Posted on 01/25/2010 8:18:45 PM PST by greatdefender
PORT ST. LUCIE — A man who showed up at the door of a Port St. Lucie home about 3 p.m. Friday forced his way into the residence and was shot dead by the homeowner, Port St. Lucie Police Department Information Officer Tom Nichols said.
Identification of the people living in the house in the 2100 block of Southwest Pruitt Street will not be available until early next week.
Nichols said the home’s resident retreated to a bedroom and retrieved a shotgun after the intruder forced his way in and argued with him.
The two struggled with the gun and it discharged, striking the intruder in the upper torso, Nichols said.
The Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy Saturday to determine the cause of death.
Nichols said a toxicology report will made, but it won’t be ready for four to six weeks.
Catherine Chaney, spokeswoman for the St. Lucie County Fire District, said emergency personnel were called to the scene at 3:01 p.m. Friday, and a man who appeared to be in his late 30s was declared dead there at 3:11 p.m.
Chaney said the homeowner “appeared to be stressed, rattled by the incident” but declined medical assistance.
Chaney said the deceased apparently was the only burglar in the incident.
Nichols said the incident is technically a burglary because the dead man battered the residence of the home. No criminal charges have been filed, pending the investigation.
Police cordoned off a large block of the street, while they conducted their investigation. A bicycle lying in the driveway of the house was covered with a yellow cover by crime scene technicians, and detectives went door to door canvassing the neighborhood.
Curious neighbors peered out their windows at the collection of police and other emergency vehicles, and the fleet of television trucks that appeared on the normally quiet, two-lane suburban street.
But the incident did not surprise some of them.
“It’s getting worse and worse, and I think the city is hushing a lot of it up,” said Larry Binetti, who lives up the street from the scene. He and his 11-year-old daughter, Priscilla, came down to check on a friend who lives near the house where the dead man was still on the floor some three hours after the shooting.
“A girl was raped at a school bus stop a block from here,” said Binetti. “There are burglaries all of the time, and why not? This area is right between I-95 and the turnpike, so the thieves have an easy escape route.”
Binnetti said he and many residents feel trapped by circumstances. They can’t sell their homes because of the economic conditions and unemployment is creating a number of desperate people. “I don’t know what you can do. Locking your door doesn’t help.”
Nichols said the body had to remain on the floor of the house until a search warrant could be obtained from a judge. He said the process, even in a simple matter such as this shooting, is time consuming.
Police took the homeowner, his son and a blonde woman who showed up later and broke down in tears while talking to officers, to the police station.
The Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy Saturday to determine the cause of death.
I'm going to take a wild guess here and go with gunshot wound to the upper torso.
>>I’m going to take a wild guess here and go with gunshot wound to the upper torso. <<
Dayum! You must have watched Quincy and now watch CSI!!
Clearly nothing gets past you!
:)
You and I could save cities and counties like this so much taxpayer money if only they would listen to us.
Good shooting, citizen. Civilization thanks you.
“The incident is technically a burglary because the “residence” was battered inside the home”
No genius. This is technically a burglary because the douchebag broke into the guys home with the intent to commit a felony therein.
This is technically a Burglary with Person Assaulted. First degree felony punishable by life... Um, I mean death.
Should read, “the man who appeared to have been in his 30’s”
I can make A Freakin' guess!
Beat me to it. They won’t need a thoracic surgeon to figure this one out.
IMHO, Mr. Binnetti, your neighbor has shown you what to do.
Henh? A search warrant? Wasn't the victim (the guy who lived there, for lib lurkers) glad to have the cops come and get the dead perp?
At tonight’s HOA meeting an elderly lady said her home was burglarized. They took all her liquor.
HOA?
HOA = Home Owners Association
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