Home Intruder Shot and Killed in Springville, UT

[accadacca]

Just heard an interview on the radio of a Springville lieutenant. He said the intruder mentioned that if the husband didn't take him to the ATM that he would harm the wife and kids. He also kept motioning to the back of his belt and saying that he had a gun.

[canyonphile]

Just heard an interview on the radio of a Springville lieutenant. He said the intruder mentioned that if the husband didn't take him to the ATM that he would harm the wife and kids. He also kept motioning to the back of his belt and saying that he had a gun.

Well, then. Seems pretty clear he got what he deserved.

[MY T PIMP]

There is to much at stake to not take action. I have had my home broke into, I wasn't home, and I ended up finding out it was someone I knew. Even so I felt very violated. It put a whole new perspective on things. I can't imagine how freaked out I would be to wake up to a total stranger. In that sort of situation, I believe I would have no option other than to treat it as a worst case scenario. My wife and kids are in danger and a stranger breaks in my home in the middle of the night, I'm not sure i'd give them the chance to explain. Aside from that I hope I never have the blood of another human on my hands. And like Eastwood said in The Unforgiven, something like "when you kill a man, there's no going back, you've taken everything he has, and everything he's gonna be" at least that's what I remember. I hope I'm never in that situation, but if I am, I would hope I don't make a fatal error and hesitate.

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[accadacca]

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SPRINGVILLE — 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.

Investigators have identified the intruder as Armando Martinez Jr., 31. They believe drugs or alcohol was a factor, but they will have to wait for autopsy results to confirm that.

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 Martinez had been fatally shot in the bedroom.

Lt. Dave Caron with the Springville Police Department said Martinez entered the home through a back sliding glass door. The door was locked with a child lock, but Martinez apparently disabled it by pulling hard on the door.

Once inside, Martinez took off clothes that had become wet while traipsing through the snow and change into some of the resident's clothes, which were folded on the couch in the living room. Caron said Martinez then went to the kitchen, made a tortilla and ham wrap, ate some of it and returned the uneaten portion to the refrigerator before going upstairs.

Martinez then entered the master bedroom, told the homeowner and his wife that he had a gun, and ordered them to get keys to drive him to an ATM. Under the guise of getting ready to leave, the homeowner walked into a closet, got his .9-mm gun and shot Martinez , striking him once in the chest, Caron said.

Investigators say it appears that prior to entering this home, Martinez had walked through the neighborhood, checking at least 20 homes and several cars for unlocked doors. There are no reports of anything missing or any other homes or cars being broken into. Police are currently trying to document the route before the tracks melt.

Caron said Martinez 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 cellphone," Caron said. "He told these homeowners tonight that he had stolen a gun before, so we're pretty sure it's the same guy."

Caron said neither the gun nor cellphone from the previous robbery was recovered at the scene of Thursday's shooting. In fact, while the suspect claimed to have had a gun Thursday morning, none was found.

Investigators are treating the incident as a case of self-defense, but Caron said police are conducting a full investigation that will be treated just like any other. Still, the incident appears straightforward.

"I don't see any reason to think it's anything but (self-defense)," Caron said. "They don't know this guy. This guy came into the house, threatened them, claimed he had a gun and, to protect his family, (the homeowner) took that action."

There were three children — 3-year-old twin boys and an infant girl — in the home at the time. None of the family was injured, and police said the family is handling the situation well.

"It's a pretty traumatic experience to have someone break into your home and then threaten you," Caron said. "Then, to actually take the man's life in your bedroom is pretty upsetting. All things considered, they were hanging in there pretty well."

Neighbor Bridger Frampton said he spoke to the homeowner and said he sounded rattled and was still in shock. He was one of a number of neighbors who said they would have done the same thing if they had found themselves in a similar situation.

"That's a big decision, when it comes between your family and that," Frampton said. "I think he made the right one."

Another neighbor, Coleby Clawson, said the incident has impacted everyone in the neighborhood, especially knowing that the burglar had tried to enter a number of houses Thursday morning. There were footprints leading straight to Clawson's back door and he, too, said he would have taken the same actions.

"If it came down to protecting my family, I would do it in a heartbeat," said Clawson, a former BYU linebacker. "I don't think I would hesitate."

He said he felt bad for the trauma his neighbor is most likely going through in the wake of the shooting. He said he serves with the man in the elder's quorum presidency of their local LDS ward.

"I think he is an excellent dad and a good husband, just trying to protect his family," Clawson said.

The incident was mentioned Thursday morning in the Utah Legislature where the Utah Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that clarifies a person is justified in defending their home and family against criminal activity and may not be held civilly liable for damage or injury to perpetrators.

Source: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1941...cid=featured-2

[Sombeech]

Springville police have identified the man killed in that home invasion early this morning as 31-year-old Armando Martinez, Jr.

He has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for drugs, theft and assault. Court records also reveal that in some of the cases, there were questions about his mental competency.

[Don]

I just hope my last meal isn't a wrap.

[bigred72]

I just hope my last meal isn't a wrap.

I just hope you aren't breaking into people's homes or if you are make sure to wear your wetsuit and those red underwear on the outside from freezefest. That way there is no question as to your mental capacity. Bawahawahawah!!!

[Byron]

Some threatening stranger enters my home, there's only one way he's leaving...without a beating heart. It's quite possible that this guy may have tortured/killed everyone after he got all that he wanted, why take a chance?

