Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
“God is good and I’m glad I was here to protect my family.” That’s what Glendale, Arizona resident Mahjor Barnes had to say to local press in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday, just hours after a man with a knife was caught trying to break into Barnes’ home.
The Glendale resident says he first encountered the suspect on Wednesday, when the man broke allegedly broke into Barnes’ garage and stole several items. On Thursday, the homeowner says he saw the suspect again.. this time actively trying to get inside the residence.
Barnes said he was approaching his house when he spotted the suspect trying to get inside. When Barnes confronted the suspect, he said the man started coming after him with a knife and shot him.
“He tried to stab me a couple of times and I defended myself,” Barnes said.
The whole situation all unfolded in less than a minute.
Police said the suspect was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities said he may face aggravated assault and burglary charges once released.
Barnes is thankful to be alive and that his family is okay.
“My family is a little on edge because of the whole situation,” he said.
Understandably so, especially since it sounds like there might have been family members inside the home who were unaware of the prowler lurking outside. Barnes showed up at the right time, and thankfully was prepared to defend himself and his loved ones because he carrying at the time.
In other armed citizen news, prosecutors in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho announced on Thursday that they will not be filing charges against a man who shot a suspected car burglar in a strip mall parking lot back on April 7th after finding that the armed citizen was acting in self-defense. Authorities say James Dean was heading back to his vehicle after stopping off at a store when he spotted a stranger exiting Dean’s truck with a bag in his hand. Dean asked his wife to call 911 and confronted the man, later identified as Shane Brown, who had returned to his own car and was looking to make a quick exit.
The Prosecutor’s Office says when Dean withdrew his handgun and told Brown to stop, Brown turned off the engine, but when Dean holstered his gun, Brown started the car again, prompting Dean to draw his handgun again.
The Prosecutor’s Office said Brown then drove into Dean, and Dean fired his handgun five times through the car’s windshield while he was being forced backwards by the car.
The Prosecutor’s Office concluded that Dean fired in self-defense, committed no crime and no charges will be filed against him in relation to the death of Brown.
According to Kootenai County Prosecutor Stanley Mortensen’s findings, Dean had every right to try to prevent Brown from leaving the scene, as well as to stand his ground when Brown indicated he was going to run Dean over instead of backing up and driving away. Once Brown put his car in “drive” and accelerated towards Dean, he was committing an act of aggravated battery, and Dean was in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury due to Brown’s own actions.
Dean was no rebel without a cause to fire those five shots. He was rightfully (and righteously) acting in self-defense after the guy who allegedly broke into his truck tried to run him over. Based on the prosecutor’s findings it was an escalating series of bad decisions on the part of Shane Brown that led to his fatal encounter with James Dean, and it was Dean’s decision to bring his gun with him on his shopping trip that may very well have saved his life.
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2023/05/12/burglar-knife-homeowner-gun-n70427