Posted on 12/19/2014 7:34:22 AM PST by marktwain
It is unusual for a 52-year-old man to be shot invading a home. When I see it, it usually is a career criminal, someone who is drunk and mistakes the home, is in the middle of a bad domestic situation, or someone who had a long brewing feud with a neighbor. In the case of Garry Lieberth of North Platte, Nebraska, I have not been able to find any evidence of those things. Perhaps we will learn more when the toxicology report comes in. From the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Colorado:
The adult male homeowner was asleep on Friday morning when he was awoken by the sounds of a dog barking in his yard. As the homeowner came down the staircase to investigate further, he observed a stranger-intruder crawling through the “doggie door” into his house. The homeowner yelled at the intruder but the man continued to enter the house. The homeowner ran to his bedroom where he retrieved a firearm for protection. The intruder advanced up the staircase and confronted the homeowner. The homeowner pointed his weapon at the man and told him to leave. The intruder did not comply. A physical altercation ensued between the two and the suspect tackled the victim to the ground. The victim was able to fire his weapon at the suspect, striking him in the leg and head. The victim then ran to a neighbor’s house where he called 911.
Liebreth is a resident of Nebraska and has some immediate family in the Denver area. Liebreth was not known to the victim and it is not clear why the suspect picked that home or entered the residence.
The Jeffco Coroner’s Office will complete a drug screen to determine if Liebreth was under the influence of any substance.
His obituary makes him out to be a very normal guy.
http://www.carpentermemorial.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2861681&fh_id=14740
Unless there is an obvious toxicology, including neuro-drugs like Ambien or antidepressants, I would think a medical condition. Among other suspects:
epilepsy
some types of infection esp. meningitis
acute onset Alzheimer’s
stroke
etc., etc.
Again, unless it really stands out, the ME is in for a heck of an analysis.
Stoned out of his gourd?
Too many pot brownies?
“A” dog was barking? Shouldn’t the homeowner’s dog have been barking and chewing off the intruder’s back pocket?
Sounds like there is a whole lot more to this story and I’d be investigating the homeowner.
Then... they become the suspect and the victim. I I could not tell who was who at that point. Terrible reporting in my opinion.
The adult male homeowner was asleep on Friday morning when he was awoken by the sounds of a dog barking in his yard. As the homeowner came down the staircase to investigate further, he observed a stranger-intruder crawling through the “doggie door” into his house. The homeowner yelled at the intruder but the man continued to enter the house. The homeowner ran to his bedroom where he retrieved a firearm for protection. The intruder advanced up the staircase and confronted the homeowner. The homeowner pointed his weapon at the man and told him to leave. The intruder did not comply.
A physical altercation ensued between the two and the suspect tackled the victim to the ground. The victim was able to fire his weapon at the suspect, striking him in the leg and head. The victim then ran to a neighbor’s house where he called 911.
depends on the dog. not every dog is a guard dog. heck golden retrieves have been known to show the burgalar to the jewelry
obviously there is a lot more to the story than can be gleened at this early stage. my guess is he was in a drug stupor and just randomly chose a house to go into for no reason
It is an older high-end area (Mt. Vernon Country Club) on Lookout Mtn, home of the Buffalo Bill grave and museum.
Strange case.
Very bizarre. I hope the police make the assumption that the homeowner’s story is 100% the truth. They need to check out the deceased man’s phone records and computer records (email, “meet-up” sites visited, etc.) to see if there was any relationship with the homeowner.
Again, very bizarre ... doesn’t smell 100% right.
The daughter has shared with the local media he was very mentally ill and was suffering a manic episode. She had contacted authorities just before this shooting and they had “visited” with the “intruder”. This was a matter of an hour or so.
He had been fairly abusive to her and her child, prompting the call to the police. But when police questioned him he was acting “normal.”
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