Fresno homeowner holds two Burglary Suspects until Police arrive.

[a1c]

Which is why I feel giving an intruder in your house a chance to stay still (on their own accord) isn't prudent.

Could be risky indeed if you don't know what you're doing. We're all armchair quarterbacking at this stage.

[bigcalidave]

Good job. But when you get home and someone is in your house, you don't go in, you call the cops from outside. They could have had a lookout ready and shot him walking through the door.

Oh, and where the hell do you fire a warning shot inside your own house??

[bomb_on_bus]

Glad to hear the bad guys met someone ready for em.

Also really good to hear one of the good guys win against the common criminal. Lord knows how bad that could have turned out!

[Swiss]

So why hasn't anyone asked how the victim came to be holding a handgun in the first place? CCW, lawful or not?

Fresno homeowner holds 2 burglars at gunpoint
Published online on Wednesday, Dec. 02, 2009
By Jim Guy / The Fresno Bee

Two men who broke into a home Tuesday night east of Fresno were held at gunpoint by the homeowner until deputies arrived, the Fresno County Sheriff Department said today.

The man returned to his home in the 5000 block of West Belmont Avenue just before 10:30 p.m. and noticed the front door was open, sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice said. As he looked through the doorway, he saw a man in the living room, rummaging through his belongings, Curtice said.

Curtice said the homeowner pulled out a handgun and confronted the first man, who raised his hands but then started moving toward the homeowner. Fearing for his life, the homeowner fired a warning shot and ordered the man to lie on the ground, Curtice said. A second man then walked into the room from the hallway; the homeowner ordered the man to join his accomplice on the ground.

Holding both suspects at gunpoint, the homeowner called the sheriff's office from his cell phone, Curtice said. Deputies arrived and took both suspects into custody.

Several items belonging to the homeowner were found in the men's pockets, and deputies found more property from the home in the suspects' white Volvo in front of the house, Curtice said.

Investigators learned some of the recovered stolen property had been taken last month in a burglary at the house, he said.

The first suspect had three outstanding arrest warrants for traffic-related crimes and the second was on felony parole, Curtice said.

[AJAX22]

Well Piffle....

If he was carrying the pistol concealed it probably wasn't a MAC from PRKarms....

That would have been epic.

[shadowofnight]

So why hasn't anyone asked how the victim came to be holding a handgun in the first place? CCW, lawful or not?

I thought everybody had a Hide-A-Gun on their front porch for this very scenario

[an actual gun]

Did anyone read some of the comments? Doesn't sound like the citizens of Fresno are too keen on their PD.

Well they've killed 9 people this year, and let's just say they ain't ever helped me none. I am not fond of Fresno PD at all myself. Sorry if any Fresno PD are reading this. You might be good at what you do and might be the shining example to which all Fresno law enforcement should be held. Just haven't met you yet.

[sirnonz]

good for the owner for stopping them, i hope i will never be in his situation.

[mcholak]

My wife told me about this, I told her the warning shot was contrary to every training course I've ever taken. She looked at me cross eyed. I wouldn't want to take a life if I don't have to, but the idea of shooting my own house up because the idiot wouldn't listen isn't too appealing.

As for CCW, I'm not sure that was ever stated for sure but in Fresno I wouldn't be too surprised. The FCSD is pretty good about issuing permits.

AS for FPD, they do seem to be shooting a lot of people these days. Maybe I'm not too worried about it because in the end most of these people, if not all of them, aren't good people. If I were sticking to my principals on this one that would bother me, but at the moment it doesn't. I don't anticipate ever being at the other end of the barrel from a FPD officer....or any other officer for that matter. The VCSU that was around in the 90's may not have been the most gentle people around, but it stopped a lot of the violent crime we are seeing right now.

[Lyte-]

[AJAX22]

blood stains and smells bad

spackle/paint is cheap and easy

[joemama]

So I have a question. All this talk about the robbers and their families filing a civil suit. Why doesnt the home owner sue them? I'd say they could sue them for the broken door, any other items they broke in the home, and emotional distress should be thrown in there as well.

[an actual gun]

I only really worry about the warning shot as to its legal repercussions. Most every city code I've seen has laws against the discharge of a firearm within city limits unless it is in defense of your life, and I wonder if it could be argued that a warning shot is not proper defense of ones life. It's not that I believe that, it's that I don't want to be facing that down in court with the prosecutor having yet another scruple to stack or wage against my case.

[Seesm]

If the laws were better you could fire a gun within city limits...But yeah shooting up my home woudl bum me out.

Well they've killed 9 people this year, and let's just say they ain't ever helped me none. I am not fond of Fresno PD at all myself. Sorry if any Fresno PD are reading this. You might be good at what you do and might be the shining example to which all Fresno law enforcement should be held. Just haven't met you yet.

Aint aint a word... and none does not fit where you put it... I am no "ohsmily" as I spell lots of things wrong buuut....

How about:

"They have not helped me out at all..." or something like that?

[kenjimatic]

If you were in the victims situation and the burglar is walking towards you with both hands up what do you do?

option A: shoot him then when his buddy comes out shoot him too?
option B: shoot your house so you don't have to explain to the LEO's why there are 2 dead bodies inside of your house.

I think I'll shoot my house and patch it up later then shoot the bad guys and probably get sued and go to jail and leave the blood for my wife to clean up. But then again I would have just called the police and waited.