Miami, Oklahoma

From Ada’s KTEN.com of February 6, 2006

Charge against Wyandotte man dismissed

Ottawa County prosecutors dismiss a first-degree murder charge against a Wyandotte man after authorities determined that the shooting was self-defense.

Twenty-one-year-old Michael Anthony Morrison was charged May 2nd in the shooting death of Keith Alexander Gordon.

Gordon was found on a Wyandotte road with a gunshot wound to the face.

U-S marshals arrested Morrison in Kansas City, Kansas, and he returned to Miami in October.

District Attorney Eddie Wyant says an investigation revealed that Gordon was running at Morrison with a belt-like vest containing several shotgun shells, knives and machetes.

Wyant says Gordon's relatives removed the vest from his body and hid it in their home nearby.

Witnesses say Morrison grabbed his gun from his vehicle and shot Gordon when he began running at him with a machete in his hand.

Pilot Mountain, North Carolina

From the Winston-Salem Journal of February 4, 2006

Surry man shoots home intruder

A homeowner shot and injured a man who broke into his house this morning, the Surry County Sheriff's Office said.

Greg and Ashley Durham of 2769 Old Highway 52 woke up about 3:30 when they heard their dog barking outside, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

They saw a person wearing what looked like a hood walking near the back of their house, and called 911.

The man forced open a locked door and came in the front of the house.

Greg Durham "shot the disguised unknown person after the entry into the living quarters of the house, using a .22-caliber rifle," the statement said.

Deputies arrived and found Jason Garrett Chilton, 20, lying on the floor in the front room with a gunshot wound. He was wearing a pillowcase over his face, the statement said.

Chilton, whose address was not available, was in stable condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Deputies drew a warrant charging him with first-degree burglary.

Anderson, South Carolina

From Greenville’s WYFF4.com of February 3, 2006

70-Year-Old Man Cleared In Fatal Anderson Shooting

Investigators said a 70-year-old man shot his 39-year-old neighbor in self-defense after he was attacked with a chair at his home.

Prosecutors said Thursday they would not charge John Black. Black handed over a gun to police and told them he shot Marc Anthony Pringle on Monday.

Anderson police Lt. Layton Creamer said an investigation found that Pringle had a "tendency to become violent."

Creamer said he doesn't know what the men were arguing about.

Hesperia, California

From the Victorville Daily Press of February 3, 2006

Man cleared in double homicide

Detectives say Armando Ramos acted in self-defense

A man who has been in hiding since a homicide a month ago surrendered to sheriff's detectives, who then released him after determining the killing was in self-defense, officials said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Armando Anthony Ramos, 24, who was being pursued in connection with a New Year's Day double homicide, agreed to meet San Bernardino County Sheriff's homicide detectives at the Hesperia sheriff's station.

A few hours later he walked out a free man with a clear name.

"He was scared to death ... up until the point he walked out the front door he thought we were going to arrest him," Sgt. T.A. Peters of the sheriff's Homicide Division said.

Around 7:37 a.m. Jan. 1, two men were shot inside a home in the 10300 block of Cottonwood Avenue. According to investigators, Johnny Alfred Hernandez, 27, shot and killed Joseph Aaron Wyatt, 23, following a fight at the home.

Peters said that Hernandez then came after Ramos and an unnamed friend who witnessed the shooting. Acting in self-defense, Ramos armed himself with a nearby shotgun and fired several rounds at Hernandez before hitting him in the chest.

"He basically shot Johnny before Johnny could kill him," Peters said.

Hernandez continued out the front door and fired one round from a semi-automatic handgun back into the house before he collapsed on the lawn, where he died still clutching the gun, officials said.

At the time, Ramos fled and authorities spent a month trying to locate him before he turned himself in Wednesday.

"We always believed during the course of the investigation that he had a self-defense issue, based on witness statements from the scene. We'll package our case up and present it to the District Attorney's office in Victorville. But we believe he acted in self-defense and in the defense of others," Peters said. "The DA is not likely to press charges."

Peters said that since Hernandez — who would be linked to the murder of Wyatt — is already dead, the interview and release of Ramos concludes their investigation into the double-homicide.

West Paterson, New Jersey

From New York City’s WCBStv.com of February 2, 2006

NJ Man Defends Home From Burglars

Fires Several Shots And Scares Them Away

Three masked men attempted to rob Eucledes Moya's West Paterson home at around 9 a.m., Moya told police. His wife called from her car and told him that a vehicle followed her and parked in front of their house. That was when Moya reached for his gun.

According to Moya, he foiled an attempted burglary. "They tried to rob my house, three guys came in, one with a gun. I opened the door, and they tried to put a gun to my head,” he said.

The men did not know it, but Moya was armed himself.

Moya said, “I had a gun. He shot at me, and I shot back."

He fired his handgun a least four times but he wasn't sure if he hit the burglars.

"I was afraid for my life. They were shooting at me" Moya recalled.

But three of his bullets landed across the street, including inside neighbor Jessie Gurley's bedroom closet. His wife was in the adjacent bathroom at the time of the shooting incident.

"If I would have been in the line of fire, I would have lost [my life]," he said.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

From Winston-Salem’s WXII12.com of February 2, 2006

Three Charged In Attempted Store Robbery

Authorities in Forsyth County said Thursday that three men face charges in an attempted armed robbery in which a store clerk pointed her own gun at the culprits.

The incident occurred at Liberty Street Grocery on Old Rural Hall Road.

The clerk told officers that two men wearing masks entered the business and pointed a handgun at her, demanding money. The clerk said she removed a handgun from beneath the counter and pointed it at the men, who fled the business.

A third man was outside and ran away with the other two men, police said.

Christopher Love and Patrick Cox were charged with attempted armed robbery, according to police. Timothy Neely faces charges of attempted armed robbery and resisting arrest.

Hurst, Texas

From the Dallas Morning News of February 2, 2006

Suspect killed, clerk wounded in Hurst holdup

A gunman who police say robbed a convenience store four times times since July attempted a fifth robbery late Wednesday.

This time, the robbery ended with the gunman's death during an exchange of gunfire with the store's owner, police said.

The robber, whose name has not been released, was found dead behind the H.E.B. Food Mart in the 1600 block of Sotogrande Blvd.

He collapsed after being shot in the chest by the store’s owner, said Assistant Police Chief Richard Winstanley.

The owner was not wounded but a store clerk was shot in the lower back and right arm. The clerk was taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth and is in good condition, officials said.

"They knew who he was when he walked in the store," Chief Winstanley said.

The gunman ran after he was shot and collapsed near a fence he had scaled behind the store, police said.

Police believe the same man was armed on July 12 when he entered the store and stole money along with the owner's gun. The gunman, police said, returned Dec. 22, Jan. 5 and again on Jan. 9 using the owner's weapon in all of those robberies.

Police set up surveillance at the store and for three weeks there were no holdups, he said.

Around 11 p.m. Wednesday, the armed robber returned as the store was about to close.

“It was the same m.o.,” Chief Winstanley said. “It got to the point [where] the owner knew what to expect.”

No charges have been filed.

The case will be sent to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office for review, Chief Winstanley said.