Posted on 06/27/2010 6:18:09 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
BELVIDERE, Tenn. -- Friends and co-workers of Deputy Mike Claiborne said he was out house hunting when he was shot and killed Saturday night.
According to authorities, Claiborne, 25, was with his girlfriend when he was shot in the head at a residence on Rowe Gap Road. Claiborne was off-duty at the time, said investigators.
Neighbors said Larry White lives at the home, and has experienced several break-ins. They added that White may have thought someone was attempting to burglarize his home. It was still not clear what led up to the gunfire.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it was not finished with its investigation, and planned to turn its findings over to the district attorney, who will present them to a grand jury.
This is an odd story because when the news broke it said the deputy had been shot and killed around 11:30 PM and that no other details were present.
Now we find out he was out house hunting and the property owner had been burglarized many times in the past.
May he rest in peace.
House hunting at 11:30 PM?
.
Hummmmm
.
Yeah, when the news broke last night. They were very tight lipped on any information so I just assumed the suspect was still at large and it had been a traffic stop gone bad or something.
Now we find out he and his girl friend were out house hunting at nearly mid night.
Who “house hunts” at almost midnight? There’s more to this story.
Probably another damned dirty cop.
That’d make you happy, wouldn’t it?
I’m not sure who house hunts at 11:30 PM but if you go to google maps and put in
Rowe Gap Rd, Franklin, Tennessee
You’ll see this is out in the middle of the hills, not like he was wandering around a neighborhood. He was out in the middle of hill billy country.
I wouldn’t think of that as a high crime area either.
I would say that Larry White has some serious legal problems. And no, if I were on the jury I would not be impressed with the castle defense, assuming that the facts in the story are correct. At a minimum, it seems that Mr. White was extremely reckless.
Mhm. That could cut either way. On one hand, you could see that being a bit of a ways from "civilization" along with the strange hours cops can work - maybe 2 to 10 - one could imagine taking a drive at night with your wife/girlfriend to look at some rural property.
OTOH, this is also the exact kind of place you might find a meth-lab, or the like. Hopefully, it's the former, and not the later.
Unless, the cop was in his basement.
Yes, obviously if he was inside, that’s a different animal. But if this guy just shot him because he came to his door, then he’s got problems.
UPDATE:
http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wztv_vid_4094.shtml
A Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy is dead after being shot outside a home just before midnight.
It happened on Rowe Gap Road when the off-duty deputy approached the home.
Tonight the TBI is investigating exactly what happened while the sheriff’s office mourns the loss of one of their own.
Franklin Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Chris Guess says, “It’s nerve racking and it’s heartbreaking and it’s tragic.”
Guess is talking about the sudden death of his young co-worker.
25-year old Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy Mike Claiborne was shot and killed around 11:30 Saturday night.
Guess says, “When you lose one of your own, it’s like losing a family member because that’s what these guys are.”
Among the sadness are questions.
The biggest thing on most people’s mind is why.
Neighbor Ray Gifford says, “It’s very unusual, you know.”
Gifford lives close to the house where deputy Claiborne was shot.
He says the home has been for sale for a year and a half— unoccupied most of the time— except last night.
Gifford says, “Even if it is for sale, you’re just not expecting anybody that time of night.”
Gifford has known the owner about 2 years.
He can’t imagine his neighbor killing someone in cold blood.
Gifford says, “If he hurt anyone, it would either be a mistake or an accident or something like that— or he felt threatened. Because he’s just not a mean person.”
No one has been arrested or charged in deputy Claiborne’s death.
As the TBI investigates, Claiborne’s coworkers remember him as energetic.
Guess says he enjoyed his job and had hopes of becoming a certified K-9 handler.
Guess says, “Losing a young man at that age that has his whole life in front of him, it’s really hard to take and we’ll miss him and we’ll pray for his family and we’ll be there for them.”
Guess adds Claiborne worked in law enforcement five years— 17 months at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
He comes from a law enforcement family and leaves behind a young child.
Thieves are shot and barbecue soon after.
/prayers
Don’t come ‘house hunting’ to my house at 11:30 at night. I assure you the laws in CO will protect my defense of my home.
Well you got me to click through. And there is no additional information one way or the other to determine what happened.
We are still left with someone on private property at 11:30 pm. Whether that property was for sale or not seems pretty irrelevant to me. The only relevant issue is did the trespasser do anything that could have reasonably been perceived as a threat AT 11:30 PM.
Who was taking care of the "young child" while he and his "girlfriend" were "house hunting" at 11:30 p.m.?
Sometimes I think I live on a different planet from pretty much everybody who ends up in the news.
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