Adamsville, AL: Bringing a Gun to a Rape Is Bad Idea For Rapist

From Dec. 16, 2015 WVTM:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —Authorities have determined that a woman who shot and killed her accused abductor and rapist acted in self-defense.

The incident was reported at 6 p.m. Nov. 3  in the 2800 block of Pebble Creek Parkway in Forestdale. Adamsville police were asked to help located a 26-year-old woman who had been reported abducted earlier in the day.

The woman was found in the parking lot. Jeremy Arnold Ford, 25, was found dead in an apartment. He had suffered an apparent gunshot wound.

Investigators said the woman had been abducted at gunpoint, raped, driven to locations the suspect wanted to visit, then forced to drive back to Ford's apartment, where she was once again sexually assaulted. They say the victim shot Ford with his own gun.

Elderly Woman Scares Off Home Intruder

Leon County, Texas

From October 26, 2009 Austin channel 8:

Law enforcement officials suspect a home invasion in Leon County is connected to a serial rapist who has been terrorizing elderly women in rural areas of Texas for months.

On Saturday, police say a man broke into the home of an 81-year-old woman.

The woman had a handgun and managed to fire several shots, scaring the man away.

The burglar got away with some cash and other items, but the woman was not hurt.

Investigators believe this incident may be connected to a series of sexual assaults on elderly women across four Central Texas counties, including Bell County.

At least seven women have been attacked since January.

All are over 60, widows and live alone in rural areas.

Attempted Rape Foiled by Armed Victim

Forest Grove, Oregon

From October 16, 2009 KATU channel 2:

FOREST GROVE, Ore. - Police have arrested a man after a woman was sexually assaulted in her own home in Forest Grove, just west of the Portland suburb of Hillsboro.

Floyd Dale Elliott faces rape and burglary charges after being accused of entering the victim's home in the middle of the night last month. Police said he then tried to rape her.

The woman reportedly grabbed a gun, hidden near her bed, and started firing.

Victim Takes Rapists Rifle Away, Beats Him To A Pulp

Harrison County, Mississippi

From August 12, WCVB channel 5 (Boston):

Police had been watching Vincent Goff for years, convinced he was the masked man who sexually assaulted couples at gunpoint on the Mississippi coast. But before investigators closed in, they say Goff picked the wrong victim and was beaten nearly to death with his own rifle.

Goff, a 37-year-old unemployed Biloxi man with a wife and two stepsons, was being held Wednesday in the Harrison County Jail after spending five days in a hospital recovering from severe head wounds. Little is known about Goff's background or the unidentified man who beat him so hard that the wood stock of the rifle broke. But authorities say Goff's arrest caps a terrorizing series of attacks that began on the sandy banks of the Biloxi River in 2006.

Goff allegedly approached a man and woman last Thursday afternoon on an isolated logging road in Harrison County and forced them into the woods with a rifle, Sheriff's Maj. Ron Pullen said Wednesday. They were forced to strip off their clothes and told to perform sexual acts when the male victim, described as a physically fit member of the military in his mid-30s, wrestled the gun away.

"He beat him until the stock broke over his head and then continued to beat him until he thought he had him incapacitated," Pullen said.

Missouri: Cape Girardeau woman shoots, kills would-be rapist at her home

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

From the Southeast Missourian of October 31, 2008

Cape Girardeau woman shoots, kills would-be rapist at her home

A Cape Girardeau woman shot and fatally wounded Ronnie W. Preyer, 47, a registered sex offender who had broken into her home early this morning with the intention of raping her a second time, Cape Girardeau Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said today.

Swingle said he will not be charging the victim, an older woman who positively identified Preyer this morning as the man who raped her on Saturday.

"It is clear that under Missouri's self-defense law the woman was justified in using deadly force upon the intruder in her home because he was in the process of burglarizing her home when she shot him," Swingle wrote in a letter to police chief Carl Kinnison.

