Category: Crime thwarted
Vietnam vet says he had to ‘get aggressive’ and grab his gun when his female tenant started screaming
Earlier this week, Blaze News reported about a 79-year-old Los Angeles landlord who fatally shot a naked intruder after the culprit body-slammed him to the ground, breaking his legs.
Well, George Karkoc — the Vietnam veteran who opened fire to protect not only himself but also his tenant, whom he heard screaming prior to the deadly confrontation — spoke to KTLA-TV from his hospital bed about the ordeal.
‘I just thought, “I need to get aggressive,” so I ran into the house and got my gun.’
The incident took place around 7:15 a.m. Nov. 7 in the 4500 block of Tujunga Avenue at a Studio City apartment, authorities told KABC-TV.
Surveillance video captured the intruder walking naked around the neighborhood, KABC said, adding that video also shows him at the front door of a home and grabbing a sign, then continuing to walk.
But soon the suspect entered an apartment — and that’s when things got frightening.
Karkoc told KTLA he heard his female tenant screaming and knew he had to act quickly: “I just thought, ‘I need to get aggressive,’ so I ran into the house and got my gun.”
The station said Karkoc confronted the intruder and tried to reason with him, begging him to stop. But the naked intruder rushed at Karkoc and body-slammed him, KTLA said, breaking both of his legs in the process.
Now seriously injured and pinned to the ground, Karkoc told the station he had to defend himself and that he shot the intruder three times.
Karkoc was rushed to a hospital in serious condition, KTLA said, adding that he was stable after undergoing surgery. The suspect was declared dead at the scene, the station said.
“This incident, although horrible, brought me a great feeling that I was able to do something to protect other people,” Karkoc told KTLA.
On Veterans Day, a group of Los Angeles police officers visited Karkoc in the hospital and thanked him for his service.
Karkoc’s tenant, Chloe Dzielak, tearfully recounted to KTLA what she saw — and was grateful for her landlord rescuing her.
“He was protecting me,” Dzielak told the station, adding that “he saved my life. I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t there.”
Dzielak also told KTLA that while she was terrified and screaming, Karkoc was calm — even while speaking to the naked intruder.
An “Inside Edition” reporter asked Karkoc if his military experience aided him as he assessed the stressful situation, and Karkoc replied, “I certainly know my training helped me.”
KTLA added that family members have organized a GoFundMe for Karkoc. His son said his legs, ankles, and hips are full of pins — and there’s a long road to recovery for him. What’s more, Karkoc’s wife has late-stage Parkinson’s disease, and Karkoc’s son added to the station that the couple may need an in-home caretaker for both of them until his dad heals.
“He just keeps his head and takes care of other people around him,” Karkoc’s son added to KTLA. “He’s a hero.”
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Gun-wielding homeowner wastes no time after he says burglar kicked in his door at midnight, ran toward him when told to stop
A North Carolina homeowner told WRAL-TV he was in his bathroom getting ready for bed around midnight Wednesday when he heard someone kick in the door of his home in southeast Raleigh.
The homeowner told the station that when he got to the living room, the intruder was standing there.
‘If somebody breaks in your home, you have to protect yourself.’
“I had my gun, and I was telling him to get down! Get down! Or get out! Then he just ran to me,” the homeowner, who didn’t want to be identified, told WRAL.
With that, the homeowner fired shots, the station said.
When Raleigh police arrived at the scene on Rose Lane, they found 26-year-old Christian Beasley with a gunshot wound, WRAL reported.
Police told the station that Beasley was taken to a trauma center and was stable — and that after he’s released from the trauma center, he’ll be processed on charges of first-degree burglary and damage to property.
RELATED: Gun-wielding male kicks down door of home, opens fire at homeowner. But his target is armed too.
The homeowners told WRAL that they had no choice but to defend themselves and their home.
“If somebody breaks in your home, you have to protect yourself,” the homeowner’s wife added to the station. “And that’s what he did. He had to protect us. We did not know what he was going to do.”
Police told WRAL the homeowner will not face charges at this time but that the incident is under investigation. The station added that forensics investigators gathered evidence at the front door and inside the house.
WRAL said its Breaking News Tracker captured video of people coming out of the house, adding that they got in the back of police cruisers but did not appear to be under arrest.
Commenters on WRAL’s Facebook post about the shooting seemed completely on the homeowner’s side:
- “Lookie there … the burglar found the consequences of his actions,” one commenter said.
