Armed citizens making a difference thread.

[internet troll]

Assault charge dropped against father who held alleged drug dealer at gunpoint


http://www.wsmv.com/story/36532255/a...er-at-gunpoint
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A Nashville father confronted a suspected drug dealer who was trying to sell heroin to his daughter, according to a police report.

Clark Reasonover is not a man of many words. But he is a man of action. That could explain why he landed in a Davidson County courtroom this week.

He said the real reason he appeared in court was the woman sitting beside him.

“I was protecting my daughter from a drug deal,” Reasonover said.

Not only a drug deal – but a suspected drug dealer, as well.

Ronnie Patton appeared in the same courtroom on Wednesday, accused of trying to sell heroin to Reasonover’s daughter in a parking lot.

The dad uncovered the plan in July by tracking her phone. That’s when Reasonover carried out a plan of his own.

“I felt it had to be stopped and he needed to be placed under arrest,” Reasonover said.

A police report stated Reasonover pulled into the parking lot of Walgreens on West End Avenue on July 27.

Reasonover blocked Patton’s car and pulled out a shotgun from his backseat, then held Patton at gunpoint until police arrived, according to the affidavit.

Reasonover said at that point, his daughter had already left the scene.

Police arrested Patton, who admitted he tried meeting the woman over drugs. Officers also spotted a bag on the ground containing 0.6 grams of heroin, the report stated.

Police also arrested Reasonover, marking the first time he had been charged with a crime.

Flanked by family, Reasonover appeared in court on a charge for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charge.

As the opioid epidemic sweeps the nation, Reasonover knows he and his daughter are not alone. He urged other parents to call police instead of resorting to vigilante justice.

“I wouldn’t recommend this but you need to get involved with your children and know what’s going on,” Reasonover said.

But the father said he refuses to regret his own actions.

“When I held her in my arms the first day at the hospital, I made a pledge to take care of her for the rest of my life,” Reasonover said.

Reasonover previously worked as a licensed armed security guard.

The case against Ronnie Patton was bound over to the grand jury. His charges include possession with intent to distribute and driving on a suspended license. Patton has been convicted of numerous drug offenses in the past.

Copyright 2017 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

[internet troll]

Redford Township homeowner shoots intruder
Intruder shot at home in 11600 block of Kinloch Street

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...hoots-intruder
REDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A Redford Township homeowner shot an intruder Thursday night in the 11600 block of Kinloch Street, police said.

The intruder entered the home about 7:50 p.m. when only a woman and her infant child were there, police said. The intruder wanted property from inside the home.

However, a man who lives at the home returned while the intruder was still inside. A fight ensued and the suspect tried to flee, police said. But the man fired a gun, striking the intruder.

Police said the suspect was arrested and is being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The residents were not injured.

The homeowner and intruder did not know each before this incident, police said.

Police are investigating and will forward the case to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review.

[internet troll]

3 for today. It's starting to get back to normal. It's been tough wading through articles this week. Every search term I normally use keeps bringing up tons of articles about Las Vegas.

West Knoxville homeowner stops would-be burglar with gun

http://wate.com/2017/10/05/west-knox...glar-with-gun/
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – An attempted burglary in West Knoxville ended with the homeowner pointing his gun at the intruder.

Kevin Lindsay said he heard an uneasy sound from his back door in the Farmington neighborhood off Northshore Drive around 10 a.m. while he was doing laundry. He walked around the corner and said he found a man trying to break in. Lindsay ran upstairs and grabbed his gun.

“My house and my family are sacred to me,” he said.

Lindsay said he pointed the gun at the intruder and the attempted burglar then ran away. It was an unexpected ordeal that was over in a matter of seconds. No one was hurt.

“I was homeless for a period and it took many years to get to where I am now. I have a wife and a home, and I am not going to let anyone take that from me,” said Kevin Lindsay.

His wife Bethany was not home at the time. She said she was relieved to hear her husband had a way to defend himself and admitted she was hesitant about a gun at first.

“I am happy that Kevin was not hurt. He wasn’t able to get in our house, and he didn’t have to make a decision he didn’t want to have to make,” she said.