Cape Girardeau police had been keeping a close eye on the woman's home, in the southwest part of Cape Girardeau, since she reported the rape nearly a week ago.

In that instance, she'd heard the glass break in a basement window around midnight on Saturday, and decided to make a run for it through her front door, according to police reports of the incident. When she opened the door, Preyer attacked her.

He punched her in the face and forced her into the bedroom, where he raped her.

She reported the rape that night, and described her rapist.

Police were actively working the unsolved rape case, Swingle said, and had been frequently driving past the woman's home in case her attacker returned.

This morning, the woman called 911 after hearing a car door close near her residence. An officer responded, checked the doors and windows, including the one that had been broken during the first attack.

Her landlord had recently repaired the window for her, Swingle said.

Once the officer determined that no one had entered the home, he left.

About two hours later, the woman was at home watching television, when Preyer broke the same basement window and came in, getting the still-wet calking on his clothing as he did so, police reports said.

He found a main fuse panel in the basement and shut off the electricity. The victim immediately tried to call 911, but the phone would not work because there was no electric.

Having recently purchased a shotgun, she grabbed the weapon and when Preyer began banging on the basement door, she was ready for him. When he crashed through the basement door into her kitchen, she shot him once in the chest and ran, heading for a neighbor's house, where she called the police.

It only took officers 45 seconds to respond to the 911 call, Swingle said.

When they arrived, they saw Preyer stumbling away from the home, and an officer ordered him to stop. When he didn't, a female officer drew her own weapon and they forced him to the ground.

He was transported to Saint Francis Medical Center where he died several hours later.

Early Friday morning, the victim identified Preyer out of a photo line-up as both the man who raped her on Saturday and the man who broke into her house today.

Preyer's criminal history is speckled with home invasions and assaults, and he has been convicted of failing to inform the county of his change of address in compliance with registered sex offender laws. Swingle was getting ready to charge him with rape, attempted rape, burglary and attempted burglary this morning, armed with the positive eyewitness identification, when he learned around 9:30 a.m. that Preyer was dead.

Preyer was convicted in 1989 of raping and robbing a woman in New Madrid County and he served 15 years in prison on both charges.

He was also arrested last December and charged with attempted rape and second degree felony assault, but Swingle's office dismissed the charges because he did not think he could get a conviction, he said.

The victim in that case, a woman in her early 30s, allegedly went for a drive with Preyer, knowing of his sex offender status, and he attacked her while in the car.

After talking with the victim in that case, Swingle decided to dismiss the charges because the woman did not use a nearby phone to call for help, and because she went with Preyer because she was "bored," even though he was a sex offender, he said.

"We know in at least one case, he did a good job of picking his victim, this time, he didn't do such a good job," Swingle said.

Tennessee: Brighton neighbor runs to women's aid, shoots and kills attacker

Brighton, Tennessee

From the Commercial Appeal of February 19, 2008

Brighton neighbor runs to women's aid, shoots and kills attacker

A Brighton man shot and killed a 44-year-old registered sex offender who attacked two women in their home early this morning, officials said.

According to Dist. Atty. Gen. Mike Dunavant, David Fleming charged into the home of two women at about 3 a.m.

Fleming bound the women but one escaped and ran to a nearby home. Dunavant said Fleming, who lived in Munford, intended to rape the women.

The woman who escaped went to the nearby home of Keith Ingram for help, Dunavant said.

Ingram, carrying a .40-caliber handgun, ran to the house and found Fleming attacking the other woman, officials said.

When Fleming tried to attack Ingram, Dunavant said Ingram shot Fleming once.

Tipton County Sheriff’s deputies and Brighton Police officers found Fleming dead on the front porch of the home.

Fleming had been convicted of attempted rape in Tipton County. He’s listed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s sex-offender registry.

Dunavant said Ingram has no criminal record and has a permit to carry the handgun.

The women who were attacked were treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton.

