California: Cheapskate room-mate shot dead: "William Lenox, 31, hadn't paid rent in a few months and was in a rage when he kicked in the door to his Bay Point residence Feb. 19 and threatened his roommate, prosecutor Harold Jewett said today. The argument ended when Lenox's roommate Andrew Mahler, 33, fatally shot Lenox in the abdomen inside their residence at 44 Pensacola St. in the unincorporated community of Bay Point. Mahler was arrested for murder, but Jewett, supervising attorney with the Contra Costa County District Attorney's office, declined to file charges Friday saying that Mahler shot Lenox in self-defense. On the day of the killing, Mahler, who had apparently locked out Lenox, had been in the kitchen eating spaghetti when Lenox, a 6-foot 3-inch-tall, 250-pound man with a history of violence and methamphetamine use, broke through the door and started punching holes in the walls. The dispute over Lenox's failure to pay rent had been ongoing and a couple weeks earlier, Lenox had "kicked Mahler's ass," a witness told investigators, Jewett said, a fact that made Mahler believe Lenox planned to follow through on his current threats. Mahler, who was also a large man, retreated to his bedroom, Jewett said, but Lenox kept coming at him. He punched a hole through Mahler's bedroom door and continued to threaten him. Mahler grabbed a gun, which he owned legally, and fired a warning shot into the floor, Jewett said, but Lenox kept coming at him. Mahler fired one shot into Lenox's abdomen, dropped the gun on his bed and went to their neighbor's house to ask them to call 911, since Mahler and Lenox did not have a telephone, Jewett said."


California: Motorcycle Shop Owner Shoots At Intruder: "Police are still looking for a burglar who may have been shot by a business owner in central Bakersfield Tuesday morning. The Bakersfield Police Department said an alarm tipped off the owner at about 4:30 a.m. at a motorcycle repair shop on Chester Lane. Police said when he arrived, he noticed someone inside the garage. They said the man then charged at the owner, who managed to get off several rounds from a pistol. It's unknown if the man was hit. The man escaped."


States consider gun-access laws: "Some companies in several states could be barred from telling their employees to keep their guns at home if lawmakers prevail in a battle that pits gun rights advocates against private businesses. At least six states - Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi and Oklahoma - have passed laws that bar some employers from forbidding workers to leave guns locked in their cars in company lots but don't give workers the right to carry firearms into the actual workplace. Now, several more states are considering such laws. Supporters say licensed gun owners should have access to their weapons in case they need them for self-defense on the trek to and from home. If employers can ban guns from workers' cars, "it would be a wrecking ball to the Second Amendment," which governs the right to bear arms, says Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA)."