NC student caught after fleeing shotgun-toting homeowner: "Swansboro High student, Paul Allen Kuerbitz, 18, of Windy Rush Lane in Cary, was charged with breaking and entering, possession of firearm with altered serial number, possession of a stolen firearm, larceny after breaking and entering, obtaining property by false pretenses, and attempted breaking and entering, the sheriff's office said. Kuerbitz was arrested after a homeowner who had already been burglarized twice confronted a man attempting to break into his Stella Road home, the sheriff's office said. The homeowner, armed with a shotgun, began to question the man, who ran to a pickup truck and drove away. The homeowner called county detectives, who traced the truck to Kuerbitz. On Tuesday, the detectives spoke with the high school senior, who was identified by the homeowner as the man who attempted to break into his house, the release said. Three guns stolen from the Stella Road home were recovered during the investigation, the sheriff's office said."


California man too late to save cat: "A man opened fire on a group of dogs as they mauled his cat Friday, officials said. The incident occurred about 8:50 p.m. in the 1500 block of Elgenia Avenue, said West Covina police Lt. Dan Brooks. The cat's owner observed a pit bull, a German shepherd, and a mixed-breed dog attacking his pet cat and grabbed a handgun to defend it, said Brooks. The man went outside to aid his pet and the dogs charged at him, prompting him to fire a single shot, Brooks said. The bullet struck the ground and the dogs ran away unharmed to a nearby house, which turned out to be the home of the dogs' owner, said Brooks. The cat was killed in the attack. Brooks said the man will face no charges, as he did nothing wrong and was only acting to defend himself and his property, officials said. The owner of the three dogs was cited for leash law violations by animal control officials, added Brooks."


Illinois cops needed help to put 2 and 2 together : "A 20-year-old Aurora man has been charged with burglary after an alert citizen put together a conversation he overheard in a hospital emergency room with a news story he heard on the radio. Police say suspect Daniel Cerda of the 900 block of Rural Street was shot after breaking into a home on the East Side of Aurora on March 21. According to police, the homeowner had grabbed a gun and called 911 when he heard Cerda at his door. When Cerda confronted him in a hallway, the homeowner fired two shots. Cerda ran away, but after processing the crime scene, police believed the intruder had been shot. The break in the case came later that afternoon when police received a call from a person who had been in an emergency room at a Chicago hospital and overheard a conversation between Chicago officers and a man who was being treated for gunshot wounds. The man at the hospital heard officers telling the shooting victim — who said he was from Aurora — that his story didn’t make sense. While the witness was driving home, he heard a news story on the radio about shots being fired in an Aurora home invasion. The man called Aurora police and they started an investigation with Chicago police and the hospital. Cerda was finally located Tuesday, near Liberty Street and Valley Court in Aurora. He had been treated and released at a hospital in Chicago for non-life threatening wounds. Police say further charges are possible." [More details of the break-in in an earlier report here].