Home Intruder Shot and Killed in Springville, UT

[Sombeech]

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A homeowner fatally shot a would-be robber who entered his house in Springville early Thursday morning. The intruder apparently stopped for a snack and changed clothes before going upstairs to threaten the home's residents.

Police now say the man may have been responsible for another crime last week.

Springville police responded to a call of a home invasion robbery at 2:48 a.m. in the area of 800 South and 475 East. When officers arrived they found the suspect had been fatally shot in the home's bedroom.

Police say the intruder entered the home through a back door that the homeowners thought they had locked. The robber then stopped to take off wet clothes, change into some of the resident's clothes which were folded on the couch in the living room, and make himself something to eat in the kitchen before going upstairs.

He then entered the bedroom, verbally threatened a man and his wife with a gun, and demanded they get their wallet and keys to drive him to an ATM. The homeowner instead retrieved his gun from a closet and fatally shot the intruder.

Investigators say it appears that prior to entering this home, the intruder had walked through the neighborhood, checking at least 20 homes for unlocked doors.
Lt. Dave Caron with the Springville Police Department said this suspect matches the general description of a man wanted in connection with a similar incident last week.

"In that case he went into the home, stole a gun and apparently a cell phone," Caron said. "He told these homeowners tonight that he had stolen a gun before, so we're pretty sure it's the same guy. We haven't made positive i.d. yet."Investigators are calling Thursday morning's shooting a case of self-defense. They also say three young children were in the home at the time of the incident.

[Sombeech]

Time to review safety and access to my own guns. People are getting desperate.

[Scott Card]

Dang, this is only blocks from my home. Sad deal for all involved and ^^ this ^^.

[Sandstone Addiction]

That street was in my ward before I moved to Salem --haven't heard any names yet. Sad to see Springville changing from the sleepy, roll up the streets at 10pm, small town I grew up in.

I too, will be reviewing our security measures.

[uintahiker]

At least they saved taxpayer money by keeping the slimebag out of the court system

[Iceaxe]

Homeowners - 1
Waste of Good Air - 0

[Brian in SLC]

Sad deal.

Guy got killed for essentially eating half a sandwich (or a "wrap" interesting distinction) and putting on some dry clothes. No gun on him. He said/she said.

Really sad.

[uintahiker]

Sad deal.

Guy got killed for essentially eating half a sandwich (or a "wrap" interesting distinction) and putting on some dry clothes. No gun on him. He said/she said.

Really sad.

Gotta disagree. The guy:
1. Broke into someone else's house
2. Stole someone else's clothing
3. Ate someone else's food

If he would have left at this point he would be walking the streets alive today. But, instead this Darwin Award Winner proceeded to

4. Threaten bodily harm to someone else and his family.

At that point he crossed the line and deadly force was used. Kudos to the homeowner for protecting those who depend on him for protection.
Sad for the dead chump, but if you're not packing and you threaten someone who is you should expect the same result.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Sad deal.

Guy got killed for essentially eating half a sandwich (or a "wrap" interesting distinction) and putting on some dry clothes. No gun on him. He said/she said.

Really sad.

Just curious--how would you have handled this situation if it was you and your family?

[Sombeech]

Sad deal.

Guy got killed for essentially eating half a sandwich (or a "wrap" interesting distinction) and putting on some dry clothes. No gun on him. He said/she said.

Really sad.

This is true, such a terrible thing to die for. But I assume they've confirmed exactly where in the house he was shot, if it was in their bedroom like was said(?), we can conclude he wasn't just sneaking in for a snack and dry clothes in the laundry room, then on his peaceful way out.

[Brian in SLC]

Parents who keep loaded guns, accessible, in the closet when they have kids in the home?

Yikes.

Yeah, this hardened criminal, found an unlocked door, and, the first thing he did was make a sandwich..uhh, I mean "wrap". Then, he put the uneaten portion of it back in the 'fridge? Probably didn't even use tupperware.

Just makes me sad. Didn't break in. First priority was food, next was dry, warm clothes.

Be a tough thing to live with.

Really easy to say, "I'd have done this or that". Just glad that I'm not in that situation, nor, the situation that would cause me to wander around looking for an open door and some food.

Apparently they know who the dead feller is. Hope everyone involved can find some peace with this.

I just hate the thought of shooting someone who broke into my home because they were hungry and cold...

[Udink]

I just hate the thought of shooting someone who broke into my home because they were hungry and cold...

