Ohio Home Defense

[cxm]

Good guys win in Ohio... though a couple of details worry me...

V/r

Chuck


From the Columbus Dispatch:

Intruders pay price for home invasion
Springfield woman shoots both, killing 1
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Holly Zachariah
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Colin Jenkins’ girlfriend was already in bed Tuesday night, and he was just about to join her when the doorbell started to ring incessantly. When Jenkins opened the door, a man forced his way inside the rural Springfield home. Within minutes, one robbery suspect was dead and another critically wounded.
Jenkins’ girlfriend had shot them both.

Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly called the late-night home invasion "an apparent horrible attack on innocent victims." He said that although the case will be presented to a grand jury, he expects no charges against the shooter, 19-year-old Megan Stapleton.

"There is no reason to believe this was anything but random, and this young couple was defending themselves," Kelly said. He said the couple has lived in the house since October. Stapleton is a waitress at two restaurants, and Jenkins, also 19, works in construction.

Killed was 29-year-old Jonathan L. Carson, a former basketball star at Springfield South High School who played the 1997-98 season with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, averaging 3.1 points in 17 games.

Carson had run-ins with the law in recent years, Kelly said, and had a previous felony conviction for receiving stolen property. Wounded was Dow R. Huffman, a 23-year-old from West Liberty in Logan County. He was wanted for failing to appear in court on a previous charge. He was listed last night in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.

The drama began just after 10 p.m. when a neighbor spotted a suspicious car. There are only five houses on Darnell Drive, part of an upscale neighborhood north of the Upper Valley Mall in western Clark County. Georgianna Sarven and her husband have lived in one of them for 28 years.

Their neighbor went to their house and said she was afraid to go home because a strange car was parked on the street with its lights off and a man inside.

The Sarvens accompanied her to her home and were inside checking her house for trouble when they heard commotion across the road.

"Then, all hell broke loose," Mrs. Sarven said. "We saw the boy that lives there outside waving his arms, flagging down police, and someone else said there was a dead body on the porch."

Kelly recounts the night’s events like this:

Jenkins opened his door about 10:30 p.m., and Huffman, armed with two guns, muscled his way in. The two fought, and Jenkins yelled to his girlfriend for help.

She left her bedroom, and Huffman stalked her down the hallway toward a back room. When she emerged, she had a 9 mm handgun and Huffman was right in front of her. She fired multiple times, and he went down.

She then ran to the living room and found a masked Carson fighting with Jenkins on the floor. She fired several times, apparently grazing her boyfriend in the back and hitting Carson once in the back.

Carson got up, stumbled onto the front porch and fell dead. A handgun was found near his body. Jenkins was treated for his injuries at a local hospital, Kelly said. Stapleton was shaken but unharmed.

Kelly said the car that neighbors saw, a large green vehicle with a damaged door, likely was a getaway vehicle. He said deputies are searching for the driver.

[kauboy]

Wow, the guy that took a few to the front didn't die, but the guy that took one to the back dropped on the porch. Good thing the she wasn't any closer to her BF. Lucky guy.
I think this is on open and shut case. Both had guns. Both illegally entered the home. Both were shot. Nice!

If the dude is smart, he'll never leave her side

[Rex B]

That is one sharp gal. She acted properly when many her age would be a screaming victim. And after dispatching the first one, instead of going through the "What have I done??" routine, she heads for the other room to deal with #2.

She's a keeper. Give her a medal.

[Skiprr]

Good guys win in Ohio... though a couple of details worry me...

Other than wondering why Jenkins would even consider opening the door to incessant doorbell ringing at night without finding out who it was, the other thing that strikes me as a little odd is that the home invaders would target two 19-year-olds, one a waitress with two jobs and the other a construction worker. Of course, I may be inferring intelligence on the part of the BG, which could be a big stretch. But assuming the house wasn't simply chosen at random, why would they want to break into the home that, from superficial information, had probably the least likelihood of all the homes on the block of containing significant cash or goodies. The again, maybe one of the kids comes from money and the house is filled with plasma TVs and jewelry.

Regardless, whadaya bet Megan Stapleton doesn't get hassled in the near future by coworkers or customers at the restaurants where she waits tables?

[seamusTX]

... strikes me as a little odd is that the home invaders would target two 19-year-olds, one a waitress with two jobs and the other a construction worker. Of course, I may be inferring intelligence on the part of the BG, which could be a big stretch. But assuming the house wasn't simply chosen at random, why would they want to break into the home that, from superficial information, had probably the least likelihood of all the homes on the block of containing significant cash or goodies.

Intelligence is the big question. If they were intelligent crooks, they would be running scams.

Sometimes they pick victims at random, sometimes the most vulnerable, sometimes the victims are rumored to have a secret stash of valuables.

- Jim

[Rex B]

"There are only five houses on Darnell Drive, part of an upscale neighborhood north of the Upper Valley Mall in western Clark County."

Sounds like they went to a small neighborhood with big houses and obvious signs of wealth, and chose one at random. What struck me was "How can a contruction worker and a waitress afford to live in an upscale neighborhood?"
Maybe one of them won the lottery.

[seamusTX]

"How can a contruction worker and a waitress afford to live in an upscale neighborhood?" Maybe one of them won the lottery.

Construction workers in highly unionized states earn more than in Texas. I used to see construction jobs in Illinois paying $30 or $40 an hour when the economy was good.

A waitress in the right restraurant can earn a good living. There are many restaurants you can't get out of for less than $100 a couple. Figure $15 per table, 20 or 30 tables a night.

Maybe their parents own the house.

Maybe they sell drugs on the side. (This is a joke!)

- Jim

[KBCraig]

Good guys win in Ohio... though a couple of details worry me....

Which details? That's just about as clear-cut a case as I've ever seen.

Kevin

[cxm]

I wonder if drugs might be involved.... upscale neighborhood seems a bit out of place for two 19 year olds...

Other than that looks ok.

Chuck

Good guys win in Ohio... though a couple of details worry me....

Which details? That's just about as clear-cut a case as I've ever seen.

Kevin

[Thane]

If the dude is smart, he'll never leave her side

Yup. Leaves her a clear field of fire in front of both of them.

[cloudcroft]

""There is no reason to believe this was anything but random, and this young couple was defending themselves," Kelly said."

Then why submit the case to a Grand Jury?

They should spare the victims from having to go through any further angst.

-- John D.

[Liberty]

""There is no reason to believe this was anything but random, and this young couple was defending themselves," Kelly said."

Then why submit the case to a Grand Jury?

They should spare the victims from having to go through any further angst.

-- John D.

[seamusTX]

Then why submit the case to a Grand Jury?

In some states, either the law or standard procedure requires all homicides to be submitted to a grand jury.

It prevents the police or DA's office from covering up a crime by a politically connected person.

- Jim

[cloudcroft]

Jim,

Okay...makes sense.

Thanks,

-- John D.

P.S. In the mid 1970s, I was stationed at the Coast Guard base in Galveston. Nice place.

[cloudcroft]

Jim,

Okay...makes sense.

Thanks,

-- John D.