Yuba City, California

From the Marysville Appeal-Democrat of August 11, 2007

Alleged robber shot down

Man dies at Percy Avenue Market in YC

A man died Friday night after allegedly robbing a Yuba City grocery store and trying to flee.

Police responded to the Percy Avenue Market at around 8:30 p.m. after they received reports of a man who had been shot.

Deputy Police Chief Rob Landon said the suspect robbed the market, but never left the premises.

“He made it to the other side of the parking lot and expired,” Landon said.

Landon did not release the identity of the shooter, but friends of the store clerk said weapons are kept in the store.

The deputy police chief would not say whether a store clerk shot the alleged robber nor confirm that the deceased died of gunshot wounds.
...

Police are still investigating the incident.

From Sacramento’s Fox40.com of August 11, 2007

Robbery Suspect Shot & Killed By Store Owner

A deadly shooting is being called self-defense, after a convenience store clerk in Yuba City took matters into her own hands during a robbery.

"We heard a couple gunshots and saw a bunch of people running," said Matt Lewis, who witnessed the incident. In normally quiet Yuba City, hearing gunshots will send people running, and it did on Friday night at the Percy Avenue Market.

About 8:15 p.m., a white man in his thirties wearing a dark jacket walked into the empty store. He demanded money at gunpoint. The female clerk, also one of the market's owners, gave him all she had, which was less than one hundred dollars. "He demanded more cash, and as he demanded more that's when the clerk pulled out a gun and shot the suspect," said Sergeant Kim Slade of the Yuba Police Department.

Shot in the chest, the man stumbled into the parking lot and died. Police found his gun and the money he had stolen in his coat.

"It was horrible, especially in your neighborhood. I mean, that's my house right there and this is my store," said Lewis.

Back at work on Saturday, but much too shaken to speak on camera, the woman and her husband say this is the worst experience in their 24 years of operation. It's not the first time the store has been robbed. Back in 1992, a man came in, demanded money and got into a scuffle with the owner. He ended up getting shot in the stomach and the suspect got away. The couple says they've learned a lot about self-defense since then.

The suspect is from the area but his identity has not been released. Police are investigating, but say the shooting looks to be self-defense. "We try and advise people not to take the law into their own hands. We look at each case differently, but it's kind of a spur of the moment thing, how one feels," said Slade.

From the Marysville Appeal-Democrat of August 20, 2007

Owner will not be charged

A Yuba City market owner who shot and killed an armed robber will not be charged with a crime, Sutter County District Attorney Carl Adams said today.

Adams said the woman, who co-owns the Percy Avenue Market, acted in self-defense when she pulled a .38 caliber revolver from a drawer the night of Aug. 10 and shot Billy Lloyd Saling at point blank range.

Adams did not name the woman in a press release but confirmed she is Suad Hamdan, wife of co-owner Chris Hamdan. She earlier declined comment.

Saling had a loaded .22 caliber revolver in his hand when Hamdan fired one time, hitting him in the upper left chest. She fired a second time as he ran out the door but missed and hit a wall, said Adams.

Saling collapsed and died in a parking lot five to eight seconds after being hit, the district attorney said.

“It’s pretty clear she was convinced he would shoot her,” said Adams. “It’s clear she thought her life was at risk

Russellville, Arkansas

From the Russellville Courier of August 11, 2007

Wal-Mart shooting justified, Gibbons says

Battery charges expected against shooter’s alleged assailant

Fifth Judicial Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons has declined to prosecute a man who shot an acquaintance in the leg July 18 in the Wal-Mart parking lot on East Main Street.

William Garfield Farr, 50, was arrested later that night in connection with the shooting after he fled the scene without notifying authorities of the incident, a circumstance Gibbons called “troubling” in a memo sent Wednesday to Russellville Police Department Det. Mark Frost, which was provided to The Courier.

A witness recorded Farr’s license plate number as he drove away, according to a July 20 article by Scott Perkins and Janie Ginocchio.

In a July 20 bond hearing held at the Pope County Detention Center, District Judge Don Bourne ordered Farr held on a $25,000 commercial bond. At that time, the alleged victim, Ben Lopez, was in stable condition at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, according to testimony by Frost.

Gibbons cited Arkansas Criminal Act 5-2-607 in the memo, which provides that “a person is justified in using deadly physical force upon another person if he reasonably believes that the other person is: (1) Committing or about to commit a felony involving force or violence; (2) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force; [or] (3) Imminently endangering his or her life.”

In the memo, Gibbons wrote despite Farr’s failure to call police and fleeing, “from the evidence, it is clear that Lopez was the initial aggressor and entered Farr’s vehicle while possessing a knife. Farr retreated to the passenger side of his vehicle, a point beyond which he could go no further with complete safety.”

