Wednesday, December 17, 2014

CO: Home Invasion Shooting Unusual



It is unusual for a 52-year-old man to be shot invading a home.  When I see it, it usually is a career criminal, someone who is drunk and mistakes the home, is in the middle of a bad domestic situation, or someone who had a long brewing feud with a neighbor.  In the case of Garry Lieberth of North Platte, Nebraska, I have not been able to find any evidence of those things.  Perhaps we will learn more when the toxicology report comes in.  From the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Colorado:
The adult male homeowner was asleep on Friday morning when he was awoken by the sounds of a dog barking in his yard. As the homeowner came down the staircase to investigate further, he observed a stranger-intruder crawling through the “doggie door” into his house. The homeowner yelled at the intruder but the man continued to enter the house. The homeowner ran to his bedroom where he retrieved a firearm for protection. The intruder advanced up the staircase and confronted the homeowner. The homeowner pointed his weapon at the man and told him to leave. The intruder did not comply. A physical altercation ensued between the two and the suspect tackled the victim to the ground. The victim was able to fire his weapon at the suspect, striking him in the leg and head. The victim then ran to a neighbor’s house where he called 911.

Liebreth is a resident of Nebraska and has some immediate family in the Denver area. Liebreth was not known to the victim and it is not clear why the suspect picked that home or entered the residence.

The Jeffco Coroner’s Office will complete a drug screen to determine if Liebreth was under the influence of any substance.

Garry Liebreth appears to have a daughter and grandchild in the Denver area about 20 miles away from the shooting, so that makes the "drunk and mistaken house" excuse seem unlikely.  Liebreth's vehicle was found at the scene, which seems to be a fairly prosperous and semi-rural area of Colorado, only a little way off of I-70 on a dead end street.



I will be watching for updates, but the reason for the home invasion remains a mystery at this time.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

2 comments:

Fanfare said...

DRUNK AND/OR STONED. Look at his face. He's a habitual drunk and drug user

Peggy said...

I worked with Garry and he had been sober for years. I am just as confused as everyone else that knew him. RIP Garry