Armando Martinez tried twenty doors before he found one unlocked and let himself into a Springville, Utah home early yesterday morning. After he’d put on some of the homeowners’ clothes and helped himself to their food, he woke the man and woman who were sleeping in their bed. Telling them he had a gun, he demanded their wallets and told them they’d be driving him to an ATM to tap their account. So the unnamed husband went to his closet to “get his wallet.” sltrib.com picks up the story . . .
“The suspect thought he was going to get his wallet, but instead, he grabbed his handgun,” [Springville police Lt. David] Caron said.
The husband shot the intruder once in the chest. The man died at the scene.
There were also three children in the house sleeping in a nearby bedroom.
Caron called the fatal shooting at the duplex near 800 South and 475 East justified self-defense.
“Someone comes to your bedroom at 3 in the morning and says he has a gun, you believe him,” he said.
“It’s a pretty frightening experience,” said Caron, who added that the couple were traumatized. “They held together pretty well for quite a while, but I think emotionally it started to take its toll.”
The incident was similar to another break-in last week in which a man broke into a nearby home while the residents were home and stole their gun. Last night’s unnamed homeowners will likely be double checking their doors before bedtime for the rest of their lives. Thank God they owned a gun and were able to defend themselves successfully. The late Mr. Martinez wasn’t available for comment.