Category: Crime thwarted
Gun-toting homeowner fires at burglar who broke into California residence after midnight; teen suspect shot multiple times
A gun-toting Los Angeles homeowner shot at a burglar who broke into the residence early Tuesday morning.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting at the home in the 11600 block of Laurel Crest Drive in Studio City around 4 a.m., KNBC-TV reported, citing the Los Angeles Police Department.
‘Too bad owner didn’t hit more suspects.’
Police said the homeowner shot at one of the burglary suspects, whom authorities identified as a 16-year-old male, KNBC reported.
The two suspected burglars fled the scene in a Black Chevy Traverse, the station said.
Police said the driver of a car matching the description of the suspected burglars’ getaway vehicle dropped off a 16-year-old at a hospital with gunshot wounds, KNBC noted.
The teen was hospitalized Tuesday afternoon, and his condition was stable, the station said, citing police.
None of the residents in the home were injured, and it was unknown if anything was taken, KNBC reported.
According to the station’s video report, the second suspect is still on the loose, there were no physical descriptions of either suspect, and video shows a shattered glass back door.
A number of commenters underneath KNBC’s Facebook post about the incident aired spirited reactions to it:
- “California will probably charge the homeowner on some ridiculous law, and the 16-year-old’s family will probably sue the homeowner and win,” one commenter noted.
- “If you’re old enough to commit a crime then you’re old enough to get shot,” another user said.
- “Good,” another commenter stated. “Too bad owner didn’t hit more suspects.”
- “Hopefully he learned his lesson [to] not break into people’s houses,” another user offered.
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Punk with attitude on overdrive caught on cop body cam allegedly trying to steal car — but not even a taser can slow his roll
Bodycam video from Daytona Beach Police showed an officer driving to an auto dealership on Jan. 14 and noting a suspect there was “actually trying to get into a car that’s occupied.”
Not surprisingly, the officer said he didn’t want the suspect to “carjack somebody.”
‘Get me out of these cuffs, or you lose your job tomorrow. Do it.’
With that, the officer exited his cruiser and removed keys from a truck’s ignition just before a male — later identified as 18-year-old Jayden Brown — ran from behind the truck to the driver-side door.
The officer ordered him to “get on the ground” — but the male twice replied, “Oh, yeah?”
It seemed like a taunt.
Well, the officer wasn’t having it and deployed his taser, and the most Brown could muster was an agonized moan as his body stiffened like a board at an angle against the open car door:
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot
In the ensuing moments, Brown seemed relatively under control, and officers put handcuffs on him.
But then his attitude returned with a vengeance.
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot
“I’ll be out by tomorrow,” he told cops surrounding him. “It’s all good.”
An officer asked him his age.
“I could be 20,” Brown replied. “I could be 21. How do you know?”
Cops decided to run the vehicle’s tags, but the skin-and-bones thug remained full of attitude.
“Whatever. Do it. It’s not mine,” Brown declared to the officers. “It’s stolen, so now what? And there’s no VIN, so now what? You can’t trace it back to nobody, now what? I get thousands of guns from who I know in the military … now what? Everybody in my family my whole life has all been federal agent workers; that’s why we all have so much money to do everything we do, wow! I didn’t steal anything yet. I was just trying to find out where my car was.”
Soon he started yelling out a plea apparently for someone to record the encounter on Instagram live.
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot
Then he demanded that officers remove the handcuffs.
“Get me out of these cuffs, or you lose your job tomorrow,” Brown said. “Do it.”
The cops, undaunted, read him his rights — and the boasting continued.
“By day I’m trading millions and trillions of dollars a day,” Brown told the officers.
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot
Police played along: “Good for you, man.”
“In 18 years, I made your income times 20 billion, so do something about it,” Brown continued.
Soon officers put Brown inside a police vehicle — and his attitude still didn’t let up.
“You’re the one who put me in this van — and guess who’s getting out tomorrow while you’re still working at your job?”
