LanceOregon
Moderator
This is a follow-up to the story I previously reported about a homeowner in Sutherlin, OR who shot and killed a man who came into his home in the middle of the night. Yesterday, a Grand Jury indicted Keith Cramer of second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the shooting death of Michael Shane Smith. A Judge immediately issued an arrest warrant for Cramer, and he turned himself in earlier this morning. These charges require a minimum sentence of 6 years in state prison under Oregon Law, with no possibility of earlier parole.
Mr. Smith, who was from Alaska and leaves behind a widow and two fatherless children, had been caring for his terminal ill mother who lived in Sutherlin. However, she died on May 28th, and Smith was reported to have become very depressed and despondent while seeing to the affairs of her estate. He spent the night of June 19th heavily drinking at a bar, and police believe that he was disoriented and did not know where he was when he entered the Cramer residence and collapsed and fell asleep on the living room sofa.
Cramer's wife awoke to find the stranger in their home, and fled the house with her daughter. She drove to a nearby bar where her husband had also been spending the night drinking. Without notifying the authorities, the couple drove back to their home. There the wife got a phone and called 911, while the husband retrieved his high-powered deer rifle, and then had a confrontation with the now awake Smith.
Police have reported that when they arrived a few minutes later, they found the dead body of Mr. Smith still lying on the sofa. Cramer has claimed self-defense, and alleged that Smith had attacked him. The Oregon State Police crime lab assisted the Sutherlin police department in the investigation.
Obviously, this homeowner appears to have shown poor judgment in following the law, and is now facing the consequences of his actions. This case illustrates that it may not always be the right thing legally to do, to shoot a stranger that is inside your home.
Here are some news reports about these latest developments in this case:
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080724/NEWS/457989433/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055
http://www.kval.com/news/25902344.html
And here is a photo of Oregon State Troopers investigating the crime scene:
Mr. Smith, who was from Alaska and leaves behind a widow and two fatherless children, had been caring for his terminal ill mother who lived in Sutherlin. However, she died on May 28th, and Smith was reported to have become very depressed and despondent while seeing to the affairs of her estate. He spent the night of June 19th heavily drinking at a bar, and police believe that he was disoriented and did not know where he was when he entered the Cramer residence and collapsed and fell asleep on the living room sofa.
Cramer's wife awoke to find the stranger in their home, and fled the house with her daughter. She drove to a nearby bar where her husband had also been spending the night drinking. Without notifying the authorities, the couple drove back to their home. There the wife got a phone and called 911, while the husband retrieved his high-powered deer rifle, and then had a confrontation with the now awake Smith.
Police have reported that when they arrived a few minutes later, they found the dead body of Mr. Smith still lying on the sofa. Cramer has claimed self-defense, and alleged that Smith had attacked him. The Oregon State Police crime lab assisted the Sutherlin police department in the investigation.
Obviously, this homeowner appears to have shown poor judgment in following the law, and is now facing the consequences of his actions. This case illustrates that it may not always be the right thing legally to do, to shoot a stranger that is inside your home.
Here are some news reports about these latest developments in this case:
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080724/NEWS/457989433/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055
http://www.kval.com/news/25902344.html
And here is a photo of Oregon State Troopers investigating the crime scene:
