Caeca Invidia Es
Staff Alumnus
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BY KEVIN CANTERA
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The life of a Salt Lake City resident changed in seconds early Sunday morning when an intruder broke into the man's home and the homeowner shot and killed him.
At about 2:40 a.m. a stranger believed to be in his 20s smashed through a thick pane of glass with his bare hands and entered the home on 1300 West between 200 and 300 South. The owner of the home, a 51-year-old man, shot and killed the invader.
Although police released the identity of the homeowner, the family fears reprisals for the shooting and wants to remain anonymous.
Apparently the homeowner will not be charged in the shooting, because police believe he was defending his home legally. "It appears this case rises to the level of justifiable homicide," said Sgt. Jim Hill of the Salt Lake City Police Department, who emphasized that he is not a legal expert. "A homeowner is justified in taking necessary steps to defend himself and his family, up to and including the use of deadly force."
The case will go to the Salt Lake County district attorney for final review as early as today.
State law authorizes residents to use lethal force against someone unlawfully entering their homes "in a tumultuous manner," "by stealth," or if the resident believes "the entry is attempted for the purpose of committing a felony."
The homeowner and his wife were asleep when the intruder apparently kicked open a gate across the driveway and roused the family dog. The couple went to the front door and spotted the suspect on the porch, screaming in Spanish and pounding on the door.
"My dad told him to go away. He went to call police," said the home- owner's daughter.
The man spoke with a 911 dispatcher, while his wife retrieved a handgun -- purchased about two years ago -- from the bedroom.
Meanwhile, the intruder went around to the side of the house and began slamming his fists against a sliding glass door.
Holding the gun up so the intruder could see it, the homeowner said, " 'Go away, we don't want any trouble,' " according to the man's daughter. "But the guy kept on coming."
The suspect broke through the heavy sheet of glass and lunged at the wife. Her husband shot the intruder, who was later pronounced dead at a Salt Lake City hospital. A son said his father fired four rounds from the gun.
Police have not identified the dead man. Autopsy results due this week will show if the intruder was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. "It does not appear like a typical home-invasion robbery attempt [because] the suspect was unarmed. . . . Maybe he thought he was someplace else," surmised Hill.
"I think [the intruder] was at the wrong place," agreed the daughter. "My family has lived in the house since we were kids and we have never had any trouble."
Her brother hopes his father's grief will soon pass.
"He never wanted to kill anybody," said the son. "I'm glad my father handled the situation, but I know he is not proud of it. . . . Sometimes in the end it is the hero that suffers the most."
"My dad is hurting now because he has never taken a life before," said the daughter.
Home invasions that end in death are rare in Utah.
In 1992 Leon Allen Peterson, 28, shot and killed a 16-year-old intruder in his Cottonwood Heights home after his wife had allegedly "solicited" four males -- three 16-year-olds and a 20-year-old -- to break into the house and assault her husband with baseball bats. Peterson was never charged for killing Jeramia Jasson Dorman. His wife was charged with a felony for organizing the break-in.
On July 18, 1995, a Wasatch County woman shot and killed Allen Lee Watters in her home after Watters allegedly brandished a loaded assault rifle at her. Roslyn Stewart was jailed and charged with first-degree murder in the case, but the charges were dropped a month later when prosecutors decided the killing was justified.
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BY KEVIN CANTERA
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The life of a Salt Lake City resident changed in seconds early Sunday morning when an intruder broke into the man's home and the homeowner shot and killed him.
At about 2:40 a.m. a stranger believed to be in his 20s smashed through a thick pane of glass with his bare hands and entered the home on 1300 West between 200 and 300 South. The owner of the home, a 51-year-old man, shot and killed the invader.
Although police released the identity of the homeowner, the family fears reprisals for the shooting and wants to remain anonymous.
Apparently the homeowner will not be charged in the shooting, because police believe he was defending his home legally. "It appears this case rises to the level of justifiable homicide," said Sgt. Jim Hill of the Salt Lake City Police Department, who emphasized that he is not a legal expert. "A homeowner is justified in taking necessary steps to defend himself and his family, up to and including the use of deadly force."
The case will go to the Salt Lake County district attorney for final review as early as today.
State law authorizes residents to use lethal force against someone unlawfully entering their homes "in a tumultuous manner," "by stealth," or if the resident believes "the entry is attempted for the purpose of committing a felony."
The homeowner and his wife were asleep when the intruder apparently kicked open a gate across the driveway and roused the family dog. The couple went to the front door and spotted the suspect on the porch, screaming in Spanish and pounding on the door.
"My dad told him to go away. He went to call police," said the home- owner's daughter.
The man spoke with a 911 dispatcher, while his wife retrieved a handgun -- purchased about two years ago -- from the bedroom.
Meanwhile, the intruder went around to the side of the house and began slamming his fists against a sliding glass door.
Holding the gun up so the intruder could see it, the homeowner said, " 'Go away, we don't want any trouble,' " according to the man's daughter. "But the guy kept on coming."
The suspect broke through the heavy sheet of glass and lunged at the wife. Her husband shot the intruder, who was later pronounced dead at a Salt Lake City hospital. A son said his father fired four rounds from the gun.
Police have not identified the dead man. Autopsy results due this week will show if the intruder was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. "It does not appear like a typical home-invasion robbery attempt [because] the suspect was unarmed. . . . Maybe he thought he was someplace else," surmised Hill.
"I think [the intruder] was at the wrong place," agreed the daughter. "My family has lived in the house since we were kids and we have never had any trouble."
Her brother hopes his father's grief will soon pass.
"He never wanted to kill anybody," said the son. "I'm glad my father handled the situation, but I know he is not proud of it. . . . Sometimes in the end it is the hero that suffers the most."
"My dad is hurting now because he has never taken a life before," said the daughter.
Home invasions that end in death are rare in Utah.
In 1992 Leon Allen Peterson, 28, shot and killed a 16-year-old intruder in his Cottonwood Heights home after his wife had allegedly "solicited" four males -- three 16-year-olds and a 20-year-old -- to break into the house and assault her husband with baseball bats. Peterson was never charged for killing Jeramia Jasson Dorman. His wife was charged with a felony for organizing the break-in.
On July 18, 1995, a Wasatch County woman shot and killed Allen Lee Watters in her home after Watters allegedly brandished a loaded assault rifle at her. Roslyn Stewart was jailed and charged with first-degree murder in the case, but the charges were dropped a month later when prosecutors decided the killing was justified.
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