Man shoots, kills intruder who broke into his home

An intruder is dead and the resident who shot him is still shaken after a home invasion in the central valley early Tuesday morning.

The resident, a man in his 60s who uses a cane to walk, was visibly upset as he emptied the trash outside his home in the 700 block of Clarkway Drive, near Bonanza Road and Rancho Drive, at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“I took a human life,” said the resident, who declined to give his name. “I’m still dealing with that.”

The resident said he awoke about midnight to a sound at his front door. As he investigated, he saw a man kick open the door, breaking the chain lock, he said.

The suspect took two steps inside the house, where the resident waited in the living room with a .45- caliber handgun at his waist. “I said, ‘Get the hell out of my house,’ and he stood there laughing,” he said. “He said, ‘I’m going to beat your ass and then I’m gonna kill you,’ and he took one more step. Then I shot him.”

The resident said he was angry at morning television news broadcasts that claimed there was a scuffle before he fired the weapon. He is currently disabled because of several back surgeries that require substantial pain medication, he said. He had taken his medication that evening, and was in no shape for a physical confrontation, he said.

“There was no fight, no struggle,” he said. “I just want to say that he (the suspect) broke into my house. I didn’t want to do this.”

Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said the incident appears to involve “a criminal preying on the elderly.”

According to a release, police arrived on scene and found the suspect’s body in the doorway of the home, with a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Police are still investigating the incident, the release said.

Review-Journal writer Lawrence Mower contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.