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Man arrested after he returns fire at car thieves outside of his Shelby County home
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/m...cle_cb42209a-f354-11ed-a2c9-b7e1f051cd76.html
Jack Bilyeu (15 May 2023)
[video at link]
SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. - A shootout in southeast Shelby County ended with one man behind bars, but it wasn't the man who shot first.
Video of the shootout shared with FOX13 shows several people lurking around cars outside of a home, near the intersection of East Homes and Riverdale roads.
Court records shows that those suspected car thieves used burglary tools and key fob programmers to get inside of a van outside the house.
The family inside the home was alerted to the theft in progress by their surveillance cameras.
Around 2 a.m. Saturday, a man walked out of his home to confront the car burglars and that's when bullets began to fly.
“When they were talking to him, from what I saw, it was like they were trying to find ways to charge him,” the homeowner’s wife said. “That doesn’t sound right. Why would you put pressure on the victim when you should put pressure for the suspects to be found.”
Before retreating behind a vehicle, one of the alleged thieves shoots a round of gunfire at the man as he stands beneath his porch light.
Another couple of rounds are fired at the man before he returns fire three times, based on the security video.
“Right now I’m just thankful that no bullets hit him or my daughters or myself,” the homeowner’s wife said.
A barrage of bullets are then fired from the direction of the burglars as the man returns fire about four more times.
Finally, the thieves take off as another shot is fired from the window of their car and the man retreats back inside the house.
When Shelby County deputies showed up, the man told them that the suspects' car was slightly behind his van and he couldn't see what he was targeting, court records show.
Deputies said that he also admitted to closing his eyes while he shot because he was scared and shooting as the suspects ran back to their car.
That man was arrested for reckless endangerment.
His wife believes the investigators had their priorities wrong.
“The suspects, they are out there,” she said. “They were probably sleeping or partying and my husband was in jail, trying to get released for something where he was innocent.”
The homeowner was released from jail on his own recognizance and the family hopes to get the charge dropped.
At the scene, deputies said the man's home and his next-door neighbor's home were left with bullet holes.
Two vehicles were also shot and six rounds were found on the hood of a Chevy at the scene, deputies said, indicating gunfire from behind the vehicle.
Overall, 28 shell casings from a 9mm were found at the scene of the shootout.
The homeowner’s wife said she is still trying to convince her children they can be safe in their own home.
“For my girls and mom, it was like a movie. It was like we were in a movie. When I first told them we were going back to the house, they were like, ‘No mommy, don’t do that to us,’” she said. “They said, ‘Mommy, we do not want to stay there. What if they come back and get us?’”
Reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon is a class E felony punishable by up to six years in jail.
