Thursday morning feel good stories

From Memphis, Tennessee;

An East Memphis homeowner had to defend himself with a pair of wire cutters after his wife said a barefooted man with dreadlocks appeared in his garage and began attacking him Sunday.

Donna Crisp said it happened around 3:30 p.m. at their home on the 2000 block of Kirby Parkway as her husband was working on one of the patriotic signs he periodically places around the neighborhood.

“When he [the suspect] started putting his hands around his neck, he [the victim] started hitting at him as much as he could trying to get the release,” Crisp said.

But the terror didn’t end there. Crisp said the suspect made his way into the family home and began rummaging through the place.

“I’m like, ‘What are you doing? Stop doing that!’ You know, ‘Get away!’ and then I kicked him — gently, but I’ve never kicked anybody, anything before,” Crisp said.

Crisp said the man was in her home for several minutes before emerging with her purse and car keys.

He then jumped into her black Nissan Murano, she said, but her husband and neighbors were waiting for him with a shovel and a gun.

“They’re hitting him with the shovel and trying to point the gun at him,” she said.

Crisp said it didn’t seem to faze him as much as they had hoped. At that point, he already had the engine running and began backing up.

“The door’s hanging open, that knocks my husband over and hurts his hand,” Crisp said.

The suspect took off, demolishing the Crisps’ mailbox in the process.

Her neighbors chased him on the freeway, but eventually lost sight of him.

From Des Moines, Iowa;

Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said the store owner discovered the burglary in progress when he arrived at the store, finding a pickup truck loaded with his merchandise. There front door of the business was also broken in.

There was a confrontation between the store owner and the suspect, and the store owner fatally shot the burglary suspect, according to police.

According to police, no one has been charged in the incident.

Parizek says it looks like a “stand your ground” case, but a decision on any charges will come from the Polk County attorney’s office.

The Iowa law says people don’t have to retreat before using deadly force if they think their lives are being threatened.

From Janesville, California;

Authorities say the man was travelling at speeds of upwards of 105 mph on US-395 near Honey Lake.

The officer lost sight of the suspect a short time later due to excessive speeds.

Police located the suspect’s vehicle on northbound Ponderosa Boulevard. The officer then contacted the man who refused to obey commands.

The man fled from authorities which ensued a chase with police.

CHP – Susanville says the man lost control of his truck during the pursuit in the area of Ponderosa Boulevard and Hicks Road causing a crash. The man struck a car traveling southbound causing injuries.

The man left the scene of the crash on foot and entered a residential area on the south side of Hicks Road.

Authorities say the man armed himself and broke into a nearby home.

When the man was inside the unknown residence, he was able to get away with a set of car keys.

The suspect then left the home in the stolen vehicle.

The homeowner armed himself with a handgun and confronted the man.

Police say the homeowner fired a single shot at the man after he lurched at him in the stolen vehicle.

The male suspect was pronounced dead on the scene. His identity has not yet been released.

From Boonville, Missouri;

The Cooper County Sheriff’s Office later spoke with the customer, who said he saw a man inside the store acting “suspicious,” so he stayed around the area to watch his next move.

Then the man allegedly went up to the cash register and demanded money. The man had a small knife and hammer, KOMU reported, citing a witness statement.

But [Jim] Hayes stepped in.

“When the suspect approached the register and began to demand the money, the patron was able to intervene with his concealed firearm and held the suspect in the store until law enforcement arrived,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook.

The suspect was identified by the Sheriff’s Office as Elijah D. Carter, 26, of Kansas City. Carter has since been charged with first-degree attempted robbery, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and receiving stolen property. He remained in the county jail Tuesday with bail set at $150,000.

Category: Feel Good Stories