Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Bobby Lee Culler was sentenced to life imprison in connection with a botched home invasion in 2013.
A 27-year-old Melbourne man with a lengthy criminal history has been sentenced to life in prison after police said he organized a military-styled home invasion that ended with him being shot by a homeowner.
A jury convicted Bobby Lee Culler last week on charges of armed burglary of a dwelling with a firearm and aggravated assault in connection with the July 10, 2013 home invasion of a residence on Pepper Avenue. Police believe the robbers may have thought there were drugs or money in the home.
"He's been on our radar a lot," said Cmdr. Dan Lynch, spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department.
"(Culler) was pretty dangerous. He and the others planned this home invasion with military-style tactics," Lynch said.
Police said Culler and three other men donned masks, armed themselves with weapons and dressed in all black before creeping up to the home for an entry point.
That night, the homeowner's dogs began barking at the sliding glass door and one of the victims in the home saw three men walking inside the residence. The woman immediately tried to shield her child on a couch. One of the masked men then pointed a black handgun at her that was equipped with what appeared to be a silencer, police reported. The homeowner heard the commotion and pulled out his own weapon and emptied the magazine in the direction of the would-be armed robbers, reports show.
The robbers quickly retreated, with Culler being injured in the arm by the gunfire. Police, who linked the blood spatter found at the home to Culler's DNA, later arrested him as he sought treatment at Holmes Regional Medical Center. The family was not injured and police later credited the homeowner with thwarting the home invasion. Another suspect was also arrested.
Culler was turned over to the Department of Corrections and will be assigned to a state prison in a matter of weeks.