When a strange man jumped into her Shasta County, Calif., backyard around 9 a.m. on Monday, Jennifer Doolittle had reason to be afraid. Only minutes before, Doolittle had received a reverse 911 call from the sheriff’s office alerting her that 44-year-old Dillon Carmelo, a sex offender and parole violator, was being pursued by deputies in her neighborhood and was considered armed and dangerous. She had just grabbed her handgun and gone outside to retrieve her dogs when Carmelo approached her, acting as though he was reaching for a gun. Doolittle fired several shots, striking him once in the ankle.
The deputies, who had been tracking Carmelo with the help of his GPS ankle bracelet since he fled from them earlier, arrived moments later and arrested him. He is being charged with resisting arrest and parole violations. Doolittle, who sheriffs say was acting in self-defense, will not be charged.
