RF preaches it all the time – home carry. For good reason, too. Google up ‘home invasion‘ and see how many hits you get. And it doesn’t just happen at night, either. Plenty of bad dudes make the assumption that homes are empty during the day when everyone’s at work or school. Call in sick or take a day off and you could be home when someone you don’t know expects otherwise. But while Tuesday’s dustup in the incongruously named Pleasant Hill, Tennessee took place during the day, there seems to be a little more involved than the usual smash and grab job. In this case, everyone involved already knew each other . . .
Whatever may have gone on between the unidentified homeowner and the two guys who broke in and tried to strangle him, the lesson remains the same. According to timesfreepress.com, Mr. Unidentified runs a home-based scrap metal biz and had dealt with Joey Pugh and Jacob Clark before.
The man told police that two men “had forcefully entered his residence and began assaulting him,” (Cumberland County Chief Investigator Casey) Cox said. The homeowner had a .22-caliber pistol in his pocket and managed to get off three shots during the assault, he said.
“It was pretty much a two-on-one,” Cox said. The victim “was being choked and he was able to retrieve his handgun and he fired off three rounds,” he said.
Once again, not a .45, a 9mm or a .38. He had a .22 in his pocket ready to rock and he used it. Pretty effectively as it turns out.
Authorities later found Putnam County resident Jacob Andrew Clark dead of a gunshot wound to his chest a short distance from the home, police said.
Joey Allen Pugh, 18, of Cumberland County, was taken into custody as he fled on foot, according to authorities.
The TBI will undoubtedly dig into this a little more to find out what may have prompted the attack, but for now they think Jake and Joey meant to rob Mr. Unidentified and they’re treating the shoot as a justifiable self defense situation.
Fact: no one likes to get shot. Doesn’t matter if it’s coming from a “pea shooter” .22 or something that starts with a four. And “when you need your gun to defend your life inside your home, you want it right then and there.” You never know when one may come in handy.