TBI officials are assisting with the case. The Shelby County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy. Investigators took statements from several witnesses today. The shooting is still under investigation.

Dallas Rapist Shot

Dallas, Texas

From February 9, 2008 Houston Chronicle:

Police said the man forced his way into the unlocked apartment of a 22-year-old woman around noon. Five children were in the apartment, some of whom belonged to her.

Authorities said he sexually assaulted the woman, and some of the children fled. After he laid down the knife and started getting dressed, the woman ran outside to tell her boyfriend.

The boyfriend and some others confronted the suspect in the apartment, and a fight began. Police said the fight led out into the parking lot, with an unknown number of people taking part.

The suspect in the rape eventually broke free and ran into another apartment, where he was shot.

Nevada: Victims Fight Back in Home Invasion

Las Vegas, Nevada

From the Las Vegas Eyewitness News of February 1, 2008

Victims Fight Back in Home Invasion

One robbery suspect is on the loose and another is in the hospital after four victims fought back.

Police say the four victims were barbecuing when two men with guns entered the home. One of the victims said he made a near-fatal mistake by leaving the garage door partially open. The victims, who do not want to be identified for safety reasons, say they ended up fighting for their lives and thought they might die.

"The look in their eyes, especially when they started beating us in the back of the heads with the guns. It was kind of like someone would torture a little animal and then joking about how they were going to love killing us," said one victim.

The men were pinned to the floor with shotguns. "It got ugly when they went back downstairs and decided to tell the women to undress their clothes," the victim added, "The girls were really crying and you could just tell that they were incredibly upset."

The victim told Eyewitness News that one of the suspects who was preparing to sexually assault the women turned his attention away from the guns and let down his guard.

The two male victims saw their opportunity.

"I grabbed him, threw him down on the ground, grabbed a weight from the weight set and smashed him in the head."

The women also joined in the fight, hitting the suspects with a frying pan.

"One of the girls completely nude managed to grab a gun and shoot the guy in the chest area and in the leg."

"She did what she had to do and I have to be thankful that she was able to do what she did and if she didn't I might not be able to give you this story right now."

The suspect who was shot has serious injuries and is in the hospital. The second suspect is on the run and as for the victims, they have minor injuries.

The police are very cautious not to make this seem like a heroic act. They say fighting back can sometimes end with the victims being more seriously hurt.

Mobile, Alabama

From Mobile’s WKRG.com of November 7, 2007

Newlywed Fight Ends in Gunfire

A man ends up in the hospital after his wife of 4 months shoots him in the knee.

Kim Brown told the Escambia County Sheriff's Office that her newlywed husband tried to attack her in the shower, so she shot him in the knee.

Brown kicked David Crockett out of the house a few days ago and he had been sleeping in his vehicle in the backyard. This morning, deputies say Crockett forced his way into the house and tried to sexually assault his wife. During the attack, Brown grabbed a gun and shot Crockett.

Crockett was taken to Baptist Hospital. He will be charged with Battery, False Imprisonment, Attempted Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.

Sparks, Nevada

From the Reno Gazette-Journal of October 1, 2007

Man caught assaulting woman shot by victim

A man who was caught sexually assaulting a Sparks woman early Sunday morning was shot in the foot by the woman after her boyfriend interrupted the attack, Sparks police said.

Douglas Mendoza-Lobos was found near Poulakidas Park in Sparks with a gunshot wound to his foot after officers said he raped a 22-year-old woman at gunpoint in her home in the 100 block of Lincoln Way at around 3:30 a.m.

Douglas Mendoza-Lobos has been charged with sexual assault, robbery with the use of a firearm, burglary with the use of a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.

Arlington, Texas

From March 30, 2007 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

FORT WORTH -- In December, Darrell Roberson fatally shot a man outside his Arlington home after finding the man and his wife in a compromising position inside a pickup.

But Roberson is no longer in trouble with the law.

