Daily update August 19

California: Man shot in self defense in court
KGET 17 TV News

"A man who was shot in the thigh Wednesday by a homeowner made his first court appearance Friday in a wheelchair. Jonathan Heade pleaded not guilty to charges of cruelty to animals, assault with a deadly weapons other than a firearm, and possession of PCP. Investigators said a Bakersfield couple found Heade standing in their yard, beating their dogs with a belt. The wife confronted the man and told him to leave, but the man refused and then attacked her husband. That’s when police said the woman fired two warning shots in the air before hitting the suspect in the thigh. She will not face any charges." (08/19/05)

http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=63CF1CD1-05F3-4CE2-A8EA-9D903721DE11

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Florida: Alleged burglar caught in act
Gadsden Courier

" Burglaries in the area have homeowners wary about leaving home, and law enforcement frustrated by being a few steps behind the criminals. Monday morning, everybody got a break. A homeowner, acting on a hunch, asked her supervisor if she could leave work to check on her home. She arrived home minutes after the burglar. He was still standing almost in her yard. .... "I saw him on the property. When I walked into my house I knew immedately we had been robbed. Things were all over the floor and the bedroom door that is usually locked was open," said the homeowner, whom we will not identify. "I immediately called 911," she said. Then she grabbed her .357 magnum and went outside. She fired one round in the air and yelled for the man to stop. She tried to call 911 again and the man ran away. This time she fired five or six more shots in the air and yelled for him to stop. "He ran into the woods," she said." (08/19/05)

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=582&NewsID=654777&CategoryID=3291&on=1

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Texase: Home invasion attempt foiled by homeowner with shotgun
ABC 13 News

" A southeast Houston furniture store owner says some suspects wanted his cash. But police say those suspects didn't get very far because the owner grabbed his gun and fired. The owner of the store asked us not to identify him for his own safety. On Thursday night, a woman who has been following him around a lot on deliveries came to his apartment on 75th near Harrisburg. Through a translator, the store owner told us, "She's been in five times, asking questions about how much it was to wire money from my in-store service."
But instead of answering the door, he ran for his gun in the bedroom. By that time, two armed men barged into his apartment. The store owner said the men shot once. He fell to the floor and returned fire. The victim unloaded his revolver, striking and killing one of the suspects. The second man took off along with the woman, leaving their dead accomplice behind." (08/19/05)

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/081905_local_invasion.html

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Texas: Jury finds woman not guilty of murdering husband
KTRE News

"A San Augustine county woman on trial for killing her husband has been found not guilty. Nina Conner was accused of shooting Williard Connor to death two years ago. She claimed it was self defense, calling her relationship with her husband an abusive one. She said she had to do it or she would have been dead. The jury agreed. "We were very pleased that the jury agreed with us that this extreme case of domestic violence justified the use of deadly force. It's a tragedy that a life was taken, but it came down to who's life it would be," says Defense Attorney Tim James." (08/17/05)

http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=3736130&nav=2FH5dSqR

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South Africa: Fried for negligence
Paarl Post

"GUN owners are prosecuted for negligence if their firearms are stolen from under bed pillows and car dashboards. And so will the owner of a safe that was not bolted to the wall when thieves walked off with it at the weekend. The pistol and ammunition in the safe are now also missing. “Several cases of negligence have been brought before the court,” Inspector Julia Claasen says. “Not only should the safe be secured to the wall or floor, but the key to the safe or the firearm should be carried with the owner at all times.' .... Police are also investigating possible negligence after a man lost his firearm to a thief while locking the door to Paarl Exhaust’s offices.The plaintiff said he had his firearm in a holster at his back when it was grabbed from behind, Insp Claasen said. The thief disappeared." (08/18/05)

http://www.paarlpost.com/cgib/article?newsid=1539