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Home invader in Goochland gets mowed down wih a scattergun!

T Dubya

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http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=8739831






The incident happened around three this morning in this remote trailer park along Grape Ridge Court.

The homeowner Adam Stone told police that he and his girlfriend were asleep when suddenly a man broke in and entered the bedroom. Stone and the alleged intruder struggled a bit but when the intruder did not back off Stone pulled out his shotgun and fired away.

"Deputies arrived and found a man... dead of a gunshot wound to his neck," said Sheriff James Agnes of the Goochland County Sherriff's Office.

The alleged intruder is identified as 36-year-old Joseph Johnson of Richmond.

At his home on North 30th Street, family members were too upset to talk.

Back in Goochland, Stone and his girlfriend were also too shaken to discuss the ordeal.

Authorities say Johnson did not have a weapon. The question authorities have to answer is did Stone shoot in self defense?

"There are no charges at this time right now. We are still collecting evidence... You obviously have a right to defend yourself in your home and obviously we want to get as much as we can to determine if that was the case or not," said Agnew.

This case will be handed over to the Commonwealth's Attorney to determine if in fact this was a justifiable homicide.

Copyright 2008 by Young Broadcasting, Inc
 

T Dubya

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"'Stone pulled out his shotgun and fired away" Maybe a little mild editorializing.

"family members were too upset to talk" Let's see if some of the so called "community activists" lash out.

"The question authorities have to answer is did Stone shoot in self defense" One of the most sacred and vulnerable moments is when you are asleep in the bed with your significant other. If it went down as the news said it did I think we all know the answer.
 

Neplusultra

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T Dubya wrote:
"'Stone pulled out his shotgun and fired away" Maybe a little mild editorializing.

"family members were too upset to talk" Let's see if some of the so called "community activists" lash out.

"The question authorities have to answer is did Stone shoot in self defense" One of the most sacred and vulnerable moments is when you are asleep in the bed with your significant other. If it went down as the news said it did I think we all know the answer.
Yes, I mean you get woke up from a deep sleep and are confronted with a man in your bedroom. How can the law require you to do anything but assume the worst??? Maybe the state should hand out ID cards to let home owners know the criminal is not violent and is there only for the money......
 

curtiswr

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He fought with the man without weapons at first to no avail, and this probably only angered the intruder even more, thus leaving the firearm as the only option left. What was he supposed to do? Say "hold on a sec, let me make a phone call before we continue?" I can't see why there is any question as to whether it was justified or not.
 

Tomahawk

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I think it is understandable to investigate a homicide, even when at first it looks like a slam dunk case. Such an investigation makes it more difficult to lure somebody in so you can murder them, for instance. You can't expect the police to just walk away from a dead body without at least checking it out. You do, of course, have a right to assume they will give the homeowner the benefit of the doubt.
 

Neplusultra

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Tomahawk wrote:
I think it is understandable to investigate a homicide, even when at first it looks like a slam dunk case. Such an investigation makes it more difficult to lure somebody in so you can murder them, for instance. You can't expect the police to just walk away from a dead body without at least checking it out. You do, of course, have a right to assume they will give the homeowner the benefit of the doubt.
You'd think wouldn't you! When I took the course to get my CC permit the one good thing about the course was that they had a lawyer come in and scare the hell out of us, and give us good advice about what to say and NOT say. He told the story of a man in Roanoke, in a very similar situation as this, who woke up to find a man standing on his bed with a hacket (ax?) in his hand. He reached over and grabbed his gun and shot him dead right there. He called 911, told them the story and said that he had shot the "cockroach". An understandable term for him to use given what he had just been PUT through. The Commonwealth Attorney decided to prosecute because he thought the man had shown a "disregard" for the perp's life by using that term. The man of course was acquitted or found not guilty, forget which, but only after he had spent $50,000.00 on his defense.

Lesson learned.
 

2a4all

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So this guy didn't need a no-knock warrant because he wasn't a cop?

There are similarities to Frederick (Chesapeake): homeowner asleep, didn't know intruder, shot in self defense, etc.

Salient differences: shot intruder inside the home, intruder wasn't a cop, he wasn't armed. (Edited 7/27/2008)

I hope they don't make (too big) a legal fuss here, and attempt to railroad this guy. He'll have a tough enough time with the family of the intruder.
 

skidmark

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Can we hold off on the back-slapping celebrations until the situation gets sorted out?