His wife, Tracy Denise Roberson, is now the one facing criminal prosecution in connection with the killing.

On Wednesday, a Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Darrell Roberson, 38, on a murder charge in the death of 32-year-old Devin LaSalle.

Instead, the panel on Thursday returned an indictment against Tracy Roberson on a charge of manslaughter, stemming from allegations that she recklessly caused LaSalle's death by falsely claiming that she was being raped, prompting her husband to shoot LaSalle.

Tracy Roberson, 35, was also indicted on a charge of making a false report to a police officer on accusations that she also lied to Arlington police, telling them she was being raped when, officials said, she had actually been having an affair with LaSalle. A warrant for her arrest was issued Thursday.

Vacaville, California

From the Vallejo Times Herald of December 29, 2006

Police: No link between attack, serial rapes

Following an investigation into an attempted sexual assault on Gable Avenue in Vacaville on Wednesday night, police report that they do not believe the attack was tied to a series of rapes which have occurred in Vacaville since 2003.

Wednesday's attack occurred about 7 p.m. when a man entered an apartment complex laundry room in the 100 block of Gable Avenue, hitting a woman there and forcing her to partially disrobe before he was confronted by another man armed with a handgun.

Vacaville Police Sgt. Charlie Spruill said investigation of the Gable Avenue attack indicated that it was unrelated to a series of previous sexual assaults.

Minco, Oklahoma

From Tulsa’s The Native American Times of February 23, 2006

Police: Man masquerading as BIA agent attempts to intimidate rape victim

Suspect’s story crumbles because of Delaware cop’s son

A bizarre story out of a small Oklahoma town involving a phony Bureau of Indian Affairs office, an attempted sexual assault that sees the victim firing a gun at her alleged attacker, and two men- including the victim’s husband-arrested on a total of six separate charges.

“It’s a pretty wild set of circumstances,” Minco Police Chief Tommy “Gus” Handke tells the Native American Times.

The case began the evening of Feb. 19 with Thomas Gibson visiting the Minco home of William Patchell and his wife.

According to police, Patchell, 26, accused his wife of flirting with Gibson during the evening and began to choke her. She was able to get Patchell to leave, only to see Gibson come into the room in his underwear, intent on sexually assaulting her.

“She was resisting him and telling him to stop,” Handke said. “He rolled her onto her stomach and pinned her to the bed. When he did that she was able to get to a loaded .22- caliber pistol and fire one shot.”

The bullet missed Gibson and lodged into a wall. By this point William Patchell had rushed back into the room and, according to police, began helping Gibson wrestle the gun away from his wife. The wife then locked herself into a closet, emerging later to phone police. Handke took the call.

“I made contact with the victim and she was really shaken up. She said, ‘Gus, I’m scared to death of [Gibson].’ He had told her he was a BIA officer.”

Handke says Gibson threatened to use his authority as a BIA agent to get the victim in trouble if she reported what had happened.

Handke tracked Gibson down, describing him as being “extremely intoxicated.”

“First he tells me he’s a cop, then he tell me he’s an undercover cop and then he tells me he’s a BIA cop from the El Reno office,” Handke said. “I guess he thought we didn’t know anyone there.”

Handke did. His deputy chief is Gary Journeycake, a member of the Delaware Tribe that has a son working in the same office Gibson claimed to be affiliated with.

“I asked if he knew a Johnny Journeycake and he said he did. So I picked up the phone right in front of him and talked to Johnny. He said he never heard of him,” Handke said.

While this conversation was taking place, Gibson “got one of those uh-oh looks on his face,” Handke said.

After shattering the BIA agent story, Handke placed Gibson under arrest and charged him with several offenses, including sexual battery, assault and battery and impersonating a peace officer. Bond was set at $150,000, which Gibson has since posted. William Patchell was arrested on charges of domestic assault and battery by strangulation. He also bonded out.

The case is rare for Minco, a Southwestern Oklahoma town of 2,000 people that likes to call itself the “best little US town on both sides of the Mississippi.”

