County juvenile was involved, according to Mueller, but it was uncertain last night if he has been charged in the Pepper break-in.

Norman Pepper, the owner of the store and an unsuccessful candidate for the Metro Council District 14 seat, said in an interview yesterday that when two people entered his business after hours, he fired a shot at one of the men and a second shot to scare them off.

The two crawled back out the window and got into a car, said Pepper, who is 67. He managed to fire three shots into the car before the occupants fled.

The vehicle was later found abandoned on the Gene Snyder Freeway near Dixie Highway.

"They didn't have time to do anything. I was on them," Pepper said. "There was no time to be scared."

He then called the police. While his shop has been burglarized before, this is the first time he has shot at an intruder, he said.

Both Wade and the juvenile have been charged with robbery in three other cases -- hold-ups earlier Saturday at Circle K, 9111 Blue Lick Road; on Jan. 13 at First America Cash Advance, 6661 Dixie Highway; and on Jan. 10 at Cash Tyme, 11340 Preston Highway, Mueller said.

Two people would enter the businesses wearing masks, brandish a sawed-off shotgun or a pistol and demand money, Mueller said. No one was injured in any of the robberies.

Wade was arrested Monday, and the juvenile was arrested Tuesday, he said.

The juvenile has been charged with three counts of first-degree robbery, Mueller said.

Wade has been charged with three counts of first-degree robbery, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of having a vehicle that is a nuisance, according to Metro Corrections. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.

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