[Mtnseeker1]

Man I'd be pissed if I were that home owner.
All the satisfaction and I'd still have a mess to clean up.

[accadacca]

911 tape released...no charges will be filed against the homeowner.

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[Dan-wild]

This is a very complex issue, and something I hope never to deal with. I have to say, by reading this I initially hoped that the perpetrator was a dangerous criminal who deserved what he got. Not the homeless, hungry, and desperate person alluded to by the first set of comments. I'm glad by further investigation it turned out to be, most-likely, the former, and due to that I applaud the home-owner. I am confident I would do the same thing in an intense situation such as this. With the immediate and eminent danger to those we love there is no saying how far we could go.

[greyhair biker]

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!

that why I keep part of my arsenal next to my bed. Sure it would be hard on anyone who took another life but I will protect myself and my wife.
....the homeowner was definitely prepared and only needed one shot. Didn't use the rest of the clip. Definitely just protecting his own.

[ilanimaka]

Personally, I don't see what the fuss is about. I place exactly zero value on the human life of a criminal such as this and view it like you're putting down a wolf, rabid dog or other dangerous predator. I'd just be pissed at footing the bill for the cleanup.

I do feel bad that the homeowner and his family are so shook up over this. I wouldn't want to have my kids over when such a thing happened.

[jamesdak]

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.

Wow, hope you never have to face such a deciding point in your life. I sometimes forget how passive and blind to reality we can be in our country. I for one know the homeowner did the right thing and made the only real choice he could. This ol' soldier also knows how the homeowner feels and how he has to deal with the pulling of that trigger for the rest of his life. Totally changes your perspective on things.

I am with some of the others in that if you can't abide by the laws of our society you don't need to be a part of it..., literally. If you threaten others in the commission of your crime then you should be ready to "forfeit" your life. This man illegally entered a home and threatened a family. By doing so he gave up his "right to life" in my book...

So you go ahead and feel sad for him if you need to, I'll pray for the homeowner and his family instead. Their life will never be the same. They are the ONLY victims here.

[Deathcricket]

911 tape released...no charges will be filed against the homeowner.

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Holy!!!! Chilling is definitely the right word. Kudos to the homeowner for having the balls to protect his family. I always wonder if put in that situation I would have the courage to do what's right and pull the trigger. Good argument for every family to have a dog. Even a little dog would "sound the alarm" instead of this POS excuse for a human eating the families food and going through their house undetected. How scary would it be to wake up with someone inside your bedroom already?

The incident was mentioned Thursday morning in the Utah Legislature where the Utah Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that clarifies a person is justified in defending their home and family against criminal activity and may not be held civilly liable for damage or injury to perpetrators.

How about instead a law that provides counseling to a family to help them recover, and even a cleaning service for the mess made? I have cleaned up human remains before, granted it was from a suicide shotgun blast and slightly different, but it takes days to get it cleaned up. You have to tear up the carpet, go all the way to the concrete and replace everything. It's a huge mess and very expensive. Seems like that is less a waste of our rep's time than arguing about a person's right to protect their home and family from human predators.

[ghawk]

How much scarier could a situation be with 3 little kids in the next room? Good job for taking care of his family. Hope they get through all the difficult feelings and what if's alright as well. He did what he needed to. Good job.

[dreamlandsafari]

Have to agree iceaxe.......There are other options......go to the soup kitchen........steal from the grocery store much lower risk......or jaywalk or intentionally piss of a cop and get thrown in jail.......a roof and three squares in there at least

[JP]

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.

We all read this and it's disturbing that some of us viewed this as a poor, hungry, soul looking for a bite to eat and that he didn't break in, the door was unlocked. WTF is wrong with people. You don't need to "Break-in" to have a "Breaking and Entering" or a burglary. All you need is a person who doesn't have the right or privilege to do so, enter a dwelling. There is no *&ucking reason on God's green earth that a stranger should ever enter your house, for any reason, uninvited. At the time somebody does, it is a direct threat to you, your family and your home. And for the "Victims in the making" if he was just a hungry soul, WTF was he doing making his way to a bedroom where he knew people would be found? Being early in the morning, this poor, hungry soul knew people were home, making this crime the highest level of a breaking and entry or burglary. And for the "Victims in the making", if you were startled out of a deep sleep, would you know (through your pathetic choice of defense) that this poor, hungry soul had a snack and a change of clothes before making his way up to your bedroom? Ahh, no. All you would see is a burglar standing at the foot of your bed. Someone that has no right or privilege to be standing at the foot of your bed. I'm curious on how these "Victims in the making" would handle that same situation. My guess is your status would change from "Victim in the making" to one great victim. You have no idea what he was thinking, if he was acting with others and no idea what the outcome would be. If you do nothing, it will be left to the hands of that poor, hungry soul. No thanks, I'll will leave the local food pantry with a new mouth to feed, because the one that entered my house (for any reason) will not be being fed by that food pantry any longer.

For all you "Victims in the making" that have bleeding hearts for these worthless pieces of $hit, read this: (And they entered through an unlocked hatchway)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshir...vasion_murders

I am from Connecticut and was there when this tragedy occurred. How would you feel if you were the father/husband that survived this? I don't know if any of you heard about this case.