Aug 28, 2008 11:29 am US/Eastern
Suspected Thief Shot Outside NW Miami Dade Home
Police Say Shooting Was In Self Defense
MIAMI DADE (CBS4) ―
Handcuffed and on the ground, cops captured a trio of men minutes after a botched burglary attempt several blocks away.
The men were found trying to get away in a stolen S-U-V after a confrontation with residents of a nearby home, leaving one of the men with a gunshot wound.
Police say it was about 1:30 a.m. Thursday when the men were caught trying to break into a car. The Dodge Charger was parked in the driveway of the home near N.W. 173 Terrace and 50th Court. The owner of the car and his girlfriend woke up after hearing some noise and went outside to investigate.
The homeowner Iliana Lopez told
CBS4 Reporter Liv Davalos that the men told the couple they had a gun and after a confrontation the girlfriend went back inside to get her gun. Fearing for her life, she shot at the men, hitting one of them. Lopez says that his girlfriend has a concealed weapons permit for the gun.
This isn't the first time the car has been broken into. Just weeks ago, Lopez says thieves stole the radio, speakers and rims while it was parked in the driveway. And just a few months ago, her neighbor was held up at gunpoint in his driveway. This time the thieves were caught just in time. The residents found speakers and the radio already had been taken out of the car.
Investigators spent hours interviewing the couple about the incident and Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Robert Williams says a preliminary investigation shows that the shooting was justified.
"In this particular case, preliminary information shows that this was a justified shooting," said Miami Dade police spokesman Robert Williams. "The owner or the person who lived here was in fear for her safety, for her boyfriend's safety, they were legally here doing what they should be doing at this particular time, which is sleeping. These subjects came here to do a crime and once that crime was committed the boyfriend came out to stop them, or at least talk to them, and they attacked him, so she was in fear for her boyfriend's safety and for herself."
Neighbor Yezenia Olivera says that while the whole incident was scary, homeowners have a right to protect themselves.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Dolphins Cheerleader Calendar Shoot
Click to enlarge
Ex-NFL QB Steve McNair, Woman Found Slain In Tenn. 28 mins ago 
Stumble It!