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department video screenshot
Below is the police department’s video of the encounter with Brown:
In the end, police said Brown was charged with three counts of grand theft auto, burglary of an occupied dwelling, and criminal mischief.
Image source: Daytona Beach (Fla.) Police Department
If you’re hoping that Brown got an attitude adjustment as the result of his arrest, you might be disappointed.
At Brown’s first appearance in court the following day — Jan. 15 — a judge indeed found probable cause for charges of burglary of an occupied structure, criminal mischief of less than $200, and three counts of attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle, WKMG-TV reported, citing records, adding that he was released on recognizance.
Remember one of Brown’s over-the-top boasts to officers on the day of his arrest?
“I’ll be out by tomorrow,” he said. “It’s all good.”
Brown even added while in the police vehicle, “You’re the one who put me in this van — and guess who’s getting out tomorrow while you’re still working at your job?”
An official at the Volusia County Correctional Facility confirmed to Blaze News that Brown was set free Jan. 15 — the day after his arrest.
He’s due back in court in February for arraignment, WKMG added.
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Crook breaks into home late at night, points shotgun at homeowner. But victim also has gun and teaches crook painful lesson.
Police in Redlands, California, said officers responded to a call of shots fired shortly before midnight Thursday at a home in the 1500 block of Church Street. Redlands is about 15 minutes southeast of San Bernardino.
Police said the homeowner arrived at his residence and armed himself with a handgun before checking his house — after which he confronted an intruder, who pointed a shotgun at the homeowner.
‘Mr. Carrion should have been IN Church, not ON Church Street.’
The homeowner won the gun battle.
Police said the homeowner shot the intruder and then immediately exited the residence to call 911.
Arriving officers cleared the home and followed a blood trail that led to the back yard, where they found the suspect suffering from a single gunshot wound, police said.
What’s more, the suspect had property from the home on his person, police said.
Police also recovered the shotgun, which the suspect found inside the home in question, authorities added.
Image source: Redlands Police
Daniel Torres Carrion, 52, of Redlands was arrested for attempted robbery, burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon and transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Carrion later was discharged from the hospital and booked at West Valley Detention Center, where he was being held in lieu of $300,000 bail, police said.
Those with information about the incident or other suspicious activity are asked to contact Redlands Police Dispatch at 909-798-7681, ext. 1, KTLA-TV reported.
Nearly 400 comments have hit the police department’s Facebook page in regard to the shooting as of Monday night. The following are a few highlights:
- “Give the homeowner a cigar!” one commenter exclaimed. “Fantastic, I’ll be glad to help buy another box of shells.”
- “It’s why I carry,” another user acknowledged. “I don’t have to go find my gun in the house; it’s on my hip.”
- “Mr. Carrion should have been IN Church, not ON Church Street,” another commenter quipped.
- “Wonder how long before the burglar’s family is in the news complaining that the homeowner should have just let him rob the place?” another user wondered. “That he had no right to shoot him.”
- “Stand your ground! Protect your person and property!” another commenter declared.
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Armed, masked crooks trying to steal car encounter gun-toting homeowner, cops say — and the homeowner isn’t playing around
Police said a Pennsylvania homeowner shot at a pair of would-be car thieves early Tuesday morning, wounding one of them, WPVI-TV reported.
The incident in the 200 block of 2nd Street in Catasauqua took place at 1 a.m., the station said. Catasauqua is a borough in Lehigh County that’s about 15 minutes north of Allentown and just under an hour and a half north of Philadelphia.
‘Good old-fashioned FAFO.’
Investigators told WPVI the homeowner fired the shots at the two males as they were trying to steal a vehicle. The males reportedly were wearing black masks, the station said, adding that police said one suspect had a knife, and the other was carrying a bar.
Both suspects — including the wounded male — ran away, the station said.
Police are searching local hospitals for patients with gunshot wounds, WPVI said.
The homeowner was not injured, the station said.
No charges have been filed, WPVI reported, adding that the incident remains under investigation.
