Kentucky: Resident shoots and kills intruder; arrest made

Lexington, Kentucky

From the Lexington Herald-Leader of September 10, 2008

Resident shoots and kills intruder; arrest made

Lexington police have made an arrest in a burglary that turned fatal Wednesday morning at an apartment complex near Hamburg Pavilion.

Reginald Laron Jones, 24, of Lexington has been charged with first-degree burglary.

Police say he was one of three people, including a man who was killed by a male resident in the apartment and a female, who charged into the apartment Wednesday morning.

Officers are conferring with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office as they explore whether the shooting was self-defense, said Officer Ann Gutierrez, a Lexington police spokeswoman. The shooting was being treated as a homicide Wednesday morning as police canvassed an area at Gleneagles Apartments at 2920 Polo Club Boulevard and interviewed witnesses.

The victim and the shooter have not been identified.

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said the man appears to be in his late 20s or early 30s. He had not yet checked for an ID.

Ginn said he did not know where the man was shot or how many times he was shot.

Neighbors said they heard people yelling followed by at least three gunshots. The shooting was reported to police about 8:30 a.m.

A neighbor, who heard gunshots, flagged down officers and directed them to the apartment, Gutierrez said.

Investigators were told the couple who lives in the apartment answered knocks at the door and were “rushed by several people,” Gutierrez said.

The intruders had handguns, she said. One of the occupants in the apartment got a handgun and shot one of the men. He was found dead inside the apartment when police arrived.

There were a lot of people at the scene when police arrived, Gutierrez said. And officers were interviewing them Wednesday afternoon, trying to determine whether they were involved.

Investigators also have not figured out why the intruders were at the apartment and whether they knew the residents.

Gutierrez said police are looking at whether a 2006 law, commonly called the castle doctrine, applies to this case.

Under the law, Kentucky residents can shoot an intruder without fear of being arrested. The National Rifle Association has lobbied for such laws across the country.