Intruders pay price for home invasion

[TonyW]

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news...214-A1-02.html

I was born in Springfield and still live in the general area (after being gone for several years). Sherrif Kelly is a democrat but very pro-2A and self-defense.

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Intruders pay price for home invasion
Springfield woman shoots both, killing 1
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Holly Zachariah
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Colin Jenkins’ girlfriend was already in bed Tuesday night, and he was just about to join her when the doorbell started to ring incessantly. When Jenkins opened the door, a man forced his way inside the rural Springfield home. Within minutes, one robbery suspect was dead and another critically wounded.
Jenkins’ girlfriend had shot them both.

Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly called the late-night home invasion "an apparent horrible attack on innocent victims." He said that although the case will be presented to a grand jury, he expects no charges against the shooter, 19-year-old Megan Stapleton.

"There is no reason to believe this was anything but random, and this young couple was defending themselves," Kelly said. He said the couple has lived in the house since October. Stapleton is a waitress at two restaurants, and Jenkins, also 19, works in construction.

Killed was 29-year-old Jonathan L. Carson, a former basketball star at Springfield South High School who played the 1997-98 season with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, averaging 3.1 points in 17 games.

Carson had run-ins with the law in recent years, Kelly said, and had a previous felony conviction for receiving stolen property. Wounded was Dow R. Huffman, a 23-year-old from West Liberty in Logan County. He was wanted for failing to appear in court on a previous charge. He was listed last night in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.

The drama began just after 10 p.m. when a neighbor spotted a suspicious car. There are only five houses on Darnell Drive, part of an upscale neighborhood north of the Upper Valley Mall in western Clark County. Georgianna Sarven and her husband have lived in one of them for 28 years.

Their neighbor went to their house and said she was afraid to go home because a strange car was parked on the street with its lights off and a man inside.

The Sarvens accompanied her to her home and were inside checking her house for trouble when they heard commotion across the road.

"Then, all hell broke loose," Mrs. Sarven said. "We saw the boy that lives there outside waving his arms, flagging down police, and someone else said there was a dead body on the porch."

Kelly recounts the night’s events like this:

Jenkins opened his door about 10:30 p.m., and Huffman, armed with two guns, muscled his way in. The two fought, and Jenkins yelled to his girlfriend for help.

She left her bedroom, and Huffman stalked her down the hallway toward a back room. When she emerged, she had a 9 mm handgun and Huffman was right in front of her. She fired multiple times, and he went down.

She then ran to the living room and found a masked Carson fighting with Jenkins on the floor. She fired several times, apparently grazing her boyfriend in the back and hitting Carson once in the back.

Carson got up, stumbled onto the front porch and fell dead. A handgun was found near his body. Jenkins was treated for his injuries at a local hospital, Kelly said. Stapleton was shaken but unharmed.

Kelly said the car that neighbors saw, a large green vehicle with a damaged door, likely was a getaway vehicle. He said deputies are searching for the driver.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[walther1]

Ohio again?

Doesn't sound like he was much of a basketball star if he only had 3.1 ppg.

[Blackeagle]

Doesn't sound like he was much of a basketball star if he only had 3.1 ppg.

Well, the article says he was a basketball star in high school, the stats are from his college career. He may have done well at the HS level, but I guess he couldn't hack it in the NCAA. Doesn't seem to have been able to hack it as an armed robber either.

[randytulsa2]

This sounds pretty much the way these sorts of episodes are supposed to end up.

But there are people out there who would deny Mr. Jenkins and Ms. Stapleton the ability to legally defend themselves.

They would prefer instead that Mr. Jenkins and Ms. Stapleton be murdered or raped or robbed (or, at the very least have the risk of such things imposed upon them) in their own home.

Such people are idiots.

Mr. Jenkins and Ms. Stapleton are not.

[mech1369dlw]

the only real problem that I see with this, is that the 2nd piece of garbage is still wasting good oxygen. just my feelings.

[smo]

Sounds like a good one, the BG's are down and the innocent up! Can't ask for more.

BTW, Why in heck did they bother to put in the BG's sports history? How is that relevant to the shooting and attack?????????????

[peacefuljeffrey]

I want to know why such an incident has to go before a grand jury at all! Why traumatize the victims who had to defend themselves? Why should that girlfriend have to worry that she may be indicted, when she was the victim of a home invasion, and probably would have ended up DEAD if she hadn't shot her attackers?! I mean, the one guy who burst in had two guns! I'm sure they were there for tea and cookies.

I don't know what's involved in a grand jury hearing. Does the girlfriend have to spring for a lawyer to represent her? Is she even supposed to be represented at the grand jury hearing, or is it all one-sided there? If it's not one-sided, I guess a person would have to be a fool to not have legal representation/defense there -- and that's gonna cost you thousands. All because she (along with her boyfriend) was selected as a victim.

Oh, one more comment: what kind of doofus opens the door when someone is "ringing the doorbell incessantly"?! Hell, in this day and age, you shouldn't open the door for even a polite tap, let alone "incessant (read: angry) ringing"!

I bet the situation would have gone a little better if he had refused to open the door until he knew who was out there and what they wanted. He and the girlfriend could have holed up in the back room with their guns and called the police, and the badguys would have had to break in in order to get at them. Knowing the layout of the house, and being able to have cover with a view of the bedroom doorway would have given them an advantage if the BGs had made it in.

I really want to know if the grand jury hearing is a legal requirement, or if someone at the DA's office could have waived it, with a declaration that this was clearly a self-defense shoot.

[Nick]

Within minutes, one robbery suspect was dead and another critically wounded.
Jenkins’ girlfriend had shot them both.

[Daddy Warcrimes]

Just a minor observation:
Megan is 19, not old enough to own a handgun in most circumstances.
Colin's age is not mentioned.

[TonyW]

I would guess (and it's only a guess) that any time someone is killed it goes to the GJ for review. Don't think she would need a lawyer unless charges are brought.

[JackJ]

In some cases, I believe that it is so the victims get a clean bill of health against future charges by a changing DA.

[retsupt99]

Ohio again?

Doesn't sound like he was much of a basketball star if he only had 3.1 ppg.

Good Guys 2
Bad Guys 0

ret

[AZ Dog]

It absolutely boggles my mind that someone would open their front door at 10:30 pm to someone that is ringing the doorbell incessantly. No matter what time of day it is, I'm cautious anwering the door. My hackles really go up if the doorbell rings after 8:00 pm.

[Scott]

I do not know Ohio law, but in some states the grand jury is automatic. They examine the evidence versus the charges and if necessary take testimony and send you to trial or you are cleared.

Also not sure in Ohio, but while you cannot purchase a handgun if you are under 21, receiving one as a gift and possession is legal at 18 in many states.

[ccw9mm]

It absolutely boggles my mind that someone would open their front door at 10:30 pm ...

That's about it. The "victims" contributed hugely to their own risk via this unthinking maneuver. They're lucky to come out of it alive.