As Dorothy said, there’s no place like home. That old adage really rings true with me. My home isn’t just my castle; it’s that place I can sit back and relax, drop all my worries and defenses (and my pants). Crossing my threshold or windowsill uninvited, though, is asking for trouble. Even the occasional faux pas – my buddy next door popping his head in to say, “Hi” – sends my adrenalin pump into wide open throttle. This week’s DGU reports are chock full of homeowner horror — folks giving it to the bad guys, one round at a time . . .
More than half of last week’s DGU articles were of the home invasion variety. It takes a real piece of work to decide that someone else’s stuff should be his stuff. Billy Jack Thomason of Alderson, Oklahoma isn’t exactlyu known for his humanitarian tendencies, having served time for child abuse and cruelty to animals. He’s now warming a bench at the local lockup, following a brief visit to St. John’s. I wonder if he gets to keep the bullet they dug out of his chest?
A Lawrenceville, Georgia thug won’t have to worry about jail time, but his family will be rounding up pallbearers. Bobby Smith, Jr. was just twenty-one when his invasion plans were cut short. And another youngster is hanging on to his not-so-dear life after getting his due. Stephen Lebrew, 22, was honing his home invasion skills when the homeowner caught him in the act, aerating him twice.
Another Atlanta-area homeowner put two rounds in his uninvited guest, this time using the intruder’s own gun. The unidentified victim puts his faith in a higher power, figuring that no criminal is dumb enough to lay down his gat without a bit of prodding from Above:
In an attempt to get the money from the homeowner’s pants, the robber placed his gun on the ground.The homeowner said, “I swear, from that moment God said, ‘It’s not your time. Here’s the gun.’ We kind of tussled for it, and he leaned forward and I pulled the trigger.”
It can be tough trying to sort through the week’s stories because so many of the headlines tend to sound the same. Yep, another one in Garden Grove, this time at a residence. Connecticut makes the list again this week with a would-be robber being chased off by an armed store owner. A second DGU shooting in Queens left me scratching my head, until I learned that the home invasion suspect was shot by his own gun during a scuffle with the unarmed homeowner.
With all the home invading going on, home carry never looked more attractive. Just sayin’.