Commenters under WPVI’s Facebook post about the incident gave shoutouts to the homeowner who pulled the trigger:
- “Hey, maybe the thieves will change their minds before they attempt to steal again!??” one commenter observed. “Kudos to the homeowner!!”
- “Good job homeowner, do not charge this man for protecting his property,” another user insisted.
- “I love a story with a happy ending,” another commenter quipped.
- “Good,” another user wrote before adding “get a cap in both their asses.”
- “Not everyone is an easy target, are they[?]” another commenter stated. “Good old-fashioned FAFO.”
Others encouraged the homeowner to get more time at the gun range:
- “Learn from it and just go to the range a few times,” one user suggested. “Practice, practice, practice.”
- “Sounds like the homeowner needs more target practice,” another commenter wrote. “The perp won’t have a chance to repeat the stupidity.”
- “A shame he only wounded one,” another user said. “A couple of head shots would [have] been better.”
- “Excellent!” another commenter exclaimed. “Now, get to the range to make sure next time it’s not just a wound.”
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Top 5 of 2025: Everyday people who turned the tables on armed thugs
When everyday people find themselves presumably overmatched and outgunned by armed crooks — and end up turning the tables on the thugs breaking the law — it’s nothing short of inspiring.
In 2025, Blaze News ran across its fair share of such stories. Such as when a concealed-carrying garbage truck driver found himself facing down a pair of would-be armed robbers — and won the battle … or when five armed males forced their way into a California home, only to find themselves on the losing end of things when the homeowner grabbed his own gun … and best tale of all, when a gun-wielding thug demanded a Rolex from a man on a West Hollywood street. The crook’s problem? His target allegedly was a retired wrestler. Oops!
So check out our satisfying top-five instances when everyday people turned the tables on armed thugs:
Home invasion victim fights armed burglar, then turns the tables on him — with deadly results
A Houston home invasion victim fought an armed burglar on the night of April 9, police said — and the victim turned the tables on the crook, taking his gun away and then shooting him dead with it.
Police told KPRC-TV that three burglars targeted an apartment on Westridge Street near the NRG Stadium in the southeast part of the city a little after 9 p.m. One of the masked males knocked on the door while the two others tried breaking in through a window, the station said, citing a police news release. The residents called 911 by that time, KPRC reported.
Police said one of the burglars pointed a gun at the two tenants, and a fight ensued after one of the tenants knocked the gun out of the burglar’s hands, the station reported.
During the fight, police told KPRC the burglar “pulled out a second gun from his waistband.” But the 20-year-old apartment resident who was fighting the burglar wrestled the gun away from the suspect and shot him, the station said.
The two other burglars ran off by the time police arrived, KPRC said, adding that the third burglar, who was shot during the fight, died from his injuries. Police have identified the deceased burglar only as an 18-year-old male, the station said.
No charges have been filed against the homeowner, KPRC said, but police confirmed that the Harris County District Attorney’s Office was contacted and that a grand jury would review the case.
Concealed-carrying garbage truck driver turns the tables on wannabe armed robbers — 1 of whom pays ultimate price
A concealed-carrying garbage truck driver turned the tables in late January on a pair of would-be armed robbers in Chicago, fatally shooting one of them and wounding the other, police said.
Chicago police told WLS-TV the shoot-out occurred around 5:15 a.m. Jan. 31, just steps away from a high school. The station, citing police, said a 28-year-old man working as a garbage truck driver was outside in the 900 block of South Homan Avenue when two males approached him, showed a gun, and announced a robbery.
But it seems the pair chose unwisely.
Police told WLS the suspects and the victim — who has a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card and concealed carry license — engaged in a shoot-out.
One of the suspects, 42, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, the station reported. The other suspect, 20, was shot in the neck and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition, WLS noted.
The victim was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in good condition for an evaluation, the station said.
Police recovered two weapons from the scene, the station said, adding that Area Four detectives are investigating.
Gun-wielding thug demands Rolex from man. But victim allegedly is a retired wrestler — and the tables are about to turn.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told Blaze News that deputies responded just before 1 p.m. Oct. 22 to the 900 block of North Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood regarding an armed robbery call.