The couple did not have an alarm system in place. Kevin Lindsay said he’s looking into getting a home security system. They are also thinking about getting cameras set up.

Knox County Sheriff’s Office said they looked for the suspect that morning but weren’t able to find one.

[internet troll]

4 today.

Accused prolific burglar almost shot by St. Petersburg homeowner

http://wfla.com/2017/10/05/accused-p...urg-homeowner/
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – A St. Petersburg man accused of breaking into numerous homes all across the Tampa Bay area is now in jail.

His arrest comes after cops say he picked the wrong house to burglarize.

St. Petersburg detectives believe 35-year-old Lupen Font is a prolific burglar.

In just over two months, they say he’s broken into more than a dozen homes in St. Petersburg, Gulfport and Tampa.

But, his latest crime was almost his last. At a home on Riverside Drive North in St. Petersburg, an armed homeowner almost shot him as police say he tried to break in.

“He came, stole some items, and came back for more a few days later. This is very dangerous criminal,” said Sandra Bentil, spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Police say Font broke in Sunday, stole more than 20 guns and other items, then came back Wednesday.

But this time, the homeowner was waiting, confronted Font, and then fired at him as he sped off.

Neighbor Susan Bauerle is upset gunfire was so close to her home.

“I mean, we have kids. It’s our property. But, I give him credit for what he did,” she said.

Police found Font, six stolen guns and stolen property, a few blocks away.

“He is cooperating with us, so it’s pretty much undetermined at this point how many incidents he’s been involved in, but he’s been tied to several so far,” said Bentil,

That irks Baurle.

“He’s scoping out houses and taking our hard-earned money and it’s not right,” she said.

Jail records show police arrested Font in July of last year for the same thing.

He was out on probation for those crimes when he was picked up for this latest round.

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Man shot during bizarre home invasion south of Florence sentenced to prison


http://registerguard.com/rg/news/loc...ison.html.csp#

Kevin Friend ruined a family’s summer reunion on Woahink Lake, and nearly was killed in the process.

“I think everyone in this room agrees you’re the luckiest man here. You’re lucky you’re not dead,” Lane County Circuit Judge Debra Vogt told Friend on Wednesday before sentencing him to prison for 2½ years for terrorizing the family over Father’s Day weekend at a pair of lakeside homes south of Florence.


Friend, 25, asserts that he was black-out drunk during the bizarre incident, in which the victims say he threatened to kill children and rape male members of the family. One family member ended up shooting Friend in the leg when the intruder burst into one of the homes during the predawn hours of June 17.

Friend “must appreciate that he could have been justifiably killed” after entering an occupied residence, prosecutor David Schwartz said in court.

Friend, a former Eugene resident who lived in Lebanon before his arrest, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of burglary and menacing. He apologized in court to the victims.

Schwartz said the family was staying in neighboring homes on the lake — one of them owned by the family, the other a rental — when Friend entered an unlocked door to one of the residences and began insisting that it was his house. The commotion awoke adult family members, who first saw Friend “looming over the children” staying there, Schwartz said.

The group went next door, and Friend followed. After yelling “vulgar, profane threats” directed at both children and adults there, Friend managed to get inside the house, Schwartz said.


A family member who Schwartz said “used restraint” and first fired a warning shot, then intentionally shot Friend in the leg, leaving a superficial wound.

Jeff Woodward, a Portland man whose adult son shot Friend, told the intruder in court that he and his relatives didn’t want to kill him. “In fact, that was our greatest fear,” Woodward said.

A total of five children — two of whom were just 6 at the time — were present during the incident. Woodward said in court that to the youngsters, Friend represents “the monster at the door.”

The family weekend “was beautiful, until you showed up,” Woodward told Friend.

Woodward and other family members who spoke at Friend’s sentencing hearing said they weren’t looking to have him locked up for a long time. Rather, they sought a sentence that contained “the right combination of consequence and opportunity,” victim Sarah Friend said. She is not related to Kevin Friend, and Schwartz said it’s apparently a coincidence that the burglar shares the same last name with some of his victims.

Sarah Friend said she remains “incredibly proud” of her brother, who she said pleaded with the intruder to not come into the house, and then aimed for his legs before firing.