- “The homeowner deserves a medal!” another user declared. “Every home should be protected like this!”
- “I’d done the same thing,” another commenter wrote. “Let someone try and break into my house.”
- “It’s about time these criminals got it,” another user stated.
- “Sorry to hear he was taken to a trauma center, should have been taken to a morgue,” another commenter said.
- “America’s fighting back!!!” another user exclaimed.
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Armed carjackers meet their match as gun-toting victim turns the tables, shoots the crooks — among them a 14-year-old male
A crew of carjackers most definitely picked the wrong guy to steal from in Seattle over the weekend.
Officers around 3:30 a.m. Sunday responded to a shooting in the 2200 block of 1st Avenue, police said.
‘Stories like this just warm my heart. I love a happy ending.’
Officers found a suspect suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and detained him, police said, adding that they also detained the victim — a licensed gun owner — for questioning and recovered the firearm.
Firefighters responded with police and provided medical aid to the suspect, police said, adding that medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition. Police said the suspect was under armed guard by officers.
Police determined that the victim parked his sports car along 1st Avenue when the driver of a white sedan approached him.
Image source: Seattle Police
Four individuals wearing face masks were in the vehicle, police said, adding that after a short conversation, two males armed with guns tried to steal the victim’s car.
Fearing for his safety, the victim fired multiple rounds, striking one of the suspects, police said.
The remaining suspects fled the area in the sedan before police arrived.
While they were investigating, police said the driver of a white sedan dropped off a second suspect at Harborview Medical Center. The second suspect also had been shot, was in serious condition, and was under armed guard, police said.
The driver of the sedan fled before officers arrived, police said.
One of the wounded suspects is a 14-year-old male, while the other is a 20-year-old male, KING-TV reported, citing police.
Both wounded suspects will be booked into custody when they are released from the hospital, the station noted.
Officers and robbery detectives processed the scene, collected evidence, and spoke to witnesses, police said, adding that officers took the victim to Seattle Police headquarters, where detectives interviewed him; he was then released. KING said the victim is 24 years old.
Police said the case is an open and active investigation assigned to the Robbery Unit.
More than 3,000 comments have flooded KING’s Facebook post about the shooting, and as you might expect, folks seem quite happy about the outcome. The following are a few of their reactions.
- “Not every hero wears a cape,” one commenter said.
- “The vehicle owner doing the Lord’s work,” another user noted.
- “Awesome story,” another commenter wrote before adding “buy that man a beer.”
- “Stories like this just warm my heart,” another user gushed. “I love a happy ending.”
- “FAFO! Whahahaha! I love it!!!” another user exclaimed.
- “When you allow your streets to become the Wild West, sometimes you run into Wyatt Earp,” another commenter observed.
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79-year-old landlord opens fire on naked intruder who body-slammed him to ground, breaking his legs
A 79-year-old landlord opened fire on a naked male intruder who body-slammed him to the ground Friday morning, breaking his legs, authorities said.
The incident occurred around 7:15 a.m. in the 4500 block of Tujunga Avenue at a Studio City apartment in Los Angeles, authorities told KABC-TV.
‘Why is he out here naked?’
Surveillance video captured the intruder walking naked around the neighborhood, the station said, adding that video also shows him at the front door of a home and grabbing a sign and then continuing to walk.
The suspect soon entered an apartment, after which two women who were home at the time confronted him, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KABC.
More from the station:
The women yelled at the trespasser to get out, prompting the landlord to rush to their aid, the LAPD said.
The intruder body-slammed the landlord, breaking both of the victim’s legs, police said.
The 79-year-old man “at this time, in self-defense, shoots the suspect three times,” said Capt. Warner Castillo of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Castillo added to KTTV-TV that the victim gave the naked man every opportunity to stop what he was doing before shots were fired.
“The 79-year-old man tells the suspect to leave, tells him I have a gun, and I will shoot you. The suspect grabs the 79-year-old man, lifts him, throws him on the ground, and that’s where the 79-year-old man suffered two broken legs,” Castillo noted to KTTV.
What’s more, Castillo added to KTTV that “the suspect got shot one time, and the suspect still approached the 79-year-old [who] shot the suspect again, killing him.”
KTTV noted that the victim, identified only as George, was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery. A neighbor added to KTTV the 79-year-old man is a Vietnam veteran.
The name of the suspect has not been released, KTTV noted. No injuries to the women were reported, KABC said.