According to the victim, a dark-colored sedan was seen traveling down the street at a high rate of speed before stopping near his location, authorities said.
As you might expect, the driver didn’t need directions.
The sheriff’s department told Blaze News that an adult black male wearing a mask exited the vehicle holding a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the victim’s Rolex watch. But the victim refused to comply, and a physical struggle ensued, authorities said.
Patrick McCloskey told KTLA-TV he was working from home when he heard a woman screaming from the sidewalk: “The chaos was so intense, I didn’t know who jumped who. I ran to the door to see what was happening. At that point, I hear her yell, ‘Get the gun, get the gun!'”
Apparently getting hold of the gun wasn’t too difficult for the victim, as McCloskey explained to the station that the gunman “didn’t know that the guy was a retired wrestler. So he was able to get the gun off the guy and wrestle him down.”
Video of the incident’s aftermath shows the victim — who didn’t want to be identified — telling a deputy that he grabbed the gunman’s wrist and put him on the ground before taking the gun away, KTLA reported. The victim’s girlfriend then threw the gun over a nearby fence, and he held the suspect down until police arrived, the station said.
The sheriff’s department told Blaze News that a second adult male suspect exited the vehicle during the struggle but fled the scene in the dark-colored sedan prior to the arrival of deputies. Responding deputies recovered the gun and took the suspect into custody without further incident, officials said.
“I was told the gun was loaded,” McCloskey noted to KTLA. “The guy who is sort of the hero in all of this, who was able to pin the guy down, told me he saw a bullet in the chamber.”
McCloskey added to the station that the retired wrestler showed no mercy in his struggle with the gunman: “At one point the guy’s arm got dislocated, and he just held him down.”
5 armed thugs force their way into residence — but gun-toting homeowner isn’t about to back down
When five armed males forced their way into a residence in Los Banos, California, in late March, the homeowner also got himself a gun — and won the confrontation, shooting two of the intruders.
Police Chief Ray Reyna told KFSN-TV that “the homeowner approached the intruders with a gun he legally owns,” after which the chief said a shoot-out ensued with the homeowner shooting two of the suspects.
A dispatcher on police scanner audio indicated that one suspect was wounded in the leg and another was wounded in the stomach, KFSN reported. The two suspects were in custody at a Modesto area hospital where they were expected to survive, the station said. Los Banos is about an hour south of Modesto.
KFSN said police were searching for the other three suspects who escaped the home through a bedroom window and then took off in a car.
The chief told the station that at least four people were inside the home at the time of the incident, and they weren’t hurt.
Reyna added to KFSN that he has reason to believe the intruders are not from the area, and he said police are looking into a possible motive.
Thug picks wrong victim to allegedly point weapon at and chase — and the tables painfully turn on him
Deputies from the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office in upstate New York responded to a reported physical altercation involving a weapon in Vernon on the evening of Dec. 1, officials said. Vernon is about 40 minutes east of Syracuse.
It was reported that an individual was acting erratically and pointed what was believed to be a handgun at two victims, officials said. The two victims tried to retreat into a nearby residence, but the suspect advanced toward them with the weapon, officials said.
A fight then broke out between the suspect and one of the victims, officials said, and the victim managed to get the weapon away from the suspect. Arriving deputies took the suspect into custody without issue, officials said.
The suspect was identified as Glenn A. Wallis, 40, of Vernon, officials said, adding that Wallis was taken to the Kurt B. Wyman Law Enforcement Building.
Wallis was charged with two counts of menacing in the second degree — a class A misdemeanor — along with one count of harassment in the second degree, which officials defined as a “violation.”
However, officials said a member of the Criminal Investigation Unit also charged Wallis with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, which is a class D felony. According to WUTR-TV, the weapon that Wallis was brandishing was a pistol-style pellet gun. Wallis was then taken to and held at the Oneida County Correctional Facility.
