FL: Veteran uses AR15 to stop Home Invaders, two Killed, two Captured

On 10 July, 2019, at about 8:20 p.m. an armed home invasion occurred at a rural residence in Summerfield, Florida. The house is located on 20 acres, surrounded by dense forest, at the end of a 300 yard driveway. At least two men entered the home. The victim believes a third person entered the home. 

The homeowner said one of the men had knocked on the door earlier, asking for help with a vehicle. The homeowner told him he could not help because he was disabled. Then he took a nap.

Sunset in Summerfield on 10 July was at 8:30. A few minutes before sunset, at about 8:20, the homeowner heard a loud noise as the home invaders broke into the home. He grabbed his AR15 from alongside the bed. He saw one masked invader and fired. Another home invader fired back and was fired upon. One invader, 21-Year-old Keith Jackson, Jr. died inside the house with a semi-automatic handgun nearby. He was wearing a "Jason" mask from the Friday 13th movie series. He was also wearing gloves. The high temperature on 10 July was 91 degrees.  Another, 22-year-old Nigel Doyle was found, mortally wounded, outside the home near a pump action shotgun.

The 61-year-old homeowner was wounded in the abdomen. The police found him in a bedroom with the AR15 type rifle across his legs. He has been reported in stable condition at the local hospital. A neighbor reported that the 61-year-old was a veteran who often did target practice on his property. Some commenters were of the opinion the home invasion suspects should not have picked him as a victim.  From ocala.com:

SUMMERFIELD — Marion County sheriff’s officials say a homeowner armed with an AR-15 shot and killed two intruders and was injured himself during a home invasion robbery in Summerfield Wednesday night.

Two other robbery suspects — Robert John Hamilton, 19, of Ocala, and Seth Adam Rodriguez, 22, of Belleview — were detained near the scene, according got the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Nigel Doyle, 22, of Summerfield, and Keith Jackson Jr., 21, Ocala, were killed. The homeowner, whose name was not released by the Sheriff’s Office, was in stable condition at a hospital Thursday morning.

Two other suspects, Hamilton and Rodriquez, were found during a police search outside the home.

Rodriquez (left) Hamilton (right, tattoos)

Rodriquez has no criminal history, and claims he tried to stop the robbery. Rodriquez is reported to have said that Hamilton kicked in the front door. Hamilton has a conviction for grand theft. Hamilton denied being at the scene of the home invasion.

In many home invasions, the caliber and/or make of the firearm used is not identified. In this case, in the Ocala.com source linked in the AP article, the AR15 is mentioned in the first line of the story. At least two firearms are associated with the home invaders, a semi-automatic pistol and a pump shotgun. It is not clear if any other firearms were found outside the home.

There was no mention of AR15 in July 11 version of the AP report. One day later, in the July 12 version of the AP report, the AR15 is included.

AP changed the story to include the AR15 rifle. 

A black Volkswagen registered to Keith Jackson and Keith Jackson, Jr. was found near the house. A neighbor reported seeing a black Volkswagen in the neighborhood on two days prior to the home invasion.

The story illustrates many of the advantages of the AR15 for home defense. The 61-year-old veteran had no difficulty firing the AR15 effectively. The rifle was chosen by the military for its ease of use, effective cartridge, and reliability.

All of these things were stressed when DARPA did a field test of 1000 of an early military version of the rifle in Vietnam in 1962. Unfortunately, the ordinance department changed the specifications of the ammunition from IMR gunpowder to a ball gunpowder. The ball gun powder used calcium at a level high enough to clog the gas tube on the AR15, causing rifles to jam no matter how much they were cleaned.

The rifle had not been tested or accepted with the new ammunition.

After Vietnam, the ammunition problems were fixed and the rifle modified. The lessons learned from the military experience in Vietnam have resulted in rifle and ammunition changes. Those changes work to the advantage of the semi-automatic civilian versions of the AR15. Because the civilian AR15 is semi-automatic, it avoids many of the problems claimed to be caused by the cyclic rate of the full auto military versions. In addition, the sheer volume of ammunition fired through an AR15 is likely to be much less than what was fired through the M16 in combat in Vietnam.

There are no charges against the veteran at this time.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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