The family had called 911 but Lane County sheriff’s deputies who eventually responded to the area did not arrive until after Kevin Friend was shot.

The Register-Guard typically does not identify crime victims, but the people who spoke in court Tuesday consented to being named.

The man who shot Friend did not attend the hearing and could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Vogt approved a negotiated sentence in the case that calls for Kevin Friend to be eligible for treatment programs while in prison. She also required him to complete treatment after he is released, and banned him from using alcohol while on post-prison supervision.

Vogt characterized the family as courageous, both for not killing Friend when they legally could have as well as for “not ask(ing) me to put you away forever” and favoring court-*ordered treatment, the judge told Friend in court.

“They want the life they spared to mean something,” Vogt said.

Friend’s court-appointed attorney, Gary Deal, said in court that his client “is very grateful to be sitting here, alive” and blamed the incident on excessive alcohol use.

Friend’s prior record includes a 2010 conviction for second-degree sexual assault, in what Schwartz on Tuesday characterized as a statutory rape case.

[internet troll]

2 for today.

Fatal Lawndale shooting ruled self-defense, woman not charged

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/fa...n-not-charged/
A woman who shot a man when he stabbed her Thursday afternoon in Lawndale will not be charged, police said.

About 4:05 p.m., the 25-year-old man was shot in the chest when he stabbed the 25-year-old woman multiple times in the 4000 block of West 21st Street, Chicago Police said.

The stabbing was believed to be a domestic incident, police said. The nature of the relationship between the two wasn’t released.

The woman was taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, and the man died at the scene, police said.

Charges against the woman were rejected when the shooting was ruled self-defense, police said Saturday.


The Cook County medical examiner’s office had not released the man’s identity as of Saturday evening. A person who answered the phone at the medical examiner’s office said authorities were not releasing information about the case “at this time.”

[internet troll]

Police: Homeowner shoots man attempting to break into Bronzeville home

http://abc7chicago.com/police-homeow...-home/2507325/
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A home invader was stopped in his tracks after a homeowner shot him several times Saturday night in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Chicago police said.

The incident occurred in the 4500-block of South St. Lawrence Avenue at about 10:54 p.m., police said.

A man was trying to force his way into the home with a crowbar when the 60-year-old homeowner shot him.

The suspect fled in vehicle to a hospital and is in critical condition. Charges are pending against the 44-year-old suspect.

The homeowner was not hurt and has a valid FOID card and concealed carry permit.

[internet troll]

Masked gunmen, resident exchange gunfire in Haltom City home invasion

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/lo...177719226.html
HALTOM CITY
Four people were shot Saturday night in what police called a home invasion involving masked gunmen.

The five suspects broke into an apartment at the Spanish Square Apartments in the 2000 block of Dayton Street and exchanged gunfire with at least one resident, police said.


Three suspects were wounded; one was in critical condition Sunday at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, authorities said. One resident was also wounded.

Officers responded to the shooting call shortly before 8 p.m.


“Officers heard gunfire when they arrived on the scene,” Detective Matt Spillane said Sunday in a telephone interview. “There is only one way in and out of the complex, so officers staged at that location.”

Spillane said there were at least two residents in the apartment when the gunmen rushed inside. Within seconds, gunfire was exchanged, police said.

Detectives believe that the gunmen retreated out of the apartment.

“The gunfire continued out in the parking lot,” Spillane said. “Some suspects fled the complex on foot and others got into vehicles.”

Police stopped vehicles leaving the complex, arresting a few suspects without incident. Other suspects were in custody after a brief foot pursuit, Spillane said.

“Officers went door to door in the complex to check on residents for any injuries, and they did not find any,” Spillane said.

The suspects and a resident with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds were taken to John Peter Smith and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

Two suspects are juveniles and the oldest suspect is in his mid-20s, police said.

“We’re still trying to determine if this was just a home invasion or if the suspects targeted these people,” Spillane said.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/lo...#storylink=cpy

[internet troll]

3 today.

Lexington police say shooting death was self defense

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/c...177499266.html
LEXINGTON, SC
A shooting that resulted in a death in the Cherokee Village neighborhood has been ruled a justifiable homicide, according to the Lexington Police Department.

