A Jacksonville, Florida homeowner was out and received a notification of that his home security system had been tripped yesterday. Knowing that police had also been alerted, he then did what most of us would do…he made a bee-line for home. But he got there before the local 5-0 arrived.
JSO Sgt. Steve Rudlaff say the homeowner confronted the two unknown intruders inside the home. The homeowner shot and killed one intruder, but the other got away on foot. Police are now searching for a suspect described as a black male in his 20s or 30s last seen wearing a dark blue hoodie, dark pants, and gloves.
So the homeowner, apparently armed, decided to enter his home before the cops arrived when he had good reason to suspect a break-in.
The homeowner, who has not been identified, was questioned by authorities but not taken into custody. Rudlaff was not able to confirm Wednesday whether the suspects were armed or unarmed during the confrontation.
First Coast News’ crime and safety analyst Mark Baughman said the homeowner will likely avoid charges if he is able to show he felt his life was in jeopardy when he encountered the suspect.
There’s apparently some question as to where some of the gunfire took place.
“Whether [the suspect] was shot inside the car and whether he was shot inside the residence, [investigators] will be able to piece that together with blood spatter and blood trails,” Baughman said. “If the suspect was still armed in the car, I don’t think that it would matter [where the shooting happened.]”
So the un-named homeowner’s potential legal jeopardy raises an obvious point.
“My safety recommendation is, if the police have been called and you happen to beat the police home, is there anything in the house worth your life?” said Baughman. “I would wait for police to arrive and do their job.”
The answer is almost certainly…no.