“I heard commotion, like a lady yelling,” a woman who witnessed the incident and declined to be identified by name told KABC. “Then I looked over, and it was a naked guy. At first I thought it was just like, maybe it’s a house fire. Like, why is he out here naked?”
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Video: Woman pulls male intruder out of her car, throws him to the ground with ease — while her amazed husband watches
Astonishing surveillance video from a Hollywood gas station shows the moment when a woman pulled a male intruder out of her car and threw him to the ground with ease.
The woman, Star Carter, was sitting in the driver’s seat of her red Alfa Romeo at the gas station Tuesday when a male stranger walked up and tried to open her passenger door, KCBS-TV reported.
‘It was just like that Kendrick Lamar verse [from “Peekaboo”] was playing in my head, you know like, “Bing bop boom bop boom bop bam!”‘
Her husband, Michael Carter, was pumping gas at the time and was on the other side of car.
“I stood up and was like ‘Get outta here!’ and then I walked around this way,” Michael told KCBS, motioning toward the passenger side of the car.
But after Michael got back in the passenger seat, the crook sneaked back and opened the driver-side rear door closest to the gas pump and actually got into the back seat, video shows.
“I’m wrestling with him inside the car,” Michael told the station, “and I’m kinda pushing him and pushing him, and all I know is he just disappeared.”
With that, Star’s husband smiled and told KCBS that “I’m looking over the back, and I said, ‘Oh … ohhh!'”
Michael’s, shall we say, starstruck reaction was due to the fact that his wife got out of her driver’s seat, got to the back door, ripped the intruder right out the car, and tossed him to the ground.
“I don’t condone violence, but I do condone self-defense,” Star told KCBS in the aftermath.
Star described what song was on her brain’s playlist in that moment, telling the station that “it was just like that Kendrick Lamar verse [from ‘Peekaboo’] was playing in my head, you know like, ‘Bing bop boom bop boom bop bam!'”
With a laugh, she added to KCBS, “That’s all I remember. I’m so embarrassed.”
Wisely, the intruder ran off after Star introduced him to the concrete.
But she also had some parting advice for him: “I just said, ‘Don’t you ever do no stupid [word redacted in KCBS video] like this again!'”
The station said the Carters actually continued their night out, going to a comedy show at the Hollywood Improv.
The couple’s unsurprised daughter later told KCBS that “my mommy, she was in like fight or flight — but she definitely fought, and he definitely took flight.”
Star added to the station that she believes the intruder was on drugs at the time of the incident: “I don’t know what this dude is capable of doing at all.”
In the end, her husband was grateful that Star stood up to the crook.
“She is indeed my hero,” Michael noted to KCBS with a laugh in the aftermath. “Thank you, Star!”
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Thug forces his way into apartment, attacks elderly resident. But armed neighbor rushes over and permanently ends threat.
Police in Medford, Oregon, said officers responded to a report of a shooting at 18 Hawthorne Street just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
The investigation revealed that a neighbor heard and observed a loud commotion outside his apartment, police said.
‘Good job neighbor. That’s what it’s about!!’
Through his window, he saw an unknown male attempting to force entry into the front door of a nearby apartment, which he knew was occupied by an elderly resident, police said.
The neighbor grabbed his handgun and rushed over to assist, police said, adding that once he was in the unit, the neighbor saw the suspect assaulting the elderly resident.
During the confrontation, the neighbor shot the suspect, and the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, adding that multiple rounds were fired.
The deceased individual has been identified as 32-year-old Martin Uriel Jimenez of Medford, police said.
The neighbor who fired the shots was detained and is cooperating with investigators, police said.
While no arrests have been made, police noted that detectives are continuing to investigate.
Police added that “as is standard protocol in all investigations where deadly force was used and resulted in death, the case will be presented to the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office for review.”
Image source: Medford (Ore.) Police
It appears that many commenters under the police department’s Facebook post about the shooting are squarely behind the neighbor who rushed over to help. The following are but a few of them:
- “I own the property where this occurred,” one commenter stated. “I know all the tenants well. They are all clean, gainfully employed, good citizens. The intruder was unknown to any of them. The intruder was violent, deranged, no pants on, kicked in an apartment door at 3:30am and attacked the tenant inside as he was calling 911. The younger man in the neighboring apartment heard the commotion and came to the aid of his neighbor resident to find the intruder beating the older gentleman/tenant and causing injuries. When the younger neighbor intervened, the random, pants-less, 6’2”, 280# intruder charged at him and was shot by the neighbor in an act of self defense. 100% justified.”
