The Armed Citizen® October 9, 2020

Armed Citizen® Today

A resident of a Mesa County, Colo., home was forced to defend himself, his mother and their home when a man attempted to force his way into the residence in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2020.

The son and mother were awakened by the loud sounds of banging coming from the front door of their home. The son quickly grabbed his handgun and went to the front door to investigate the noise. When he got to the front door, the son found that the door frame was damaged and a man was forcing his way in.

The son confronted the intruder and told him to get on his knees. The man did not comply with the warning, threatened the son and lunged at him in the entryway. In response, the son discharged a single round at the attacking intruder, striking him in the chest. The mother called police around 2:45 a.m. to report the break-in and that her son shot the intruder.

When Mesa County sheriff's deputies arrived at the home, they found the intruder, a 23-year-old, dead from the shot to his chest. The son said that he felt that he had no other option but to shoot the intruder when he lunged. Authorities found no evidence to contradict the resident's story. Further investigation found that the intruder was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident, with a blood alcohol content of 0.221 reported by the coroner's office.

The 21st District Attorney's Office declined to press any charges against the son for shooting the intruder. The Chief Deputy District Attorney of the 21st Judicial District cited the Colorado "Make My Day" law in explaining why no charges were filed against the son. This law states that a person is justified in using deadly force against another when that person makes an unlawful entry into their home and there is reason to believe that the intruder intends to harm the occupant or their property, shielding the occupant from prosecution if that criteria is met. (gjsentinel.com, Grand Junction, Colo., 09/29/2020)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives August 1978    

After ordering soft drinks in L. L. Maready's store in Jacksonville, N. C., the two thugs waited for the clerk to open the register for their change before one of them pulled a pistol and demanded all the money.

Maready, the shop owner, sitting nearby, trained a gun on the two and shouted: "I don't have any money." The armed intruder dropped his gun, and both fell to the floor, then crawled out the door and ran to their getaway car. (The Daily News, Jacksonville, N. C.)