Resident expels intruder with handgun(MI)

Record Eagle ^ | 22 September, 2009 | ART BUKOWSKI

[marktwain]

TRAVERSE CITY -- An allegedly drunken man who entered a Traverse City home in the middle of the night found himself at gunpoint.

Aaron TwoCrow, 24, of Suttons Bay, allegedly entered a home on the 800 block of Fern Street at about 4:20 a.m. Saturday, police said. A female homeowner was up rocking her 15-month-old child in the living room when she heard her kitchen door open and saw a stranger in the home.

"She's just sitting there in the dead of night ... and this guy comes in and scares the crap out of her," Traverse City Police Capt. Steve Morgan said.

The woman ran into her bedroom and told her sleeping husband, who retrieved a handgun and confronted TwoCrow. He ran from the house and was arrested without incident as he walked along nearby Hannah Avenue.

TwoCrow allegedly was intoxicated, Morgan said.

Police said TwoCrow has no known past or present connection to the residence, and gave no indication why he decided to go inside.

Such incidents happen occasionally in the city, police said. Homeowners are startled, though it's the intruders who often face the highest risk.

"That's a dangerous situation ... with an armed homeowner," Morgan said. "(Homeowners) don't know what these people's intent is, and you can only assume the worst when someone is coming into your house."

TwoCrow allegedly entered through an unlocked door, as did two intoxicated men who entered Traverse City residences in similar incidents in June. Intoxicated individuals who wander around town late at night "do things that are unexpected and often illegal," Morgan said, and residents are encouraged to lock up before they go to bed.

"The main thing is to keep your door locked," he said. "That would prevent a lot of this stuff from happening."

TwoCrow was charged with misdemeanor illegal entry, Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider said.

[marktwain]

Wandering around drunk is a dangerous thing to do.

[utherdoul]

With a baby in the house he would have been fully justified in shooting first and asking questions later. With the psychos you get theres no way to tell what a guy wandering into your house might do.

[Gilbo_3]

misdemeanor illegal entry...

note to self when burglin houses, be sure to drink first, so if Im caught [and not ventilated] i can claim wandering around in a blackout, no harm no foul...

[TBP]

I’m surprised that the lefty prosecutors didn’t decide to charge the homeowners with something — interfering with Two Crow’s civil rghts or something.

[hiredhand]

I know a local cop here and he was helping last Jan when two vandals destroyed mailboxes and damaged vehicles along a mile of their path. They did minor damage to my truck and he banged on my door HARD as they were letting people know about the damage. I was sitting just 10 feet from the door and it scared me so bad that I thought for a moment that somebody was breaking the door down!

I killed the lights and could hear voices outside the door, so I pulled the door open to the inside and moved backwards staying far to the door frame side for cover and hit the remote switch on the AR-15 carbine that was in my hands, and there behind the little bobbling red dot was the cop that I knew!

I was SO relieved! I of course lowered the rifle, went to the door and said sorry for pointing the weapon at him and he said, "No harm done!" I said, "You scared me to death! Why did you bang on the door so hard?!" He said it was because they WANT people inside to definitely KNOW that they are on the porch TRYING to get their attention and not fiddling with the door. He said that a good way to get shot through a storm door was by giving the impression that you were messing with the door! He pointed at the AR which was now slightly behind me and pointing muzzle down at the porch and said, "See?! PROOF!"

[Elsiejay]

Not locking doors at night is not a good idea, either.

[TPartyType]

I’m taking my conceal/carry class this Sunday! Pretty exciting stuff.

[hiredhand]

Good on you! Keep me posted. I always like hearing what others say. What type of handgun are you planning on carrying? ...do you have one picked out yet?

[magslinger]

ping

[TPartyType]

[hiredhand]

There ya go! :-) It’s double action only...right? A buddy of mine has a Ruger that’s DAO... definitely a “safe” trigger. :-) Polymer and stainless should “wear” well too. Carry pistols tend to suffer in general for being dragged around as much as they are. I’m just curious, but why did you settle on the Kahr? I don’t know anything about them really. :-)

[Gilbo_3]

you owe him a beer...

[hiredhand]

you owe him a beer...

Oh let me tell ya! I owe him more than that! He nailed me for speeding in town about two weeks prior to that!...doing "about" 50 in a 35. I just wasn't paying attention. I told him that too. I mentioned that I did law enforcement when I was active duty and I wasn't about to lie to a cop. Besides, I said, "You've heard every lie somebody could possibly make up anyway!" He said, "You got that right!" He wrote me a warning and I was ever so grateful. :-) I promised him I would pay attention when driving in town. :-)

[VeniVidiVici]

Aaron TwoCrow

Strange name for an illegal.

[tdscpa]

Too much firewater!

[grellis]

If you would like to be added or dropped from the Michigan ping list, please freepmail me.

[Darren McCarty]

Strange name for an illegal.

He's probably Odawa or Chippewa.

[NFHale]

You know, growing up in North Philly taught me something...
LOCK YOUR FRIGGING DOORS! Even after I left there years ago, somethings never change. Car doors, house doors and windows...locked.

Geez...No wonder people get killed.

There was a guy a few years ago that shot a naked intruder - turned out to be a drunk/stoned neighbor who wandered out in the yard to take a leak; he got disoriented and broke into the next-door house, where the homeowner, awakened at 4am by a naked, bloody stranger in his living room, promptly dropped him with three shots, and then followed him outside and put a few more into him (which, by the way, sent him to jail)...

Stupid things done by stupid people often have expensive consequences...

And as for someone messing with the door knob - THAT is a SERIOUS way to invite a bullet.

My outer storm door is always latched; that way, I can open the inside (steel) door and not have to deal with someone immediately in my face.

Plus the Model 36 Cheif Special in my small of back holster, of course, out of site but close at hand.

Wife keeps a SW642 on top of the cabinet next to the front door when she’s home alone, and the kids have instant access to a firearm as well.

This unit WILL survive...

LFOD

[TXnMA]

"TwoCrow allegedly was intoxicated, Morgan said."

Should have determined his BAC -- as part of the autopsy...

[Gilbo_3]

i always liked 'Jim Rockford' having the .38 in the cookie jar...

being a coffee fiend,and with tall ceilings/cabinetson the first floor of my old farmhouse, the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet makes for a great spot to stack coffee filters...