Friday, August 10, 2007



PA: Self defense claim over 2am invasion accepted: "It took little more than 30 minutes for a jury to decide that the fatal shooting of a Central City man was justifiable homicide... Matthew testified that three men - Zimmerman, Mostoller and Keith Custer of Shanksville - tried to forcefully enter the apartment after he told them to leave. He and his brother were getting settled in for the night when they heard squealing tires and a revved engine outside their apartment building. Each brother testified that he was the one to open the door and yell down at the three men to “knock it off,” calling them “hillbillies” and using profanity. When the three men got out of their trucks and started up the stairs to the deck outside the apartment, Michael called the state police. Matthew testified that he showed the men his 12-gauge shotgun as he loaded it through an open doorway, hoping it would deter them, before shutting the door. But the men kept coming, he said. As the men approached the front door, they were warned that police had been called and were on their way, the brothers testified. They also were told they had a gun. A moment or two later, he heard a “thud” against the door. A second thud caused the door to fly open, Michael testified. His brother was several feet away with the shotgun. When the door opened, Matthew fired the shotgun and hit Mostoller. Within a second, he saw someone charging from the left side of the door and he shot again, he said. It was Zimmerman."


Florida man shoots would-be robber: "I thought he was trying to get a weapon. I fired at him", said resident Justin Marcoux. Justin Marcoux says he didn't hesitate. The 21-year-old walked outside his home in Lehigh Acres Wednesday morning after he heard a noise. He thought it was his ride to work. "I came outside, a guy was running across the lawn with my dad's generator, he dropped it," says Marcoux. At that moment, he thought the robber might hurt him. "I had mine in my pocket - I fired in his direction and I guess I hit him." He did, in the arm. 43-year-old Victor Howren went to the hospital and now faces burglary and grand theft charges. "I was shakin'," says Marcoux. Under the Stand Your Ground Law, it's Marcoux's right to protect himself. "The defend yourself law is there so people can defend themselves in situations where there is no where to go," says Lee Sheriff's Firearms Instructor Matt Chitwood. In Marcoux's case he does have a concealed weapons permit and he wasn't hurt. Marcoux says if it happened again, he would act in the same way. "We have the right to protect our own property.""


Texas convenience store clerk opens fire on would-be robber: "A convenience store clerk opened fire on a possible would be robber trying to make his way into the store. It happened off the East Freeway and Hurley in the northeast side of town overnight. Authorities say the suspect walked up to the window and attempted to smash it with a brick wrapped in a T-shirt. It cracked, the window didn't break. The clerk who was inside of the bullet-proof glass came out and fired a shot at the suspect. The suspect managed to get away. Police don't think the suspect was hit. The store clerk's brother works at the motel next door. He heard all of the commotion and called police."

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