Call for help

As I am about to enter my 70th year, I feel the need to slow down a bit.  This blog takes me up to an hour to research each day and I would like to cut down on that.   We old guys shouldn't have to do all the work!

Since Clayton Cramer shut down his blog, however, this seems to be the only daily reporter of self-defense cases so I would not like to see it vanish.

So I am hoping that there might be someone willing to put something up every day here with me in a backstop role.  Any takers?




PA:  Homeowner won’t be charged for shooting, killing intruder:  "A Washington County home­owner who shot and killed an intruder on Thanksgiving morning was defending his property and will not face criminal charges, District Attorney Eugene A. Vittone II said on Thursday.  The use of deadly force by Martin Swarrow, 59, “was justified and proper in light of the facts and circumstances,” Vittone said.  The shooting occurred about 4:30 a.m. when Swarrow encountered a man who was breaking into a garage attached to his Centerville home.  Swarrow, armed with a handgun, fired a warning shot into the woods behind his house before his next bullet struck the intruder in the upper torso, Vittone said. Swarrow immediately went into the house and told his wife to call 911.  Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco pronounced Elijah J. Malanosky, 30, of Cokeburg dead at the scene.  “Malanosky placed Swarrow in fear for his life through aggressive behavior,” Vittone said. “It is clear that under these facts, circumstances and the application of Pennsylvania’s law ... justifiable use of force (was) justified.”


CA: Drunken intruder shot:  "The man, according to the sheriff's office, was apparently highly intoxicated and wandered into the wrong home, thinking it was his own.  The homeowners -- a 24-year-old male and an 18-year-old female -- were awakened by their dogs barking and quickly realized they weren't alone. The male homeowner then confronted the intruder in the living room, telling him to leave. The man refused, telling the couple to leave his house, according to the sheriff's office.  The couple then left their home, taking refuge at a nearby neighbor's house, before the male homeowner and his 42-year-old neighbor decided to go back and confront the intruder. According to the sheriff's office, the neighbor grabbed his shotgun for protection.  Knight said the husband and neighbor told  detectives that when they asked the man to leave, he jumped from the couch and came at the neighbor, who fired his shotgun, hitting the man once in the abdominal area."


ID: Man shoots naked intruder:  "Police said Hopkins reported being woken up just after 5 a.m. while sleeping in his basement by his Labrador dog barking upstairs. They said he retrieved his gun and went upstairs to find Taylor in the bathroom with his pants down. When Taylor saw Hopkins, he pulled up his pants. Hopkins said he told Taylor not to move, but he 'charged' at him, and Hopkins shot him twice in the leg."


FL: More records released in Trayvon Martin case:  "A wide-ranging investigation of George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, found a man not prone to violence or prejudice and who moved easily between racial and ethnic groups -- a 'decent guy,' 'a good human being.' The assessments, made public on Thursday, came from interviews with friends, co-workers and neighbors who were interviewed by the F.B.I. and state and local law-enforcement authorities"