Tennessee: Armed Homeowner Confronts Trailer Thieves: "Sheriff's detectives say a Rosemark man held two thieves at gunpoint who tried to steal a utility trailer from his front yard yesterday. Detectives believe the suspects may also be responsible for stealing other utility trailers. About 11:30 yesterday morning, Steven Rutter, 57, who lives in the 8700 block of Rosemark Road in north Shelby County, heard a vehicle slow down in front of his house. Rutter saw a gray Dodge Ram pickup truck back into his front yard. Two men then began hooking up Rutter's utility trailer to the pickup truck. Detectives say Rutter got his pistol and confronted the two men. Initially, Jessie Brown [above], 51, of Munford and Kelvin Nathaniel, 45, of Drummonds, told Rutter a neighbor said they could use the trailer to move some hay. Rutter didn't believe their story and called for Deputies. Moments later, Brown and Nathaniel were taken into custody. Both were charged with Theft of Property. Detectives say the investigation is continuing and the suspects may be responsible for other utility trailer thefts in Shelby and neighboring counties".


VA: Mother fends off robbers with handgun : "Three would-be robbers, one armed with a pair of scissors, walked into a Woodbridge store on Saturday morning with criminal intent. They left empty-handed and apparently more than a little frightened. About 11:30 a.m. the three walked into Tienda Hispana Esperanza. One rushed to the counter and pointed the scissors at the owner's neck and another grabbed her son's arm, the family that owns the store said Monday.But the owner, Esperanza Salazar, 36, reacted immediately.She leaned back and reached for her handgun and pointed it at the three unknown males, the Salazar family said. .. One of the would-be robbers immediately ran out of the store, located on PR Business Center Drive. A second robber, who wielded the scissors, tried to run out of the store but tripped on a clothes rack and fell. He finally crawled out the front door.The third robber paused and sat down in a folding chair, putting his hands in the air. When Esperanza Salazar told her son to call 911, the third man ran for the door and momentarily got tangled in the clothes rack before running out of the store."




Tennessee: Homeowner Shoots And Kills 19-Year-Old In Self-Defense: "Police said a homeowner shot in self-defense when armed suspects tried to rob him overnight. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. Monday, 67-year-old Douglas Dabbs pulled into his driveway on Tobylynn Drive and was getting out of his pickup truck when two armed men came up to him and tried to rob him. The two men were identified as Nibeyu Demissew Yosef [above] and Jermichael Jerome Burgy. Armed with BB guns the two men demanded money from Dabbs. Dabbs said he reached into the console of his truck, retrieved a handgun that fires .410 shotgun rounds and opened fire on the two robbers. Yosef, 19, was wounded and transported by ambulance to Southern Hills Medical Center where he died shortly after arriving. Burgy, 23, took off after the shooting, but police later tracked him down at Southern Hills where he was recovering from a non-critical gunshot wound to the head. Police said that Burgy admitted to being with Yosef during the robbery attempt, so police charged him with attempted aggravated robbery. Police also said that Dabbs does not have a handgun carrying permit, but no charges against the homeowner were anticipated. Burgy has been lodged in lieu of $80,000 bond. A convicted felon, Burgy had previously been found guilty of aggravated assault in 2006 and has been on probation for that offense. Yosef had been issued a total of four state misdemeanor citations in 2007 and 2008 for driving without a valid license."


NJ: Court shoots down law limiting gun purchases : "A state appeals court yesterday struck down a controversial Jersey City law seeking to limit the number of handguns people can buy.Jersey City's law had sought to keep people from buying more than one handgun every 30 days. The unanimous appeals panel said Jersey City exceeded its authority and didn't have a right to enact such a local law because state law already regulates the sale of handguns. Jersey City, via the ordinance at issue, seeks to impose a local standard in a subject matter area that has been rather comprehensively addressed by the state,' wrote Appellate Division Judge Howard Kestin, who was joined by Judges Edwin Stern and Christine Miniman."