UPDATE 11/2/11 @ 5:30 p.m.
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A man who started the day grocery shopping didn't expect to come home and shoot someone, but he told police he didn't have a choice. He had to defend himself and his home.
John Chapman, 61, says he returned late Wednesday morning to his home in St. Albans and found his neighbor had broken in.
The accused burglar is in the hospital, and police say all signs point to self defense.
“He's been an awesome neighbor,” Kerry Carlson said.
Carlson has lived across the street from Chapman for more than a year, and says he welcomed him to the neighborhood with open arms.
“Whenever I walk down the street, he'd always wave to me and ask me how my day was,” Carlson said.
However, if he asked Chapman that question now, the answer would not be good. When he returned home, he noticed his back door was open, so he grabbed a gun and started searching the house. He allegedly found his neighbor, 19-year-old Josh Sovine, rummaging through drawers in an upstairs bedroom.
“He, of course, challenged the gentleman. He told him not to move, he was gonna call police,” St. Albans Police Captain James Agee said.
The two struggled over the gun, and Chapman shot Sovine twice -- once in the leg and once in the hip.
“It scares me,” Carlson said. “I live in this house with my fiancé and my two little girls, and it makes me think twice about leaving my doors unlocked.”
Police say break-ins are becoming far too common everywhere.
“I'm not gonna say that it's necessarily worse in St. Albans than it is anywhere else. This kind of thing can happen anywhere and often does,” Agee sad.
Police say Sovine, who is recovering in the hospital, will be charged with daytime burglary.
It happened about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Police say John Chapman, 61, came back to his home from the grocery store and found his back door open.
He thought it was unusual, so he got a gun and found a man upstairs in a bedroom.
Chapman told police the man was going through his drawer and Chapman told him not to move.
Police say a struggle broke out and Chapman shot the man once in the leg and once in the lower back or hip.
Police have identified the intruder as Joshua Sovine, who is 19-years-old.
He has been taken to the hospital. Once he is released he will be charged with daytime burglary and may face more charges.
We have a crew on the scene. Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for updates.
Dispatchers say a man was breaking into a house, when the homeowner shot him twice in the leg.
This all happened about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.
No other details are being released.
We have a crew headed to the scene. Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
|
Popular Searches Powered by Local.com |
