Thursday, September 20, 2007



Pennsylvania gun store owner pulls gun, foils robbery: "A Lawrence County gun store owner confronted by an armed robber yesterday grabbed his own gun and foiled the attempt, sending the suspect running out of the shop. "I always planned for this," said Donald Pieri, 60, owner of Triangle Gun Shop in Perry Township. "You have to think it out." State police charged Jeffrey J. Ierino, 32, of Wampum, Lawrence County, with attempted robbery and other offenses after tracking him to his house. Mr. Pieri was sitting behind the counter talking with PennDOT consultant Paul Butera, 57, about a road project outside the shop when the masked gunman walked in at 11:24 a.m. The suspect waved a semiautomatic in their faces, then tossed a bag to Mr. Pieri and told him to fill it with pistols. At first, Mr. Pieri thought it was a prank. But when he realized it wasn't a joke, he quickly dived behind a door leading into the back room and retrieved his own pistol from his office desk. He said the sudden move startled the gunman enough so that he couldn't get off a shot. Instead, the masked man ran away. He proved fairly easy to catch. Mr. Pieri said many people in the area had reported seeing a suspicious car driving around the shop in the morning, and at least two witnesses wrote down the license plate. Within a couple of hours, troopers tracked Mr. Ierino to his house, but they said he ran off when they showed up. They caught him about a block away at a bar. Mr. Ierino, who has a long criminal record, is charged with attempted robbery, attempted theft, illegal possession of a gun, carrying a gun without a license, terroristic threats and simple assault. He was being held in the Lawrence County Jail on a $25,000 bond."
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Oregon man shot by motel owner: "A Springfield man was in serious condition Wednesday morning after a Tuesday afternoon shooting at a motel near 12th and Main Streets in Springfield. Police say Columbus Hayles was shot when a fight with the motel owner got out of hand. Hayles' wife, Sherry, said they were at the motel to pay for a truck they were buying from a tenant there. Witnesses say the motel owner, Edward Yu and his wife told them to leave. Apparently, when the Hayles couple refused, the fight began. Police say surveillance video shows Columbus Hayles attacking Yu's wife. They say the owner then shot Hayles, with a 38-caliber pistol. Investigators call the shooting justified, saying the motel owners were within their rights to protect themselves and their property.

IL: Off-duty officer shoots intruder in own home: "A would-be burglar definitely picked the wrong house to break into early Saturday morning. Chicago police said the man was in good condition at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after he was shot in the thigh by the homeowner, an off-duty Chicago police officer. The officer discovered the intruder, who police have not named, in his home in the 6000 block of South Austin Avenue about 2 a.m. The officer noticed the back door was open and then spotted the man, Chicago police spokesman Pat Camden said. "He identified himself as a Chicago police officer and attempted to arrest the intruder," Camden said. "When the intruder resisted, the officer shot him." The incident brought at least a dozen police cars in the wee hours to the quiet Clearing community, neighbors said. The officer was not home Saturday afternoon, and his wife declined comment. Police said neither the police officer nor his wife was hurt in the incident. The man who broke into the home likely will be charged once he has recovered sufficiently, Camden said."

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