FL: Tampa tattoo parlor owner shot while chasing robbery suspects: "A man was shot after trying to chase down several suspects who robbed his business, according to Tampa Police. Tampa Police say the incident began just after 5 pm, when one of the suspects entered K and B Tattooing on 4806 1/2 East Busch Blvd and asked about a tattoo. About 15 minutes later the man returned with 2 other suspects, one of them armed with a gun, and demanded money, police said. The men then tied up the shop's owner and his girlfriend using plastic zip ties, then fled the scene with the woman's purse, some cash, and a rifle from inside the store. Detectives say the owner, 23-year-old Daniel B. Perez took off after the suspects after managing to free himself. Perez armed himself with a gun and confronted the suspects, police said, and gunfire was exchanged. Perez was shot in the head, but was conscious and talking when he was taken to Tampa General Hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Officers found the suspects near the scene and took them into custody. Arrested were Antonio Madden, 19, Dominic Baldwin, 20, and Melvin Munroe-Wilson, 21, of Lakeland. They have been charged with attempted homicide, armed robbery and armed kidnapping. None of them were injured, police said. A car believed to belong to the suspects was found at the scene. Police say purse belonging to Perez's girlfriend was found inside."


WV Supreme Court frees battered woman: "The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has reversed a Cabell County jury and judge. Tanya Harden had been convicted of first degree murder in the death of her husband. She has been serving a life prison sentence with the possibility of parole. The Court ordered a remand with directions to “enter a judgment of acquittal” on the grounds of self-defense. Although the state argued that the battered woman did not face imminent death from her husband and that she had time to call the police, Justice Ketchum writing for the 4-1 majority stressed that the woman endured hours of beating, sexual abuse, beating by a weapon, and actions that threatened her children and other occupants. He points to a portion of the testimony in which Harden’s youngest child testified that the decedent father hit mom with a gun and heard him say, “I am going to go get the gun and shoot you.”


MD: Homeless man’s conviction for discharging firearm struck: 'A homeless man who acted as his own lawyer Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court had his conviction for discharging a firearm within Hagerstown’s city limits struck, and received probation before judgment. Probation before judgment means if he successfully serves a year of probation, the conviction will not appear on his record. Devine, who has been homeless for about 20 years, has testified in Annapolis for a state law that would make crimes against him and other homeless people considered hate crimes. He currently lives out of his van, which is parked at a farm in Washington County. During his testimony in March, Devine said he suffered almost daily abuse while living in his van in Hagerstown and Sharpsburg. Devine said the abuse he suffers from children who throw items at his van, call him names and threaten to hurt him should be considered hate crimes, The Herald-Mail reported. While speaking in court Thursday morning before he was sentenced, Devine said he had been trying to stay out of trouble. He discharged the firearm in self-defense after several weeks of being harassed by a group of kids, Devine said Thursday in court".


FL: Woman attempts armed robbery: "Cordera Bracy, 22, targeted the wrong person when she chose to follow Michael Page, 50, from a Sanford Amscot business to his Volusia Drive home about 8 p.m. Wednesday, he said by phone Thursday. Page was still in his car with his window cracked when Bracy pulled into his driveway. He was trying to get the key back into the ignition so he could drive off, he said. Out of her car, Bracy ran up and stuck the nose of what he thought was a semi-automatic pistol in his face. "I grabbed it and pulled it down away from my body," he said. "That's when she cocked the gun." Page, who owns firearms but didn't have one with him in his car, said the gun "didn't sound right. "Nonetheless, I thought 'I have to do something or get shot,' " he said. He grabbed a flashlight, opened the door and struck Bracy. "This caused her to back off a little," Page said. Page grabbed the gun during a struggle and Bracy ran across the street. Page, who still thought Bracy was a man, chased her and tackled her to the ground. The off-duty security guard hit Bracy with the gun, which caused it to shatter, but he continued to hit her. "She uncovers her face and says, 'Sir, I'm a girl. Sir, I'm a girl,' " Page said. "I told her I'm a security guard." Page said he held her down with one hand while he called 9-1-1. When deputies arrived and searched Bracy, they found a container with two pieces of crack cocaine inside, according to a Volusia County Sheriff's Office report. Bracy was arrested and charged with armed robbery and possession of cocaine."