Victoria, Texas

From the Victoria Advocate of May 3, 2007

Man's wounds healing after being bit by stray dog

Lance Grote holds no anger toward the dog that bit him last week.

He reserves that disgust for the person or people who abandoned the canine.

Grote, 38, was bitten Thursday by a dog that was roaming around the Hidden Valley subdivision in rural Victoria. He learned Monday from Animal Control that the dog tested negative for rabies.

The dog was shot and killed in a field near the intersection of Deer Trot and Gentle Breeze drives Friday by David Walton, who lives on a neighboring street. The dog had been wandering around the neighborhood with another dog, which also was shot and killed. Grote and other residents said the dogs were strays.

Sgt. Mike Williams with the Victoria County Sheriff's office said the law allows people to shoot an animal in self-defense, so long as they do not violate any firearms regulations and local laws. But no one can just indiscriminately shoot animals, he said.

Grote said the sheriff's office gave residents the OK to shoot the animals if they posed a threat, so neighbors "took it upon themselves to hunt them down."

Walton said the dog that bit Grote appeared to be a "three-quarter pit bull/Labrador cross."

"He had been chased all day, so he knew people were out to get him," Walton said.

The other dog also appeared to have some pit bull pedigree, he said.

Grote was doing some yard work when the dog approached him from behind and bit him, he said. The bite left about a 1-inch gash and two punctures wounds on his left leg below the calf.

Hialeah Gardens, Florida

From NaplesNews.com of May 2, 2007

Thieves rob armored truck of $1.8 million in S. Fla.

Authorities searched for two robbers who fled with $1.8 million from an armored truck during a delivery at a check cashing store Wednesday. Shots were fired, but no one was injured, police said.

The armored truck, operated by AT Systems, was making a delivery to EZ Check Cashing Store at 8:40 a.m. in Hialeah Gardens. The driver parked the truck and a messenger got out with the bag containing the money to deliver it to the store. A person approached the messenger and pointed what felt like a handgun to his back and then told him in Spanish to walk over to a dark blue four-door Mitsubishi and throw the money in the back seat, the FBI said in an e-mail.

“A slight struggle ensued where the subject tried to take the gun away from the messenger. When he failed, he got into the car,” the FBI e-mail said.

The FBI said that witnesses also saw a man sitting in the driver’s seat of the Mitsubishi. The messenger fired three shots as the car drove away.

The heist was caught on surveillance tape, but the footage was not likely to be released Wednesday, said Judy Orihuela, FBI spokeswoman.

The FBI questioned the two guards on the scene and analyzed the video surveillance tape of the robbery, Hialeah Gardens police Lt. Carlos Fojo said.

Richmond County, Georgia

From Augusta’s WJBF.com of May 2, 2007

South Richmond County Homeowner Fights Back

WJBF News Channel 6 has learned that a South Richmond County resident will not be charged after he reportedly shot and killed a home invader. At the scene, WJBF has learned that when the Linderwood Drive resident came home today, he noticed that his home had been ransacked. He grabbed a weapon and came upon a suspect in his home. That's when he shot the invader. Early indications from deputies are that this homeowner was defending himself and no charges will be fired.

From the NBCAugusta.com of May 2, 2007

South Augusta Homeowner Shoots Intruder While On The Phone With 911

A homeowner took matters into his own hands Wednesday afternoon.

He shot an intruder while he was on the phone with 911.

The homeowner used a high powered rifle, similar to an A-K 47, to defend himself when he noticed his house had been robbed.

He also noticed several of his guns were missing.

While he was on the phone with 911, he saw the burglar come back into his house.

The homeowner told investigators that because some of his guns were missing, he opened fire.

Investigators say they believe he was acting in self-defense, but it's still early in the investigation.
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The intruder went into surgery at an Augusta hospital Wednesday afternoon.

From the Augusta Chronicle of May 3, 2007

Soldier comes home early, kills burglar
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A man who police said broke into an Army officer's south Augusta house to steal guns was fatally shot Wednesday by the soldier living there.

Errol Lavar Royal, 29, of the 2200 block of Ramblewood Drive was pronounced dead at Medical College of Georgia Hospital about 6:45 p.m. Police said he lived with his parents near the burglarized home in the 3400 block of Linderwood Drive in the Pepperidge subdivision.

Capt. Barre Bollinger, an Iraq war veteran, told police he returned from work about 3:30 p.m. and found his house had been ransacked, said Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Thomas Johnson.

Capt. Bollinger told police he entered his bedroom and noticed that guns were missing.

He grabbed his SKS rifle - a weapon similar to an AK-47 assault rifle - and called 911, Investigator Johnson said.

"While on the phone with 911, he sees the suspect approaching his back door. Because he believes the man now is armed with his stolen weapons, Mr. Bollinger fires at him three times," Investigator Johnson said.

Mr. Royal was shot at least twice in the stomach area. A search of his residence produced two guns taken from Capt. Bollinger's house and marijuana, the investigator said.

Neighbors told police that Capt. Bollinger, who is stationed at Fort Gordon, generally works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but occasionally returns home early.

As of now, there are no plans to charge Capt. Bollinger in the shooting, police said.

