The Virginian-Pilot
©
SUFFOLK
The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office has begun its review of the deadly shooting of a burglar by a Whaleyville store owner.
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Will Jamerson said his office received the Suffolk police investigation into the June 21 incident Thursday afternoon. "It will be thorough," Jamerson said. "I can't tell you how long it will take."
The owner of J&L Food Mart, James H. Durden Jr., shot 38-year-old Ernest Scott Roop four times through a window after a monitor near his bed alerted him to the 4 a.m. break-in.
Durden, 46, told police that Roop pointed something at him from inside the store.
Roop did not have a gun. Search warrants show that he carried a knife and sheath, but a city spokeswoman would not say whether he was holding it at the time of the shooting. A folding knife and a crowbar were also recovered from the scene.
Charges for the fatal shooting could range from murder to manslaughter to none at all.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
Protecting ones own...
The store owner was just protecting his own. Charges should not even be thought about. Do you really think the owner should have taken the time to go in and ask the perp if he had a weapon or if he planned to steal? NO. He did the right thing! If we really have rights as our Constitution says we do there would be less crime because these perps would probably think twice before commiting a crime.