Intruder stabbed and victims feel bad about it!

[RocketFoot]

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.a...1-13-0229.html

Gunman dies in Richmond home invasion
Church Hill family is shaken after intruder is stabbed in struggle

Sunday, Jan 13, 2008 - 12:15 AM

By MELODIE N. MARTIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
BELLE Victim of home invasion

Members of a Church Hill family are on edge after a late-night home invasion left them shaken and the armed intruder dead.

The family, whose members asked not to be identified by last name for fear of retaliation, said the bloody incident late Friday has left them unsettled.

"We can never go back to our normal life without knowing that we're not going to be another victim of somebody else's hands, of his family, of his friends," said Belle, who lives in the small frame house with her husband, mother, stepfather, three other people and a menagerie of cats and dogs.

"I don't know if I can ever be comfortable like I was."

Family members said they had just finished watching the 11 p.m.

news when a man yanked open their latched storm door, brandished a gun and demanded pills and cash.

The home is a one-story house in the 700 block of North 32nd Street, about four blocks north of Chimborazo Park.

Richmond police identified the intruder as Jevon Eugene Woolridge, 28, who had no fixed address but whose family lives in Chesterfield County.

Woolridge was stabbed and died at the scene, police spokeswoman Karla Peters said. The home's residents will not be charged, she said.

Belle said she and her husband, Luther, were sitting in the front room when an armed man burst in.

"He just opens the door and walks in like he owns the house," Belle said. "I saw this gun in his hand, and he's fearlessly waving it at all of us."

The intruder allowed Luther to get up and walk to a bedroom, but then he fired one round from a semiautomatic pistol at the living room floor. The noise rang through the house, waking Belle's 64-year-old mother and a female friend in the next rooms.

The man saw Luther calling 911 on a cell phone, tried to grab the phone and dropped the gun, family members said. One of the family members picked up the gun and threw it outside.

A struggle ensued between the man, Luther and three other male family members. At one point, the man got away and grabbed Belle, tearing her shirt and leaving her bruised, she said.

"My son, my husband, my father and my best friend actually saved my life. It if hadn't been for them, he was going to kill me," Belle said. "He was actually going to kill me, and it was all over medication that I have to take."

Belle said she had no idea why Woolridge targeted her house. No one in the family recalled ever seeing him before Friday night. When officers arrived at 11:49 p.m., the residents had pinned Woolridge to the floor. Neither police nor Belle said who stabbed Woolridge or with what sort of instrument.

"There was blood everywhere, all over my clothes," Belle said.

The family, which was taken to the police station, was later told that Woolridge was dead.

"We had no intentions of harming him," Belle said. "We just wanted to contain him until the police got here. That's all that was ever crossing our mind.

Woolridge was a graduate of Meadowbrook High School, said Alicia Rasin, spokeswoman for his family. He lived with his girlfriend in the Church Hill area and worked at a food-processing warehouse, she said.

"The family is hurt by the loss," Rasin said. "Jevon will be greatly missed."

Yesterday afternoon, the men in Belle's household replaced the doors. A rug covered the spot where investigators removed the bullet-scarred floorboard for evidence. They continued to find spots of blood missed by crime-scene technicians.

"It was not intended," Belle said, "but when they told me he was deceased, I was thinking, 'How will I live with this for the rest of my life?'"

"I'm sorry that he died, but I felt it was either me or it was him. I'm just thankful that it wasn't me."
Contact Melodie N. Martin at (804) 649-6290 or mmartin@timesdispatch.com.

Sounds like a family of Anti's to me! LOL Glad it turned out alright, but Geez, they threw the gun out the window?? WTF is wrong with people??

[dnar]

Yeah, some people are more afraid of a gun than the perpetrator himself. Thanks for the news link.

[P-11 shooter]

I know that stabbing a guy in your living room and having him bleed all over your carpet can ruin your day, but that guy should be relieved that he dosn't have to bury his wife.

[Eugene V. Debs]

Well, if you don't know how to operate a firearm, getting it out of the assailant's reach is probably the best bet-- otherwise you could end up hurting the wrong person or the assailant could end up getting the gun back. Imagine if you were so ignorant about guns that you couldn't find the safety (or even realized there was a safety) or it's a SA auto and the hammer's down and you don't realize it has to be cocked...that could turn out really badly if the attacker is at close range. Better to chuck it.

[knight0334]

pffffft... anti-gun, pro-gun, wussy people, warriors - it doesn't matter.. All that matters is that the bad guy is dead.

Let the people feel bad if thats how they deal with it.. If it happens at my place, I'll be sure to invite you all for a kegger and cookout.

[sgt7546]

Thats ashame to ruin a good carpet like that for a criminal.

[jsb889]

Family members said they had just finished watching the 11 p.m.....When officers arrived at 11:49

Hm...and if he wasn't dead? The family did the right thing. Hopefully they'll think about their personal protection more.

[Autonomous]

Sounds to me like there is more to the story. Like how did he know that house contained "pills" or "medication I have to take". Was he watching the house that close. Or worse was he watching the pharmacy. I know drug addicts will do anything to get a fix but randomly picking a house with old people in it and hoping that there is pain meds on premises is a bit of a reach. I hope there are not more people out there who are involved in this. Hate to think of my grandmother having to deal with some shit like this...

pffffft... anti-gun, pro-gun, wussy people, warriors - it doesn't matter.. All that matters is that the bad guy is dead.

Let the people feel bad if thats how they deal with it.. If it happens at my place, I'll be sure to invite you all for a kegger and cookout.

This is right on the mark. I might not have a kegger...prolly more of a fundraiser dinner to pay the lawers...
-A