So you're willing to believe the parts of the article that said the guy grabbed some food and clothes, but you're dismissive of the part where the homeowners say the guy claimed to have a gun and told them to drive him to an ATM? Why be so selective in your belief of what happened? You might as well accuse the homeowner of luring some homeless guy into his house with a sandwich (or, excuse me, wrap) and shooting him once he crossed the threshold...

[Brian in SLC]

So you're willing to believe the parts of the article that said the guy grabbed some food and clothes, but you're dismissive of the part where the homeowners say the guy claimed to have a gun and told them to drive him to an ATM? Why be so selective in your belief of what happened? You might as well accuse the homeowner of luring some homeless guy into his house with a sandwich (or, excuse me, wrap) and shooting him once he crossed the threshold...

Lured him in with milk and cookies on the counter? No wonder Santa Claus hasn't been around for a while...

It is an odd news story, eh?

Only the shooter knows what really happened. And who knows how hazy those events are?

For me, though, I guess I'd prefer to err on the side of not havin' to shoot someone. And, I can't think of any object in my home worth taking someone's life over. Really.

Being threatened is a whole other thing. I think I'd probably have to see the gun. But, easy to say.

Tough thing to have to live with. At least for me.

[oldno7]

I feel bad for the homeowner. Having to take another ones life is a heavy burden to bear.

The only thing worse would be having said intruder kill your wife or kids and you did nothing.

Difficult call, I error on the side of home defense but walking past the final resting spot of the intruder on a daily basis would likely not be enjoyable.

lots of what if's.............

[uintahiker]

I can't think of any object in my home worth taking someone's life over. Really.

Sounds like you're single without kids. If you're married or have kids the equation changes. Gotta add a disclaimer though (Bogley has a way of making everything you say be twisted then used against you) - spouses and kids are not objects, but they are in my home.

If they are threatened in my home, the perp is definitely going down. Still would be hard on me afterward.

[bbennett]

I've become quite the pacifist in my old age but I must say that if a stranger found himself in my bedroom in the middle of the night, I would find him dead!

[Sombeech]

Sad deal indeed. Sometimes hungry people just knock on the front door and find the homeowner willing to spare a sandwich and a pair of jeans. True, probably not always. But footprints in the snow going to everybody's back door in the middle of the night, who knows maybe he'd been knocking on front doors all day begging for food and had been turned away, then just didn't feel like waking people up.

Sorry, I don't want to take this lightly, but seriously, if he really came into their bedroom, which would be proven by blood spatter (I watch Dexter) then they either lured him up there to shoot him, or he came in there while they were sleeping.

So if it's confirmed that he was shot in the bedroom, I would hope opinions in this case would shift to side with the homeowner. And if he wasn't.... who knows, maybe he was in the living room ordering the couple to get dressed to drive him to the ATM when the shooting happened. And of course maybe the family conversed with him and decided to rob HIM instead, then shoot him after just not liking his conversation skills.

I had to pull my gun on somebody, high as a kite, who was trying to attack my wife and I. After the adrenaline had settled, I was very disturbed. It shook me up quite a bit and I'm glad I didn't have to pull the trigger to scare him off (he was arrested immediately after). I hope I never have to defend my family like that ever again. Pulling the trigger would be horrible, but better than the alternative.

[canyonphile]

I feel bad for the homeowner. Having to take another ones life is a heavy burden to bear.

The only thing worse would be having said intruder kill your wife or kids and you did nothing.

Difficult call, I error on the side of home defense but walking past the final resting spot of the intruder on a daily basis would likely not be enjoyable.

lots of what if's.............

Yes, this.

My feeling is that if you break into someone's house (in my mind, the fact that the door was unlocked is irrelevant; the guy was an intruder) at night while the family is sleeping, you are accepting the risk you could be killed. If nothing else, I hope this incident is a deterrent for other criminals.

[Iceaxe]

Bottomline.... If you don't want to get shot, don't break into homes and start stealing shit.

[dougr]

For me, though, I guess I'd prefer to err on the side of not havin' to shoot someone. And, I can't think of any object in my home worth taking someone's life over. Really.

Being threatened is a whole other thing. I think I'd probably have to see the gun. But, easy to say.

Tough thing to have to live with. At least for me.

The intruder _had_ a gun according to the story and threatened to use it. It's not a sad loss therefore. I think no matter our politics we can all agree we cannot tolerate threats of death in our society, and those that do are better off gone. Either in jail or dead.

Also, I highly doubt, no offense, that you would have needed to see the gun to act. You could not possibly wait for confirmation of certain death risk at the hands of an intruder, all the while "just" being at risk of highly likely harm.

Certainly tough to live with, but the duty of family is to protect family, and it would indeed be unforgivable to take the risk you are close to advocating.