“The main contributing factor here was alcohol,” said Handke. “They had all gone out for drinks before and were drinking whiskey when they came home.”

Sandpoint, Idaho

From Boise’s KBCItv.com of September 15, 2005

Bonner County sheriff's officials call fatal shooting 'self defense'

Idaho Bonner County sheriff's officials say a fatal shooting was self defense.

A woman shot a 42-year-old Clark Fork man yesterday after giving him a ride to his home. She says she was physically attacked before she pulled the trigger.

Police say that the two are former co-workers.

From Boise’s KBCItv.com of September 16, 2005

Registered sex offender shot, killed after woman says he attacked her

Idaho Police say a northern Idaho man who was shot and killed while attacking a woman was a registered sex offender.

But Bonner County Sheriff's officials say there's no indication 42-year-old Christopher Michael Schmidt's offender status was a factor in the Tuesday night shooting near Sandpoint.

Detectives believe the woman shot Schmidt in self-defense. She says he grabbed her by the throat, tried to take her car keys and force her out of her vehicle.

The Clark Fork man, who had a blood-alcohol level three times Idaho's legal driving limit, was convicted of assault to commit rape in California in 1989.

Savannah, Georgia

From the July 20, 2005 Savannah Morning News:

The Chatham County Grand Jury on Wednesday indicted three men in two, unrelated cases have something in common. In both, the victims took away the accused robbers' guns and turned them on their assailants.

In the first case, grand jurors indicted two cousins on charges they sexually assaulted and robbed a woman at gunpoint at the Tatemville Community Park in April.

Eric Mikell and Morris Easterling are charged with two counts of armed robbery, aggravated sodomy and aggravated assault. Easterling is also charged with rape.

...

During the attack, the woman wrestled away Easterling's gun and managed to shoot Mikell in the neck. The cousins ran away after she shot at them. Mikell was not seriously injured.

In the unrelated case, the grand jurors indicted a Benedictine Military School student on charges he held-up a Wilmington Island McDonald's the night of his school's prom.

Cole McEachern, a sophomore at the time of the robbery, is charged with three counts of aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated battery, burglary and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Kerry Bennett, manager at the McDonalds on Johnny Mercer Boulevard, was shot in the left forearm while he was trying to wrestle away McEachern's gun. Bennett got it and shot the teenager in the groin, according to police reports.

Hope, Arkansas

From the July 20, 2005 Hope Star:

A teenage girl shot a 48-year-old man who allegedly was attacking her at her home Tuesday morning, July 19, sending him to a Texarkana hospital.

The incident took place on County Road13, just north of McNab. According to the Hempstead County Sheriff's Office, Ben Haywood, 48, the teen told them Haywood began to hit her and tried to undress her, pulling her shirt off.

The girl got away from Haywood, according to the HCSO, and hid in a closet at the rear of the home. She was found by Haywood and once again he began to beat the girl. After a period of confrontation, the girl was able to grab a 9mm rifle from a gun rack that was near her and shot the alleged attacker -- hitting him in the left leg. She then fled to search for help.

Lufkin, Texas

From the June 30, 2005 Lufkin Daily News:

An Angelina County grand jury on Tuesday declined to issue a criminal indictment to a Lufkin woman who shot and killed her common-law husband June 7.

A 6-year-old boy was in the house and witnessed at least part of the incident, District Attorney Clyde Herrington said Wednesday.

Police found Clarance Lee Richard, 51, dead on the floor from a gunshot wound to the neck in a hallway at a house at 115 Westmoreland St.

Rose Mary Barlow Whitaker, 50, was arrested and charged with murder after calling police to report she'd shot Richard as he broke down the bathroom door in an attempt to rape her.

The two had a rocky relationship, Herrington said. The DA's office had handled an earlier case between the two in which Richard had stolen her car, Herrington said.

