Fresno, California

From the Fresno Bee of January 6, 2006

Fresno man kills intruder

Confrontation ends when 80-year-old man shoots through his front door.

An 80-year-old man said he feared for his life when he shot and killed a man who was trying to break into his central Fresno home early Thursday.

Fidencio Garcia Sr. said he ordered the man to leave numerous times before he fired one shot from a .38-caliber revolver through the front door of his house at 448 E. Andrews Ave.

"I had no choice," Garcia said.

"It's your life or mine," Garcia said he told himself as the man stood on the porch kicking the screen door and appeared to be on the verge of breaking it down.

The man collapsed on the porch, where he was declared dead when officers arrived.

The shooting was reported shortly before 4:30 a.m.

Garcia, a retired automobile generator repairman, was taken to police headquarters, interviewed by detectives and returned to his home about 2 p.m.

Detectives said the case will be forwarded to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office to determine whether the shooting was justified or whether criminal charges should be filed.

"Preliminary indications are that the elderly homeowner believed an assault was imminent and that he was incapable of defending himself against a much younger assailant," Lt. Randy Dobbins said.

Garcia said he was not worried about charges being filed against him.

"I told them the truth," he said. "I can't deny I shot and killed somebody, but I had a good reason."

(More detail)