Sunday, June 21, 2009



Florida: A masked suspect was shot and killed outside an Altamonte Springs home: "Deputies arrived on the scene just before 4 a.m. Friday on the 300 block of Magnolia Street just off of Ronald Regan Boulevard. A woman woke up when she heard someone trying to kick in the door of her home. Seminole County Sheriff's deputies say that's when her husband went to the door and shot twice at Donald Salaam. Salaam, 21, was hit once in the chest. The wife was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher when the shots were fired. Investigators say it appears the homeowner was justified. “Our homeowner didn't have an obligation to retreat. He is able to protect his property," said Lt. James Clark, of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. "The questions we’re trying to answer: If he was in fear for his life and the life of his wife. If he was, he would be justified in this shooting.” Detectives are trying to determine if Salaam acted alone. Seminole County deputies say Salaam has an extensive criminal history involving drugs, fleeing/eluding law enforcement. He was also investigated for a previous armed robbery."


Tennessee: Intruder held at gunpoint: "A Blountville homeowner held an intruder at gunpoint when he spotted him going into his travel camper Tuesday morning. The Reedy Creek Lane resident told Sullivan County Sheriff's deputies he first thought a relative had entered his camper, which was parked in his driveway. When he discovered the man was a stranger, he went to get his gun. He returned with his pistol to find the man inside his car, which was parked next to the camper, according to a sheriff's office spokesman. The homeowner held the man at gunpoint until deputies arrived to arrest him. Jeffrey B. Welch, 19, 679 Deck Valley Road, Bristol, was arrested and charged with aggravated burglary, burglary of a motor vehicle, and driving on a suspended license."


NM: Not guilty of manslaughter charge: "A jury acquitted a Tomé man on Thursday in the December 2007 shooting death of 42-year-old Charles "Chucky" Diaz, a high-ranking Bandido gang member. After deliberating for nearly four hours on Thursday, the jury of five women and seven men found 46-year-old Jimmy Garcia not guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Garcia shot and killed Diaz in what he said was an act of self-defense. The defendant said that, on the day of the incident, he was raking leaves when he saw an unfamiliar car drive onto his property. Garcia said it wasn't until he approached the car that he realized that it was Diaz. "I asked him, 'What are you doing here? Where's Rose?'" Diaz said. "He said, 'I could do whatever the (expletive) I want.'" Garcia testified that, when he told him to leave, Diaz threatened that he was going to run him over. Garcia said that Diaz drove his car at him several times before he finally left the property. "He said, 'I'll be back,'" said Garcia about the last thing Diaz told him before leaving. "I was scared. I was hoping that he wouldn't come back." ... Garcia said it was at that time that he saw Diaz walking toward them at a fast pace with something in his hand. Garcia testified that he didn't know what the object was and believed it was either a hammer or a gun. "I was so scared — I just shot," he said. "I don't even know how many times I shot. I was scared ... I just wanted it to stop. I was totally convinced that this guy was going to kill me."


Massachusetts high court will review gun lock ruling: "The state’s highest court plans to review the constitutionality of a recently challenged state law that requires gun owners to lock their weapons, making it the first test in Massachusetts of a landmark US Supreme Court ruling that Americans have the constitutional right to own guns and stow them as they see fit. The SJC decided to review the law less than a year after a Lowell District Court judge dismissed firearms charges against a Billerica man whose handicapped son was accused of shooting a BB gun at a neighbor and who then showed police officers where his father kept other unlocked weapons. The Lowell judge cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in dismissing the case against Richard Runyan of Billerica, who in April 2008 was charged with improperly storing a semiautomatic hunting rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a drawer full of ammunition."

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