Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Kentucky: Man shoots, kills intruder during home invasion, intruder turns out to be man's grandson

Louisville, Kentucky

From WHAS of July 1, 2009
Man shoots, kills intruder during home invasion, intruder turns out to be man's grandson

Police say a grandfather shot and killed his own grandson, after the 20-year-old broke into his grandparents' house.

But WHAS11 News has learned the grandfather didn't realize who he was shooting until it was too late.

Metro Police say the grandson came in through a back window wearing a ski mask around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. His grandfather woke up and saw the figure with a mask and opened fire.

The shots killed his grandson, James Michael Keen, 20, who has a record of repeated drug charges. We're also told had stolen from his grandfather in the past.

Investigators say keen also fired at his grandfather, but they're not sure who shot first. We're told the gun keen had on him at the time was his grandfather's gun, previously stolen from his grandfather's car.

It appears the motive of this morning's break-in was theft, but since it ended with Keen dead, WHAS11 asked police if his grandfather might face any charges.

"The facts we have don't lead to that as far as I’m concerned-- for an arrest to be made. It seems to me to be a justified homicide, as far as self-defense, but that determination will come from the Commonwealth Attorney's Office,” said Lieutenant Barry Wilkerson, LMPD.

However, Nicholas Joseph Spencer, 20, is under arrest. Police say he was waiting outside in the getaway car for Keen at the time of the shooting.

A source also tells WHAS11 that Keen's grandfather first figured out it was his grandson just before police arrived, when he pulled the ski mask off Keen.

Police say that the grandson also fired shots at the homeowner, his grandfather.

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