Will County, Illinois

From the Joliet Herald News of January 3, 2007

Police: Local man shot by homeowner

ALLEGED BREAK-IN

A homeowner shot an intruder early Sunday, police said.

Will County Sheriff's spokesman Pat Barry said deputies were called just after 3 a.m. to a break-in to a house in the 18000 block of Manhattan Road.

"Deputies arrived and learned a woman had fallen asleep in the living room and was woken up after hearing noises and seeing a figure near the entryway of the living room," Barry said.

The woman woke her husband, who went to the front door and told deputies he saw an SUV he didn't recognize parked in the driveway.

The vehicle started up and drove away and the man reportedly retrieved a handgun from an upstairs bedroom and began to search the house.

"He went out to an attached garage and saw the service door was open," Barry said. "He went out into the yard and came around the corner to see a man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans crouched against the wall. He was so startled (at seeing someone) that the gun went off."

The man allegedly ran after the shot was fired, and the homeowner said he saw him get into an SUV parked on Manhattan Road. The man told investigators he did not see the intruder's face before he ran away and did not see if the shot he had fired hit the suspect.

Barry said nothing was reported missing from the house. The couple and their teenage daughter, who had been sleeping upstairs, were unharmed.

The homeowner has a valid firearm owner's identification card.

Barry said detectives saw mud had been tracked into the house from the garage area and there were signs someone had been walking around outside the home.

Police asked other local agencies to report any gunshot wounds. The Manhattan Fire Department called them a short time later.

Paramedics had been dispatched to 18427 Breen Road in Elwood to treat a man with a bullet wound to his left shoulder.

The gunshot victim, who lives at that address, 19-year-old Neil Severson, told investigators he had been shot while in Preston Heights that evening, but would not elaborate.

Severson was taken to Silver Cross Hospital where he was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Barry said police are confident ballistic tests will show Severson was shot while trespassing at the house on Manhattan Road.

"Detectives told the family about Severson," Barry said. "They are familiar with him, but he did not have permission to be on the property."

Barry said the case will be presented to the state's attorney's office later this week and likely will result in charges against Severson.

"At this time, all indications are that the homeowner did not do anything illegal," Barry said.