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‘You done f**ked up, son!’ Cop rubs it in after capturing homicide suspect armed with handgun modified as fully automatic
Atlanta police officers from a special unit were seen on dashcam and bodycam videos converging upon and tackling a homicide suspect who was armed with a handgun modified as fully automatic, police said in a video released earlier this month.
Police said officers with the Auto Crimes Enforcement Unit were alerted to a homicide suspect driving in the area of Pickfair Way SW near Ashwood Avenue NW on Oct. 28.
‘Ram our f**kin’ car?’
The officers located the suspect’s vehicle and then used their patrol vehicles to box in the suspect’s vehicle, police said.
However, the suspect rammed patrol vehicles in front of him and behind him in an attempt to escape before fleeing from his vehicle while armed with a handgun that had been modified to be a fully automatic weapon, police said.
Image source: Atlanta Police Department video screenshot
While running from his car, the suspect threw the gun into an adjacent wooded area, after which officers took him down to the street.
Image source: Atlanta Police Department
“Get your ass on the ground!” one officer yelled at the suspect.
Once lying upon the street, the suspect quickly gave himself up, telling the arresting officer, “You got me!’
But the officer rubbed in the arrest just a bit, telling the suspect as he handcuffed him, “You done f**ked up, son! … Ram our f**kin’ car? We ain’t the normal police, pimp!”
Content warning: Language:
Police said the suspect was identified as 37-year-old Keith Hawkins, who was wanted for his involvement in a homicide that occurred at 700 Eloise Street SE on April 9.
Hawkins was charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (two counts), possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a machine gun, willful obstruction of law enforcement officers, and operating a vehicle without insurance, police said.
Image source: Atlanta Police Department
Hawkins was taken to the Fulton County Jail for processing, police added.
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Dad springs into action after crook breaks into his home in middle of night — then heads to where his kids sleep
“Heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs,” Kevin Root recalled to KDVR-TV about a heart-stopping 3:30 a.m. encounter at his family’s Denver home last month. “As a parent, you know your kids’ footsteps, and this was not any of our kids.”
The unsettling noises woke up Kevin and his wife, Sarah, the station said — and Kevin got up to find out where the sounds were coming from.
‘It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.’
“We had our door slightly cracked, and I saw the shadow go by, and that just is a sinking feeling,” Sarah added to KDVR.
Turns out an intruder had broken the lock on the Roots’ front door — and now he was on the staircase, the station said.
“As I heard him coming up, I said, ‘Who is this?’ I just yelled, thinking, ‘Let me just let him know, like, we know you’re here. We’re awake,’” Kevin recalled to KDVR.
The Roots told the station the intruder kept silent and was heading to where their children were sleeping.
“As a mom, it’s just your worst nightmare,” Sarah shared with KDVR. “It’s terrifying.”
Neither parent had any idea if the intruder was armed, either, the station said — but Kevin knew there was only one thing to do.
“There comes a moment where you’re like, ‘This is me. I’m a husband and a father; it’s on me to do something,'” he told KDVR.
The station noted that while Sarah called 911 from their bedroom, Kevin got physical: “It was just one of those, like, ‘This is my moment.’ So I jumped out of the bedroom, and I pushed him down the stairs.”
More from KDVR:
He says the man fell all the way to the bottom, knocking some pictures off the wall and leaving a dent in the molding. He took a video as police arrived minutes later while the man laid on the floor.
The man eventually went peacefully into custody; all he took from the home was a fall decoration from the porch.
“We’re just thankful that everyone is OK,” Sarah added to the station.
Charley Cooley, 36, faced a felony second-degree robbery charge, KDVR reported, adding that his record shows he already had been arrested in September for another felony robbery charge in connection with an incident earlier in 2025.
Fox News reported that after his September arrest, Cooley was released just days later.
“We found out later about his criminal background, and that stirred up a whole new layer of emotion,” Sarah added to the cable network. “It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.”
But it gets even worse.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office told Fox News that a judge set Cooley’s bond at $5,000 property/surety or $500 cash following the break-in at the Roots’ home.