“Although disputed by Lopez,” Gibbons continued, “the credible evidence is that Lopez struck at Farr with the knife injuring Farr’s lip. At that point, Farr shot Lopez in the leg with a handgun which he was authorized to carry under Arkansas Law.”

Frost testified July 20 officers found a knife at the scene. During that hearing, Farr appeared to have a small cut on his upper lip consistent with a superficial knife wound.

Gibbons wrote he anticipates filing battery charges against Lopez in connection with the incident.

It remains unclear how the two came to meet in the parking lot, as well as what caused the encounter to turn violent.

Muskegon Heights, Michigan

From the Muskegon Chronicle of August 10, 2007

Would-be robber's slaying 'justifiable'

The fatal shooting of a man while trying to rob a Muskegon Heights woman in her driveway has been ruled "justifiable," Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said Thursday.

That means no homicide charge will be filed in the July 25 shooting of Edtwon Magett, 32, of Milwaukee.

But the shooter faces trial on several other felony counts.

Kenyada Yvonne Young, 27, waived her right to a preliminary examination Thursday on five charges: being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, making a false report of a felony, delivery of a controlled substance and a felony firearm count. Sixtieth District Judge Michael J. Nolan ordered Young bound over for trial in 14th Circuit Court.

Also waiving his preliminary hearing Thursday was Magett's alleged accomplice in the botched robbery attempt. Malcolm Lamont Price, 19, of 3013 Woodcliffe, faces trial on charges of assault with intent to rob while armed and felony firearm possession.

Magett was shot in the head by his intended victim about 1:30 a.m. in the driveway at 2030 Riordan in what authorities have called a drug-related robbery attempt. He died July 26 at a Muskegon hospital.

Authorities said Young had just pulled into her driveway when Magett confronted her. She started to open the car door, and he pulled it open the rest of the way, put a gun to her head and demanded money.

Police and prosecutors said the woman appeared to be cooperating but instead pulled a small-caliber handgun out of her pocket and shot Magett.

She then allegedly forced Price to drag Magett to her front porch and kick the residence open to make it appear a breaking and entering had occurred, police said.

Prosecutors earlier said Young is an alleged drug dealer and that the holdup men believed she was carrying a large amount of money. She did have several hundred dollars in her possession, and police also found what they said were illegally obtained Vicodin pills in her home.

Police said Magett had been in prison most of his adult life, and his record showed convictions for armed robbery and narcotics violations in Wisconsin and Michigan.

He had been staying with a relative in Muskegon Heights after getting out of prison two months ago. The state corrections department Web site shows Magett was released May 15 on parole after a 2001 drug conviction in Michigan's Cass County and a 2003 prison escape conviction in Berrien County.

Tampa, Florida

From Tampa’s TBO.com of August 9, 2007

Prosecutors Decide Parking Lot Shooting Was Self-Defense

Hillsborough County prosecutors have decided not to pursue aggravated battery charges against a Pinellas County car salesman accused of shooting a man who was charging at him outside an Oldsmar bar this year.

The ordeal was captured on a 911 tape, recorded after the shooter called for help but before he fired his .45-caliber handgun.

Craig Auclair was arrested on aggravated battery charges after he shot Scott Baptista, a 40-year-old seasonal employee of Tampa Bay Downs who lived at the track. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said the shooting occurred after a barroom squabble over cigarettes.

Assistant State Attorney Morris J. Fonte Jr. said it was a clear case of self-defense, even though Auclair started the initial fight.

The altercation began inside KD's Pub on the northeast corner of Hillsborough Avenue and Race Track Road just after midnight Feb. 26 when Auclair, 25, and Baptista fought.

Auclair, of 507 Longfellow Court, Apt. D, Safety Harbor, was kicked out of the bar, deputies said, and as he walked toward his vehicle, Baptista and a friend followed.

An independent witness told prosecutors that Baptista and his friend backed Auclair up about 90 feet before Auclair, who had retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and had called 911, fired a warning shot into the air.

Because he was so close to the county line, Auclair's 911 call was connected to Pinellas County dispatchers.

While Auclair was on the telephone, the two men continued to approach him and Baptista dared Auclair to shoot him, witnesses said.

Fonte said that although Auclair was the aggressor inside the bar, "in no way was he the aggressor outside. He gave every opportunity for the men to back off." Baptista told Fonte that he followed Auclair outside "to get his licks in."

Shots were fired; two hit Baptista, deputies said. He was treated at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Auclair's attorney argued that his client's actions were self-defense.

"We are very pleased with the decision by the state attorney's office not to pursue this matter," said defense attorney John Lauro of Tampa in a prepared statement issued Monday. "We believe that Mr. Auclair acted entirely in self-defense and within his rights under Florida's new Stand-Your-Ground Act."

