Score one for the Good Guy

Rangefinder

New member
I have yet to find the article on this, but it's been all over the local news channels and radio, and just a mile from where I live--a little unsettling for this normally sleepy little town. And solid justification to my better half why my .40SW resides on the headboard if it isn't tucked under my shoulder.

Late last tuesday night a BG forced his way into a 5th-wheel camper parked at the local Wal-Mart and tried to rob the people inside at knife-point---didn't end the way he'd hoped. The residents were an older couple traveling through, and the gentleman just happened to be a retired cop. As soon as said BG was unquestionably inside with his knife visible, grey matter became wall texture.

That's the short vewrsion, since I don't have all the solid details yet--I don't want to clutter it up with what I can't confirm yet. I'll see what I can find for accurate details on this later this evening--easier said than done because news reporting here tends to be both censored and bias. It happened in Cedar City, Utah last tuesday night--in case someone else wants to look in the mean time.
 
Found this so far...

http://www.kcsg.com/story.aspx?id=1193

Man Shot at Wal-Mart

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

A struggle at Cedar City’s Wal-Mart leaves a man shot dead.


Police received a call around ten o'clock last night saying there had been shots fired in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. When police arrived they found Cedar City resident Steven Stubbs dead.

Police believe a family from Florida was staying the night in Wal-Mart’s parking lot when Stubbs confronted them. What resulted was a grim outcome with a terrified family.

Lt. David Holm/Cedar City Police: "...there was a struggle that ensued and during this struggle a shot was fired and Stubbs was struck with one shot and he was obviously deceased when officers arrived."


Officers are trying to figure out if the force used was justified in the situation.


Here's another one with some more info:

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060728/NEWS01/607280310/1002

Article published Jul 28, 2006
Shooting still a mystery
# Police yet to determine if charges will be filed in Stubbs killing

By RYAN DIONNE

CEDAR CITY - After a second day of investigation into the shooting death of Steven Stubbs, Cedar City police had yet to determine whether to file any charges Thursday.

"No decisions are going to be made until we get a chance to put this whole thing together," said Cedar City Police Sgt. Jerry Womack.

Stubbs, 26, was shot in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday after he allegedly entered a motor home and refused to leave, Cedar City Police Lt. David Holm said.

The family in the motor home, a husband and wife and their two daughters, were on vacation from Cape Coral, Fla., and planning to visit Grand Canyon National Park.

Now they just want to go home, said Tracy Coltellino, the wife and mother.

"We thought he was security, so that's why we opened the door," Coltellino said Thursday.

Coltellino said the family often parks its motor home in a Wal-Mart parking lot while traveling.

Stubbs, who graduated from high school and college in Cedar City, most recently attended Barry University of Law in Orlando, Fla., said Stubbs' sister, who wouldn't disclose her name.

Randall Childs, Stubbs' uncle, said his nephew was a good man and that the family is baffled by his death.

"We're just at a loss to understand," he said.

Though Stubbs spent time in Florida, Coltellino said she and her family had never met him prior to Tuesday night.

She said Stubbs told the family that "he wanted to go south," and she guessed that he may have approached the motor home after seeing Florida license plates.

"We tried shoving. We tried screaming," but Stubbs braced himself in the doorway and wouldn't leave, she said.

Family members were in their pajamas and preparing to watch a Disney movie, Coltellino said.

"It was just movie night with my little girls," the mom said.

After Stubbs forced his way into the motor home, Coltellino said there was an altercation between Stubbs and her husband, Carl, who called 911 from his cell phone after the shooting.

The alleged intruder began choking Carl Coltellino, she said.

"My babies, my children, were two feet away from him," Tracy Coltellino said.

When Stubbs entered the motor home, he was carrying a beer can, which he left in the residence, she said. But he didn't seem too drunk, she added.

"We did find that beer can," Womack said. "It didn't belong to the family, but we don't have any toxicology reports."

A toxicology report is standard procedure during an autopsy, he said. Stubbs' body was sent to Salt Lake City on Wednesday for an autopsy, which was completed on Thursday.

Results of the autopsy, however, won't be known for a few weeks, said Edward Leis, Utah's deputy chief medical examiner.

"We can't give any information beyond that," Leis said.

Stubbs has a criminal history that includes two alcohol-related incidents since March, according to court records.

But Pat Williams, an employee at Gold's Gym, where Stubbs had a membership for about two years, said he was always nice.

"I thought he was friendly," she said.

Williams said she chatted with Stubbs whenever he came to exercise.

"It's strange," she said. "Sad."

The Florida family's attorney, William Leigh, refused to speak with The Spectrum & Daily News on Thursday. Police interviewed all four family members on Thursday evening.

Once police finish with their investigation, the case will be given to the Iron County Attorney's Office, which will determine if charges will be filed, Womack said.

Here's a picture of the deceased:

bilde


Don't want to sound mean... but this guy looks like he used to be a real... Um... Winner.

Hmmm.
A 12 Gauge was used. Oh boy, that must have been a mess.

There's two FL connentions in this case(strange coincidence), AND this guy attended Barry University of Law in Orlando, Fla. ?!?!?
What was his major? How to break the law in the dumbest way possible?!?!?

Anyway, if this is indeed the true account... good riddance.
He MIGHT have been intoxicated. He appears to have been a physically fit male. And the part about them being a family... good for the Coltellino's, and kudos to Mr. Coltellino on the takedown.
 
More:

Family released in shooting investigation
By RYAN DIONNE
rdionne@thespectrum.com

CEDAR CITY — After being interviewed by Cedar City police Thursday evening regarding a fatal shooting Tuesday night, the Coltellino family can return to Florida or continue its vacation.

"After the interviews the family was released to continue their vacation," according to a Cedar City Police Department press release.

Before determining if charges will be filed, more evidence must be collected and additional interviews conducted before the case is presented to the Iron County Attorney's Office.

The main question is if the force used was justifiable.

http://thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060728/NEWS01/60728002
 
Kudos on finding at least something on it. But again, it shows the censorship involved with local reporting here. According to my source (a little higher than the local jurisdiction), there WAS a knife present and brandished (statement issued by mr. Coltellino and confirmed by one of the night stock clerks who was just arriving and responded just after the shooting, acknowledging seeing the knife near the body when he arrived), the wife had been physically attacked inside the motorhome, and Stubbs' own father went on record stating Stubbs was just released from rehab and came demanding money from him to get to LA earlier that evening. When he refused to give it to him Stubbs said he'd get the money 'some other way then' and left...

SO I guess the moral of this story as I see it is... "Don't think living in a quiet little town where nothing happens means things won't happen when you least expect it".
 
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