A similar shooting occurred a week ago, when a woman shot an intruder on Lexington Drive, less than a mile from Linderwood Drive.

Lexington, Kentucky

From Lexington’s Kentucky.com of May 2, 2007

FUGITIVE CAPTURED WHILE HIDING BENEATH HOUSE

A Lexington man who was wanted by police was caught yesterday after he was held at gunpoint by a resident of a house he was hiding under. Eric Martin, 21, was apprehended a little before 2 p.m. at 3235 King Arthur Drive. He had hidden in a crawlspace under the house, said Lexington Police Lt. J.J. Lombardi. In recent days, Martin had fled police who had a warrant for his arrest related to an assault, Lombardi said. Several police, U.S. marshals and a police helicopter were in the neighborhood looking for Martin. He ran through several yards before trying to hide. "The resident that lives there held him at gunpoint until police caught up with them," Lombardi said. Martin faces several charges including assault, burglary and fleeing and evading police.

Hampton Falls, New Hampshire

From Manchester’s WMUR.com of May 2, 2007

Police: Homeowner Confronts Intruder, Fires Rifle

A homeowner made a daring move on Monday night when he discovered an intruder in his Hampton Falls home.

Police said the man arrived at his Kensington Road home and noticed shadows inside. He grabbed a shotgun and went inside.

The homeowner and an armed, masked intruder came face-to-face, and police said the homeowner fired his rifle.

The shot missed the burglar, who ran to the basement of the home.

Police said the owner of the home then called 911. Somehow during that time the intruder escaped.

State and local police responded and searched the area but did not find anyone. Nothing had been taken from the home.

Police said that the home has been the site of a previous break-in where several people wearing dark clothing were found inside. They are investigating the most recent burglary.

Officers recommend that people do not confront an intruder. They said people should get to a safe place and call for help.

Shotgun, rifle, whatever--one of those long thangs that make a loud noise.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

From Lawton’s KSWO.com of May 2, 2007

Man who was shot wants shooter arrested; police decline

Tulsa police have thus far declined to arrest a man who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and who was involved in a shooting last week that left another man injured.

The man who was injured, Steven Hackler, wants police to arrest the man he says shot him, whom police identify as Phillip Stephenson.

Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham says authorities questioned Stephenson but opted not to arrest him, and Willingham says that such a scenario usually means that charges will not be filed.

Tulsa County District Attorney's office spokeswoman Susan Witt says that office is waiting to receive the police report before making a decision on whether or not to file charges.

Hackler says Stephenson said he fired the shot because Hackler had pushed Stephenson's wife. Hackler says the shooting definitely was not in self-defense.

Half Moon Bay, California

From the InsideBayArea.com of May 2, 2007

Passions stir over dog shooting on coast
Officials say property owner had right to protect farm animals

A homegrown controversy over the shooting of a dog on a man's property in defense of his farm animals last month has escalated into an ugly bout of name-calling, hurt feelings and even death threats.

Residents are divided over whether local resident George Muteff, a financial consultant who keeps horses, ewes and lambs in his fenced-in backyard, was justified in shooting to death a neighbor's Boston terrier that he says broke into his field and attacked his animals on April 4.

Regardless of anyone's moral judgments about the event, the fact is that Muteff acted legally, say officials.

"He had every right to shoot the dog. It's tragic and awful, but everyone who owns livestock is entitled to do what he did," said Scott Delucchi, spokesman for the Peninsula Humane Society.

San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Morris Maya agreed, citing a section of the state Food and Agriculture Code that gives people the right to protect their livestock from dogs. The exemption applies regardless of how a property owner's land is zoned or whether it is located in a busy residential area, said Maya. The District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the case after the Half Moon Bay Police Department referred it for review.

That finding has not stopped dozens of locals from posting strongly-worded comments on two Coastside online message boards, ranging from blaming Muteff for what some call animal abuse to reproaches directed at the dog's owners for letting the animal roam free. The issue also has raised concerns about the safety of using a gun so close to other homes in a residential neighborhood.

Muteff's property lies next to Ocean Colony, an upscale subdivision west of Highway 1 that borders on a golf course near the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Muteff's back field faces a walking path also used by golf carts.

Several Ocean Colony residents were expected to make their voices heard at a Half Moon Bay City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Allen Alifano, president of the board of directors of the Ocean Colony homeowner's association, sent a letter to Mayor Naomi Patridge on April 19 expressing "concern, alarm and uneasiness" about the shooting.

"The shot could have missed its mark and seriously injured or caused a human fatality," wrote Alifano.

Muteff, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for Half Moon Bay City Council in 2006, said he and his wife have been living a "nightmare" since he shot the 11-pound dog, which squeezed under the fence that pens the sheep and ewes in Muteff's backyard and started barking and snapping at the animals' legs, with a .22 caliber handgun. A second dog that had escaped from the same home stood barking outside the enclosure.

Muteff's wife tried throwing rocks and sticks at the terrier, but it cornered two ewes and wouldn't back off. One ewe tried to jump over the fence to escape and injured herself, claims Muteff.

"The dog was on her. He was biting her. He was attacking her," he said. "Sheep were scattered all over the field. They were panicked, with their tongues hanging out."

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