Whitaker had been in a shelter in September 2004, afraid to go home alone for fear of her husband, Lufkin Police Lt. Greg Denman said earlier. Police worked several domestic violence calls between the two going back to 2002.

Guadalupe County, Texas

From San Antonio’s MySA.com of July 23, 2005

Guadalupe assailant shot when he follows victim to neighbors

A pair of early morning shootings sent two Guadalupe County men to area hospitals with bullet wounds to the abdomen Friday.

"We were pretty busy in the early morning today," said Guadalupe County Sheriff's Department spokesman Kevin Jordan. "It's pretty unusual for us to have two shootings in one night."

In the first incident, a woman on the 100 block of Baker Creek Loop in northwestern Guadalupe County answered the door to a man she recognized as an acquaintance of her son at about 12:30 a.m., Jordan said.

He said the man put a knife to the woman's neck and sexually assaulted her.

The woman fled to a neighboring house. The couple living there let her in, but her nude assailant followed her and started breaking out glass door panels with his knife, Jordan said.

As the assailant reached through the broken glass to unlock the door, the male resident of the house shot him with a rifle. The 9 mm bullet went through the assailant's hand and into his abdomen.

Sheriff's deputies found him lying in the front yard, a knife in his hand, Jordan said. He is in stable condition at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin.

Jordan said the department expects to charge the man with aggravated sexual assault and burglary of a habitation.

Savannah, Georgia

From the Tallahassee Democrat of April 27, 2005

Police: Woman stops rape by shooting attacker

A woman who was being raped ended the assault by shooting her attacker, police said.

The woman told officers she was sitting in a car with her boyfriend Monday night when two men came up to the parked car with a handgun and ordered them out of the car, according to a Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police report.

The two men took a purse and wallet from the couple and then approached the woman. They ripped her pants off and began sexually assaulting her, the report said.

But when one of the men put his gun down, the woman grabbed it and fired four shots. One of the shots struck one of the attackers in the neck, causing him to fall over.

The woman and her boyfriend jumped back into their car and drove off. The men followed and, using the gun, broke the car's rear windshield, the report said.

But the couple got away and went to a home where they called police.

Officers later found Eric Easterling bleeding on a porch.

Easterling, 20, was taken to a hospital and faces charges of armed robbery and sexual assault-related charges, said police spokesman Sgt. Mike Wilson.

Police said they were still looking for the second suspect, whom Easterling said was his brother.

The woman was treated and released at a hospital.

Elbert County, Georgia



From Toccoa’s WNEG32.com of October 14, 2004

Home Invasions in Elbert County



The Elbert County Sheriff's Department needs your help to find a man who tried to invade elderly women's homes on October tenth.



Police say he's a young black man, with a light complexion, and a small, narrow face. He might be driving a dark green vehicle with taillights completely across the back.



Police say they don't know his motive for invading the homes. But they do know that the 80-year-old homeowners had weapons to protect themselves.



The Elbert County investigators say they have no idea why home invasions are becoming popular these days. Elbert County has had three in two weeks.



Police are looking for this man who they think tried to invade two homes owned by 80-year-old women.



"The suspect went to the house on Longcreek Road and tried to kick the front door in. The elderly women let the suspect know she had a gun and when she did, he took of running. Minutes later, there was another home invasion on Middleton Road and she shot at the suspect and he left,” says Sheriff Barry Haston. He thinks the invasions are connected because the houses were six miles away from each other. The sheriff says the man didn't steal anything from the second home, but did try to rape the woman. Sheriff Haston says having the guns kept those women alive.



"In these two cases I’m actually glad they did because it could have been a different story if they didn't,” says Haston.



The Crime Scene Unit and GBI are investigating the cases and other home invasions in the area. But the sheriff's department wants people to learn from two women in their eighties and protect themselves.



"That's why we give these courses so people will know firearm safety, how to operate a firearm, it just gives the elderly a sense of security when they take these classes,” says Haston.