Joseph Cutrufelli kicked-in Jay Leone’s door and began ransacking his house. At some point in the proceedings, the 90-year-old homeowner onvinced Cutrufelli that he had to go to the bathroom. Leone came back from the smallest room in the house holding a .357 revolver. The bad guy was also armed; he shot Leone. That must have been the home invader’s last bullet. Staring down the barrel of a powerful gun, the bad guy begged Leone not to shoot him. For better or worse, Leone’s response sounded like something Harry Callahan would have growled through clenched teeth. A former sheriff’s deputy recounted what happened for sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com . . .
“After he shot me, I looked him straight in the eye,” said Leone. “He says, ‘Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me… I’ve got a daughter!’ I said, ‘f- you … pow, pow, pow, pow!’”
The ordeal wasn’t over. Three of those shots hit their mark, still the gunman rushed Leone and tried to shoot the 90-year-old with his own weapon.
“Sure enough, he wrestled me to the floor, put the gun to my head, pulled the trigger, and it went, ‘click,’” Leone said. “And then he got all panicky. He ran out the door.”
Cutrufelli was arrested later after calling the cops.
Shortly after the incident, Cutrufelli called San Rafael police saying that he had shot himself, and was in the area of Tiburon Boulevard and Altena Street in San Rafael, about a mile from where the shooting occurred. He was also taken to Marin General Hospital for treatment.
Upon further reflection, Cutrufelli might have rethought his strategy of trying to convince the police that he’d somehow shot himself thee times. Upon further reflection, perhaps Leone should have ducked out the back door instead of coming back to confront Cutrufelli. And kept that cinematic interchange to himself. But . . . result.
Considering he’s in California, stating that he taunted the felon will bite Mr. Leone in the rear come his day in civil court.
“He pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and received a six-year prison sentence”.
I’m not sure if the quote above from the linked page is in reference to the attack on Leone or to a prior assault.
It was for a prior assault committed in 2001. That Cutrufelli guy is a real charmer.
Good for him! If I was 90 and someone was a sacking. My house, I’d have gone back to give the perp a complimentary trip to the ER/morgue too. The most dangerous person in the world is someone with absolutely nothing to lose…
Well I’m all broken up about Mr. Cutrufelli’s rights….
I’m going to guess that .357 Mag was loaded with .38 Spl… or they were marginal hits? Hard to imagine 3 CoM hits with .357 Mag not having any effect?!
I was thinking the same thing.
The homeowner is 90. Even in Cali (New York, too), 90 year-olds do not get prosecuted for defending their homes against pricks with guns. Civil suit? Finding jury who will favor a home invader with a criminal record over an old guy? It would be easier to catch a bullet safely between one’s teeth. Leone (which means Lion, after all) will be legally fine.
I think the homeowner ought to sue the criminal.
At 90, who needs to be getting shot and put through that ordeal? Or any age for that matter.
Agreed. I lived in that area for many years. Even the local anti-gun political/legal establishment won’t risk the political backlash in this type of HD shooting (90 year old home owner ex-deputy). Leon could otherwise be the third potential pro-gun poster child (grandpa?) in three weeks. The others beings the KY cc woman arrested in NY and the OK mother shooting in HD.
I think Leone should not have even given Cutrefelli a chance to make an utterance after Leone was shot. Get on target fast and open up.
Yup. Save the catch phrase for after the bad guy has assumed room temperature.
The lowlife survived three shots and still got to the poor guy. I know that when you shoot someone there’s no guarantee that it will take them down, so I’ll stick to my good ole 45’s because you’ve got to be one tough SOB to take any hits from a 45 and not go down. I know that people can also survive being shot with a 45, but bigger really is better when it comes to bullets and I’ll go with big every time.
There is a certain LAPD officer who survived a .357 shot to the heart at close range and shot her scumbag attacker dead with her issue 9mm before passing out.
There is no quantifiable factor for stopping power.
Where the bullets go can be a factor.
Shotgun with #4 can be much more effective.
Old iron (1911) and big lead (.45) are the only things I will rely on. I saw a tv clip of a road rage incident where one male driver was shot point-blank to his left chest area with a 9mm (fmj though) and he was calmly waiting for the ambulance to arrive…
I sill carry black talon round for this very reason. Also,finish what you start.