- “That hero better not get charged!” another user declared. “I hope my neighbor would do the same.”
- “The intruder received justice,” another commenter wrote. “I hope the neighbor is cleared as it should be.”
- “Sounds like the neighbor saved the resident, don’t charge that man for anything,” another user said.
- “Good guy with a gun for the win!” another commenter exclaimed.
- “Good job neighbor,” another user said. “That’s what it’s about!!”
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How a Walmart employee helped rescue a woman who said her boyfriend strangled her multiple times that day
Nebraska law enforcement officers said a 47-year-old woman early last week informed them that her 31-year-old boyfriend had strangled her five to six times that day and had been preventing her from contacting authorities and leaving his presence.
It turns out the alleged victim was able to finally get the attention of police — with the help of a Walmart employee.
Barnhouse didn’t let her leave for the previous two days, as she was trying to get her belongings from the camper and return home to Kansas, officials added.
Gage County Sheriff’s deputies around 5:45 p.m. Oct. 28 responded to the Diamond T Truck Stop Camper Row on US HWY 77 just north of Beatrice for an assault that had occurred earlier in the day, the sheriff’s office said.
Image source: Gage County (Neb.) Sheriff’s Office
Upon arrival, deputies made contact with the 47-year-old woman from Hutchinson, Kansas, who told deputies that her boyfriend — 31-year-old Justis Barnhouse — had strangled her five to six times that afternoon, officials said.
Barnhouse took the woman’s cell phone so she couldn’t contact police about the incident, officials said. Barnhouse didn’t let her leave for the previous two days, as she was trying to get her belongings from the camper and return home to Kansas, officials added.
However, officials said that when the woman and Barnhouse went to the Walmart in Beatrice, she got the attention of a Walmart employee and asked the worker to follow her to the restroom.
The sheriff’s office said that allowed the woman to give the employee details about the strangulation — and the employee notified law enforcement.
When deputies arrived at the Diamond T Truck Stop Camper Row, officials said Barnhouse was there — and deputies arrested Barnhouse for assault by strangulation as well as third-degree domestic assault with two priors.
Barnhouse was lodged at the Gage County Detention Center on his charges, officials said. Jail records indicate Barnhouse was still behind bars Wednesday morning.
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Dad goes absolutely primal on stranger who reportedly opened his home’s front door and told his ‘little daughter’ he’s a cop
A family in Toledo, Ohio, got a most unwelcome visitor Saturday afternoon — a male they didn’t know who allegedly opened their front door and announced to a young daughter that he was a police officer.
“This guy came through the back alley, came to the front door, and he was trying to open the entrance,” Steven Aranda told WTVG-TV of the frightening encounter. “And my little daughter said, ‘What are you doing?’ She said, ‘You don’t belong here,’ and then he said he was a Toledo cop.”
‘I threw him down on the ground — slammed him on the concrete and beat him up.’
Charging documents indicated that Parker Jackson, 33, claimed he was a police officer and needed to check on the children in the home, the station said.
Aranda told WTVG Jackson didn’t look like a police officer, and a Toledo Police report Blaze News obtained indicated that Jackson provided no identification backing up his claim that he was a cop.
The station said Aranda was concerned about protecting his children and took matters into his own hands.
‘I snatched his a*s up, and I threw him down on the ground — slammed him on the concrete and beat him up,” Aranda told WTVG. “I pinned him down until the cops got here.”
Indeed, Jackson’s arrest photo shows him with a bloody, swollen lip and a cut above his eye.
The police report also said Jackson was showing “visible symptoms of intoxication” by the time officers arrived. In fact, the report added that Jackson appeared to have been carrying several opened and unopened cans of Milwaukee’s Best Ice beer at the time of his arrest. The report also said Jackson acknowledged opening the home’s front door and claiming to be a police officer.
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Jackson pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated trespassing, inducing panic, and impersonating a police officer, WTVG reported, adding that a judge ordered Jackson to stay away from the family and set his bond at $1,500.
Aranda told the station his four children were shaken by the incident.
“The kids were kind of scared a little bit ’cause, you know, they ain’t been playing outside now in the past few days because you can’t trust nobody no more,” he noted to WTVG. “Watch out for your kids where they play at and their surroundings.”
You can watch the video of Aranda’s interview with WTVG here.
Jackson on Friday was still behind bars at Lucas County Jail, officials told Blaze News.
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