Joseph Nicewonger told police he shot Derek Fogle several times on July 23, during Fogle’s unprovoked attack on Nicewonger. The incident occurred outside Nicewonger’s residence on Cherokee Pond Court in the Cherokee Village neighborhood, according to Cpl. Cameron Mortenson, adding Fogle lived on nearby Cherokee Pond Trail.


“Detectives found that all elements of this investigation fell within the Stand Your Ground law and that during this incident, though tragic, Joseph Nicewonger acted lawfully in the protection of his personal safety,” Chief Terrence Green said in a news release.

At approximately 2:30 a.m., officers found a white male, later identified as the 31-year-old Fogle laying in the front yard of Nicewonger’s residence, according to Mortenson.


Fogle approached the residence, yelling at Nicewonger and chased him from his garage and into his yard before throwing Nicewonger to the ground and hitting him in the head repeatedly, Mortenson said.

Nicewonger, armed with a handgun he was transferring from his vehicle to his residence, shot Fogle several times, then called 911 and stood by in his yard until officers arrived, Mortenson said.

Fogle was transported by ambulance to Lexington Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

Mortenson said Fogle was experiencing an altered mental state and had physically attacked his roommate just prior to the altercation with Nicewonger.

Witnesses in the neighborhood said they had heard and seen Fogle causing a disturbance by yelling, knocking on doors and walking through several yards just prior to the assault and shooting, Mortenson said.

Toxicology results showed the presence of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Trazodone, Venlafaxine, and Desmethylvenlafaxine in Fogle’s body at the time of his death, Mortenson said.

Fogle had mental health diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and bi-polar disorder and that he had stopped attending counseling sessions with mental health several weeks earlier, Mortenson said.

AT A GLANCE
The South Carolina Protection of Persons and Property Act allows that when someone is attacked at their residence, in their vehicle, or at their business, that they can meet the attack with force, to include the use of deadly force if necessary to protect themselves or someone else from death or great bodily injury or to prevent the commission of a violent crime. There is not a duty to retreat.

Lexington Police Department

Never miss a local story.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/news/local/c...#storylink=cpy

[internet troll]

I'm including this example just because you don't read about swords used in self defense much anymore.

Woman Fights Off Home Intruder With Sword (Photos)

http://www.americanow.com/story/soci...r-sword-photos
A man broke into an Indiana woman's home and was shocked when he learned one thing about her that he could not have predicted.

Karen Dolley, 43, woke up one morning to find a stranger standing in the hallway of her Indianapolis home. She immediately jumped into action.

"I could see the guy standing right about here and I just came out of the bathroom and started punching get out, get out, get out," Dolley told WXIN.


What the intruder didn't know is that Dolley is trained in medieval combat.

Dolley punched the man in the face at least 10 times, but the man was deflecting the punches with his hands.


"I didn’t think I was getting good blows in but my knuckles are bruised today," Dolley told the Indy Star. "Hitting someone like that, it isn’t like the movies. You’re expecting it to be louder and see people jerk around, but that’s not how it happens in real life."

That's when she grabbed something that the intruder did not see coming - a Japanese combat sword.

"It is 440C stainless steel, it has an edge and it will cut," she said.

Dolley pinned the man down using the blade and waited for police to arrive.



"I just held the knife down on him like this while he was on the floor, and I was calling 911 with the other hand," Dolley said.

Police arrived at the scene shortly after and took 30-year-old Jacob Wessel into custody. Wessel was taken to a nearby hospital to be examined before being arrested and charged with residential entry.

Police said that Wessel was high on an unknown substance when he broke into Dolley's house. He told officers several times that he was hiding from somebody.

Wessel reportedly did not put up a fight once Dolley pulled out her sword and even apologized to her as he was removed from the home.

"If he would have behaved in a slightly different manner he would not have gotten out of here alive," Dolley said.

She added, "I'm really, really, glad I didn't have to do anything more. I know I could do it, but I don't want to do that."

Dolley said that the only thing that she is upset about it that the intruder ruined her sleep and irritated her cat.

"At the end of the day, I'm glad to know that even if I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm not going down without a fight," she said.

Sources: WXIN,