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Homeowner allegedly shoots would-be burglar

By Trang Do - bio | email
Posted by Dana Franks - email

TONEY, AL (WAFF) - One teenager is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound, while another is in jail after an attempted burglary in Madison County.

Investigators said the homeowner of the residents the teens allegedly targeted fired shots at the two teens, striking one in the back.

The incident occurred around 8 p.m. Sunday at a home in the 100 block of Stewart Road in Meridianville, when police got a call about two people prowling around the house. When they arrived, they found a 16-year-old in a nearby ditch with a gunshot wound to his back.

"He explained that he and another non-present 14-year-old juvenile had been in the process of attempting a burglary at that address," said Investigator Chad Brooks. "And the homeowner had armed himself and fired shots."

The teens face burglary charges, but the homeowner could potentially face possible charges also.

"Each one of these cases is looked at on a case-by-case basis," Brooks said.

The sheriffs office will turn over all evidence to the district attorney who will decide whether or not to present it to a grand jury to decide if the use of deadly force was justified to save either the man or someone else in his home.

Brooks said the fact that the suspect was shot in the back is a key point in this case.

"So the question becomes, at what point did that threat to you or to a third person cease to exist?"

"He's had his garage broken into, their house has been broken into," said neighbor Sean Chapman

Chapman lived close to where the shooting happened. He was charged and convicted of menacing after a 2008 incident where he said he showed a gun to a man during an altercation on his property.

"Before you go out to confront somebody, even if it is on your own property, you better think of the consequences of it," Chapman said.

The 14-year-old suspect was arrested last night and faces a second-degree attempted burglary charge. The 16-year-old at the hospital is in stable condition and will be charged after he is released. They will both be charged as juveniles.

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