Houston, Texas

From Houston’s ABC13.com of August 9, 2007

Convenience store clerk opens fire on would-be robber

A convenience store clerk opened fire on a possible would be robber trying to make his way into the store.

It happened off the East Freeway and Hurley in the northeast side of town overnight. Authorities say the suspect walked up to the window and attempted to smash it with a brick wrapped in a T-shirt. It cracked, the window didn't break.

The clerk who was inside of the bullet-proof glass came out and fired a shot at the suspect. The suspect managed to get away.

Police don't think the suspect was hit. The store clerk's brother works at the motel next door. He heard all of the commotion and called police.

Monroe, Georgia

From Monroe’s Walton Tribune of August 8, 2007

Monroe man shot with own pistol after fight

When David Brown pulled out his 9mm pistol Monday morning, he was ready to use it.

But when the gun jammed on Brown, Greg Cooper, the would-be victim, took the weapon and used the handgun to beat Brown with it. The weapon fired, hitting Brown.

Police responded to a report of shots fired just after 9 a.m. at 713-B Lacy St. When officers arrived, they could not find an assailant or a victim but followed a blood trail from where the shooting took place to the back porch of 717-A.

“It appears the two men got into an argument, one pulled a weapon out, cocked it, and it misfired,” Investigator Alicia Martin said. “It then proceeded into a physical altercation. Once the gun misfired, the victim took the gun away and proceeded to use it against his assailant.”

A 9mm shell was located in the driveway, according to reports seven to eight feet away from where the blood started.

Brown, 28, of 735 Lacy St., was later located at his house and transported by Walton EMS to Athens Regional Hospital. Reports were that he had several lacerations to his hand and was shot in the wrist of his left hand.

Monroe Police Department officials expect to issue warrants for Brown’s arrest by the end of the week.

Lehigh Acres, Florida

From Fort Myers’ WINKNews.com of August 8, 2007

Lehigh Acres man shoots would-be robber

"I thought he was trying to get a weapon. I fired at him", said resident Justin Marcoux.

Justin Marcoux says he didn't hesitate. The 21-year-old walked outside his home in Lehigh Acres Wednesday morning after he heard a noise. He thought it was his ride to work.

"I came outside, a guy was running across the lawn with my dad's generator, he dropped it," says Marcoux.

At that moment, he thought the robber might hurt him.

"I had mine in my pocket - I fired in his direction andI guess I hit him." He did, in the arm. 43-year-old Victor Howren went to the hospital and now faces burglary and grand theft charges.

"I was shakin'," says Marcoux.

Under the Stand Your Ground Law, it's Marcoux's right to protect himself.

"The defend yourself law is there so people can defend themselves in situations where there is no where to go," says Lee Sheriff's Firearms Instructor Matt Chitwood.

Chitwood says pulling the trigger should be a last resort. "If you're going to go toward something to defend your property or an object, that's what would concern me about any situation like that. If somebody's life is in danger that's a completely different situation."

Chitwood says people who own guns need to know the law and think out how they react in a dangerous situation.

In Marcoux's case he does have a concealed weapons permit and he wasn't hurt.

Marcoux says if it happened again, he would act in the same way. "We have the right to protect our own property."

From the Fort Myers News-Press of August 10, 2007

Man shot in Lehigh attempted robbery, police say

When a Lehigh Acres man woke up this morning for work and heard his dog barking, he discovered someone trying to steal his generator from the front porch.

At 4:05 this morning, the Lee County Sheriff's Office received a call about a robbery and shooting from the home at 1012 Richmond Ave. N., said sheriff's spokesman, Sgt. Larry King.

The man had walked outside because he thought the barking signaled that his ride to work had arrived, King said.

But that's when he saw the man dragging the generator to his driveway.

The resident thought that the man was armed, so he retrieved his own firearm and shot the robber in the arm, King said.

The resident has a concealed weapon permit.

The suspect then left the generator and drove about a mile away to a wooded area, where deputies used a helicopter and a K-9 unit to find him.

The man has been taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, where King said he was in good condition.

Detectives will interview both men. No charges have yet been filed.

There were other residents home at the time, but they were asleep throughout the incident, King said.

The neighborhood is sparsely populated, and the home is a single-family house, he said.

Richmond Avenue is blocked between E. 10th and E. 11th streets while authorities continue to investigate.

Robert T. and Amy Marcoux are the homeowners, according to Lee County property records. The 2,688 square-foot home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The resident's shooting could possibly be justified because of the "Stand Your Ground" law, which went into effect in October 2006, which gives citizens the right to use deadly force to defend themselves against a feared threat against themselves or someone else.