Warren homeowner defends self when robbers attack in broad daylight

The Youngstown Vindicator reported last month on a case in which a Warren homeowner was forced to protect himself when faced with a threat.

From the article:

A Warren police report regarding the noontime Wednesday shooting death of Kyran Adkins, 17, of Milton Street Southeast, reveals that the homeowner who shot him said he fired at Adkins after a confrontation outside the house.

Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Trumbull County coroner, has ruled Adkins’ death a homicide as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest.

The 32-year-old Brier Street man said he was inside his house and heard banging outside, from the back. He heard the noise several times before grabbing his gun and going to the door just before noon.

When he “opened the door, a male wearing a red jacket with a gray hood had a gun in his hand,” the homeowner said.

“Another subject was behind the house and [he] did not get a good look at him,” but the homeowner said he thought the second male was wearing a navy-blue jacket, the police report says.

The homeowner “said that he was startled once he seen the gun and fired his gun” and that both males ran toward Wick Street to the south.

Police placed five evidence markers in the driveway beside the Brier Street residence, indicating the location of evidence they collected, possibly bullet casings.

A witness on Wick Street said he saw Adkins and the other male running between the houses with their hooded sweatshirts pulled up over their heads. He looked out and saw them after hearing about a dozen gunshots, he said.

Adkins collapsed in the backyard of a house on Wick Street and was pronounced dead later at ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

The second male continued to run into the woods behind the house and has not been located.

Police have classified the case as an aggravated burglary.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter an occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense, and will not be second-guessed by the State.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.