Sure enough, Cooley posted $500 cash, the cable network said, citing KDVR.
“Multiple offenses, and he’s been released both times,” Kevin shared with Fox News. “The reality is he’s back out and has a history of doing this.”
Sarah added to the cable network that “we hope there’s justice and that he’s placed somewhere that prevents him from hurting anyone else.”
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Man fatally shoots 2 in Texas — tells cops pair followed him, tried to block his car, physically attacked him
Two males were fatally shot Friday night in Texas — and the man who pulled the trigger said the pair followed him, tried to block his car, and physically attacked him.
Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office told KTRK-TV the shooter said he acted in self-defense.
‘Looks like the 2 attackers had road rage. Is he not supposed to defend himself? Whatever it takes.’
Deputies responded around 8:45 p.m. to reports of a possible roadway shooting on Greengate Drive near Spring Stuebner Road in the Spring area, KHOU-TV said.
First responders told KTRK they found two males with gunshot wounds in the 22100 block of Greengate Drive; one died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital where he died.
The shooter said the pair followed his car for a while and tried to block him when he reached the neighborhood where the final confrontation took place, the sheriff’s office told KTRK.
Deputies added to KTRK that all three exited their vehicles, and the man who pulled the trigger said the pair started kicking him and his car.
“The shooter in the incident stayed on scene and surrendered himself to arriving deputies,” Sgt. Jason Brown noted to KHOU. The man who pulled the trigger is cooperating with investigators, the sheriff’s office told KTRK.
The fatally shot males have been identified as 57-year-old Timothy Underwood and 59-year-old Keith McDonald, KTRK said, citing the sheriff’s office.
No charges have been filed, officials told KTRK, and the shooter was not in custody.
However, the case was under investigation, and the district attorney’s office will review it, the sheriff’s office told KTRK.
When asked if the two males were armed, Brown told KHOU, “Not that we know of. We’re still in the process of going through the scene … but as of right now, we don’t believe that they were armed.”
Reactions under KHOU’s Facebook post about the fatal shootings were mixed:
- “They don’t have to be armed to do bodily harm or even kill you,” one commenter said.
- “They do if you’re in a car … because why don’t you just jump the curb to get away,” another commenter countered. “How are unarmed men going to hurt you if the doors are locked?”
- “FAFO,” another user bluntly noted before later adding, “Looks like the 2 attackers had road rage. Is he not supposed to defend himself? Whatever it takes.”
- “IDK … call me crazy, but if I felt my life was in danger, I would not park my car and get out of it … would you?” another commenter wondered. “Self-defense doesn’t work here. He was trigger happy and probably had road rage.”
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Armed Florida homeowner fights back against 4 thugs who reportedly try to force their way into his residence
Four unidentified individuals arrived at a south Florida home Saturday evening and tried to force their way inside, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office told WPLG-TV.
However, the homeowner was armed with a gun and opened fire.
‘Everyone has a duty and a right to defend themselves when attacked. Good job homeowner!!!’
Indeed, gunshots and a male hollering in pain are audible on two home surveillance videos that are part of WPLG’s report. The station in a separate story said it all went down in the area of Southwest 141st Street and 110th Avenue in Miami-Dade’s Richmond Heights neighborhood around 6:40 p.m.
The homeowner struck one of the subjects in the upper body, deputies told WPLG, adding that the other three individuals fled the scene in an unknown direction.
The wounded male died at a nearby hospital, the station said, adding that the Homicide Bureau of the sheriff’s office has taken over the investigation.
The mother of the fatally shot male told WPLG the next morning in the separate story that she’s “in shock, disbelief” and “hurt.”
The mother, who did not provide her name, added to the station that while she was told that her son “tried to break into someone’s house,” she also noted, “That’s not him.”
Commenters under WPLG’s Facebook post about the mother’s reaction offered a number of opinions in the aftermath:
- “I am truly sorry for this mother, but the son apparently was involved with the wrong people and participated in a fatally stupid crime,” one commenter wrote. “No doubt that the homeowner feared for his life with four men trying to force their way inside. Either she really didn’t know her son at all, or he was easily misled.”
