News stories of civilian self-defense seldom receive adequate media coverage. After all, armed good guys stopping violent felons does not make headlines like the lives of innocents being taken. Bias and agendas play their part, but the media does not cover an event that did not happen, such as a case where a good guy stopped a violent event before it it resulted in the loss of innocent life. However, these are exactly the type of stories we need to highlight to educate non gun owners before they head to the voting booth.
Indiana: Kokomo Homeowner Holds Burglary Suspect at Gunpoint Until Police Arrive
A Kokomo resident sits in jail on a felony burglary charge after police say a husband and wife caught the man in the middle of a home invasion, chased him down, and held the suspect at gunpoint until officers arrived.
Marcus Woolever, 27, is being held at the Howard County Jail on a $20,000 bond following the incident, which involved a red pull-behind wagon loaded with goods, ready to be stolen, inside a home in the 1000 block of East Vaile Avenue.
Instead of making off with new speakers and archery supplies, however, Woolever found himself staring down a gun as neighbors yelled at him to comply with the homeowner’s orders.
At approximately 9:11 p.m. Sunday, Kokomo Police Department officers responded to the area of South Crystal Street and East Vaile Avenue on a report of a burglary in process, according to probable cause affidavit released Wednesday.
Dispatchers told officers that the homeowner and his wife had arrived at a house in the 1100 block of East Vaile Avenue and found a man in the home, robbing the place, and “now had the male at gunpoint.” Officers were quickly directed to an area behind the 600 block of Crystal Street.
There, they found Woolever lying on the ground, wearing a ball cap and a backpack, while the homeowner ensured he wouldn’t flee by pulling a weapon. The type of gun used by the homeowner is not specified in court documents.
The homeowner and his wife’s names were redacted from police reports, and they could not be contacted by the Tribune.
The couple, which is in the process of remodeling the home so a family member can move in, had been told previously by the family member that someone may have been in the house.
Then, on Sunday, they arrived to mow the yard and check the home; as the husband put his key in the door, his wife yelled that someone was coming out of a side window.
She gave chase while the husband went around the other side of the house and caught up with Woolever in the backyard of a home in the 600 block of Crystal Street, around 360 feet from the East Vaile Avenue site.
Woolever, trapped in the backyard but still refusing to comply with the homeowner’s orders, was eventually yelled down by neighbors who came out of their homes to also order the suspect onto the ground.
Eventually, Woolever, who said he had been walking all day and only wanted a place to sit down and use the restroom, knelt to the ground while the homeowner held him at gunpoint until officers arrived.
Woolever later told police that he had knocked on the front door and asked for a response before entering through the unlocked door into a home he believed was unoccupied. He said he then got scared when the homeowner arrived and took off through the side window.
But a search of the East Vaile Avenue home found that plastic covering over the window had been cut. In conjunction, a tire had been propped against the house, allowing someone to climb through the window, the same one that Woolever had been seeing fleeing out of.
Inside the house, next to the door, was a red pull-behind wagon, according to court documents. Inside the wagon were speakers, archery supplies and two jackets. Neither the wagon nor the items were previously in that location, the homeowner told police.
In Woolever’s backpack were pipe-cutters, three knives, handgun grips, a .22 caliber magazine, a Compaq laptop, gloves, a Rapala filter and a flashlight. Each of the items were removed from the home.
Also located in the backpack were a crow bar, red bolt cutters, a cell phone, keys and phone chargers. Woolever was also found with a folding knife, belonging to the homeowner, in his front shirt pocket.
Woolever is scheduled to have an initial hearing on Aug. 24 in Howard Superior Court 4.
Massachusetts: New Bedford Cab Driver Shoots and Kills Robber
Prosecutors say the issue of self-defense is being looked into as part of the investigation into a fatal shooting in New Bedford’s North End on Friday.
Before 1:12 a.m. on Friday, a cab driver for Yellow Cab of New Bedford was dispatched to Cottage Street to pick up two male fares, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn. “There was an attempted robbery of the cab driver, allegedly by physical force and with a knife,” said Quinn.
The cab driver was stopped in the area of 20 Bentley Street when he was able to escape a chokehold one of the men in the back seat had put him in.
At that point, said Quinn, the driver took out a firearm and fired several shots into the back seat, striking Christopher Dunton, 24, four times. Dunton was found lying on the ground outside of the taxi. He was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The second suspect fled the scene as the driver began firing. “He’s alleged to have participated in a violent armed robbery of this cab driver,” said Quinn. “I would consider him to be armed and dangerous and would be cautious in approaching an individual who is alleged to have been involved in that kind of violent activity.”
Quinn did not provide any further information of the second suspect, who is still being sought by police.
District Attorney Quinn said the cab driver, who has not been identified, is a legal gun owner. The man has not been charged in connection to the incident and is not being held by police. It was unclear if the driver had sustained any injuries during the altercation.
The fatal shooting and attempted armed robbery are under investigation by New Bedford Police and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
Do you know of a recent event of where armed good guys turned the tide on the bad guys? Would you have been prepared if someone jumped through your car window? Share your answer in the comment section.
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