This may or may not be a Good Shoot[suP]TM[/suP], based on evidence and information and the nuances of the law.

My thoughts go out to the shooter and his girlfriend, who had to experience the double traumas of a home invasion and a shooting. It will be interesting to find out why the prepetrator was in Goochland and why (if we can ever find out) he broke into the victims' home.

As for "This case will be handed over to the Commonwealth's Attorney to determine if in fact this was a justifiable homicide" -- remember that both justifiable and excusable homicide are affirmative defenses against the criminal charge of homicide. The Commonwealth Attorney is NOT going to decide if this was either justifiable or excusable. They may decide not to charge the shooter based on evidence of self defense, or more likely if that is what the evidence suggests present the case to a Grand Jury with a recommendation not to indict.

stay safe.

skidmark
 

67GT390FB

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skidmark wrote:
Can we hold off on the back-slapping celebrations until the situation gets sorted out?

This may or may not be a Good Shoot[suP]TM[/suP], based on evidence and information and the nuances of the law.

My thoughts go out to the shooter and his girlfriend, who had to experience the double traumas of a home invasion and a shooting. It will be interesting to find out why the prepetrator was in Goochland and why (if we can ever find out) he broke into the victims' home.

As for "This case will be handed over to the Commonwealth's Attorney to determine if in fact this was a justifiable homicide" -- remember that both justifiable and excusable homicide are affirmative defenses against the criminal charge of homicide. The Commonwealth Attorney is NOT going to decide if this was either justifiable or excusable. They may decide not to charge the shooter based on evidence of self defense, or more likely if that is what the evidence suggests present the case to a Grand Jury with a recommendation not to indict.

stay safe.

skidmark

First a disclaimeri went to high school with this guy(the shooter)and his brothers they lived a mile down the road from my parents at the time.From my sources(and no i did not get info from his family):

This appears to be a good shoot. The dead guy apparently entered the wrong trailer(in more ways than one) with the intent to rape. How do you determine intent to rape you ask? Well when a completely naked man walks into your bedroom at 3am and grabs your girlfriend he's not there in the words of inspector Callahan to "collect for the red cross". evidently the individual was a "friend"(supplier) of the woman who lived in one of the other trailers next door and evidentlygot confused over whichtrailer was his intended victims. thankfully this SOB will never be able to make such a mistake again.

Thiscriminal did not have to break into the home as the door was apparently left unlocked. So please everyone remember that even if you live out in the "country" like these folks did lock your doors. The dead criminal in this case drove 30 plus miles to get to his intended victim. In this case it worked out but we could have had two dead or wishing they were dead folks if they had not been able to defend themselves.
 

razor_baghdad

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67GT390FB wrote:
Thiscriminal did not have to break into the home as the door was apparently left unlocked. So please everyone remember that even if you live out in the "country" like these folks did lock your doors. The dead criminal in this case drove 30 plus miles to get to his intended victim. In this case it worked out but we could have had two dead or wishing they were dead folks if they had not been able to defend themselves.
Thanks for the update and sage advice!!
 

Spectre

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curtiswr wrote:
He fought with the man without weapons at first to no avail, and this probably only angered the intruder even more, thus leaving the firearm as the only option left. What was he supposed to do? Say "hold on a sec, let me make a phone call before we continue?" I can't see why there is any question as to whether it was justified or not.

My thoughts exactly
 

peter nap

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67GT390FB wrote:
skidmark wrote: This appears to be a good shoot. The dead guy apparently entered the wrong trailer(in more ways than one) with the intent to rape. How do you determine intent to rape you ask? Well when a completely naked man walks into your bedroom at 3am and grabs your girlfriend he's not there in the words of inspector Callahan to "collect for the red cross". evidently the individual was a "friend"(supplier) of the woman who lived in one of the other trailers next door and evidentlygot confused over whichtrailer was his intended victims. thankfully this SOB will never be able to make such a mistake again.

Thiscriminal did not have to break into the home as the door was apparently left unlocked. So please everyone remember that even if you live out in the "country" like these folks did lock your doors. The dead criminal in this case drove 30 plus miles to get to his intended victim. In this case it worked out but we could have had two dead or wishing they were dead folks if they had not been able to defend themselves.
Thanks ! Good solid information.
 

Bullbuster

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At least the report is stated in saying he had the right to defend himself in his home as he should anyway. He was lucky the BG wasn't armed as well but not knowing this he was well within his rights to shoot. For all we know the BG was twice his size.
 
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