- “I’m pretty sure she is distraught,” another user observed. “But the bottom line is her son committed a crime. I feel bad for her, but not for him. Break into my home and find out.”
- “Everyone has a duty and a right to defend themselves when attacked,” another commenter declared. “Good job homeowner!!!”
- “The son should have made better choices, and he would still be here,” another user noted.
- “Play FAFO in Florida and this is the result!!!” another commenter exclaimed. “Love our freedom to protect ourselves.”
Authorities were continuing to search for the three remaining suspects, WPLG reported, adding that those with information can call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
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Elderly NYC man fatally shoots career criminal who allegedly lunged at him — and gets prison sentence for infuriating reason
An elderly New York City man has been sentenced to prison after he fatally shot a career criminal who allegedly lunged at him in 2023 — and for a reason many will find infuriating.
Charles Foehner, 67, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of criminal weapons possession in a deal to end his case more than two years after he fatally shot would-be thief Cody Gonzalez, who charged at him near his Kew Gardens home in Queens, the New York Post reported.
‘If we respected people’s constitutional right and provided practical means for citizens to exercise that right, Mr. Foehner would not be in the position he is in today.’
More specifically, Foehner will spend four years in prison after admitting to carrying an unlicensed revolver, the paper said, adding that Foehner’s attorney blasted the city’s “draconian” gun laws.
The Post said the Queens District Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute Foehner — a retired doorman — for Gonzalez’s killing after he told police that he defended himself from a mugger who lunged at him late at night holding what looked like a knife, except it was a pen.
More from the paper:
But prosecutors slapped Foehner with a slew of weapons raps for the unlicensed handgun and for an arsenal of illicit handguns, revolvers and rifles inside his home in the quiet neighborhood.
Foehner took the plea deal to avoid a trial, where he faced 25 years in prison on gun charges that are not hard to prove, said his attorney Thomas Kenniff after Thursday’s hearing in Queens Supreme Court.
Kenniff called Foehner a “hero” who was put in an “impossible position” by what he called “draconian” Big Apple gun laws that make it difficult for “law-abiding citizens” to obtain permits to carry firearms.
“If this was a state and a city that had its affairs in order, Mr. Foehner would be getting a plaque, not a prison sentence,” Kenniff told reporters on the courthouse steps, the Post said.
Foehner’s attorney added that lawmakers in New York City and the state capital have “repeatedly frustrated the rights of law-abiding Americans, New Yorkers, that possess firearms,” the paper reported.
The Post said attorney Kenniff is known for successfully defending Marine veteran Daniel Penny from charges of fatally choking a homeless man who threatened New York City subway passengers in May 2023.
“If we respected people’s constitutional right and provided practical means for citizens to exercise that right, Mr. Foehner would not be in the position he is in today,” Kenniff also said, according to the paper.
Following his arrest on the heels of the 2 a.m. fatal shooting in a driveway near his home at 82nd Avenue and Queens Boulevard, Foehner told police he had been carrying the gun in question to protect himself from crime in New York City, the Post noted.
More from the paper:
Security footage showed the alleged robber Gonzalez — who had at least 15 arrests dating back to 2004 and a record of mental illness — continuing to charge at Foehner even after the senior pulled his gun.
Foehner took the deal Thursday with the understanding that he’d be sentenced to four years in prison at his sentencing date Jan. 14, his lawyer said.
Until then, he’ll remain “at liberty” and will be able to celebrate Christmas with his wife, Judge Toni Cimino ruled — over objections from the Queens DA’s Office, which had pushed for him to spend the holidays at Rikers Island.
“While we very much respect DA Melinda Katz and the fine prosecutors she assigned to this case, we were disappointed that the DA’s Office sought to have Charlie remanded before sentencing,” Kenniff noted Thursday, according to the Post. “We are grateful that Judge Toni Cimino agreed to let Charlie rejoice with his wife in the light of this Christmas season before he begins his sentence.”
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