It seems that danger can be found anywhere at any time, so having the means and training to protect yourself and your family is a wise decision. That goes double when it comes to dealing with escaped inmates or those who have previously been convicted of violent crimes.
Here are five instances of armed citizens using a firearm to protect themselves from escaped inmates or convicted felons.
Escaped convicts apparently don’t like to heed good advice. Roy Bieluch was on the run in Wallace, Idaho, after he had escaped from a Shoshone County lockup. He ended up on Brian Becker’s property. When Becker saw Bieluch, he told him to stop and keep his hands where he could see them. Bieluch refused, then moved toward Becker, who shot him. Bieluch is back in custody after being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. (KREM.com, Spokane, Wash., 2/20/15)
A man armed with a gun entered a cell phone store on Chicago’s South Side and attempted to rob the establishment. The clerk on duty responded to the threat by retrieving a gun and shooting the criminal, killing him. Police have identified the deceased robber as a convict who was paroled earlier in the year. The criminal had been serving time for armed robbery with a firearm. (The Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., 12/11/13)
Jerome and Carolyn Mauderly were asleep at home in Bedford, Iowa, when an armed criminal broke into their house and held the elderly couple hostage. The criminal was Rodney Eugene Long, a convicted felon and escaped inmate from the nearby Clarinda Correctional Facility, who police believe shot a Taylor County sheriff’s deputy a day earlier, and who was the subject of an extensive manhunt. After being held captive for four hours, Jerome took an opportunity to retrieve a shotgun kept in the home. After getting hold of the shotgun, Jerome shot and killed Long. As an escaped prisoner, Long made a terrible choice of victims: Jerome Mauderly is a retired prison guard. However, Long might not have had much luck choosing another household to victimize in Bedford, as a pair of waitresses interviewed at the local Junction Café during the manhunt explained to a reporter that their loved ones were aware of the fugitive, armed, and prepared for the worst. (The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, 8/20/13)
An armed criminal entered Abe & Son’s Corner Store in Cleveland, Ohio, and attempted to rob the owner, Jamal Sulaiman. After Sulaiman retrieved a gun, he and the robber got into a scuffle. During the fracas, Sulaiman was shot once in the arm, but was able to shoot and kill his attacker. The store has been the target of armed criminals in the past; the last owner was killed in a 2008 robbery. The criminal who attempted to rob Sulaiman had recently been released from prison, after serving part of his sentence for a 2009 robbery that took place outside Abe & Son’s. In May the robber was released and sent to a halfway house to serve the remainder of his sentence; he escaped June 22. (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, 7/16/12)
Just one week after being released from prison, Kiet Thanh Ly, 34, allegedly entered Smith’s Marketplace and purchased a kitchen knife. After leaving the store, Ly used the knife to senselessly stab a 30-year-old man multiple times in the abdomen. He then attacked a 45-year-old man who suffered cuts to his arms and head. Ly continued to threaten and chase people in the store’s parking lot until a 47-year-old man with a concealed-carry permit intervened. He was able to detain Ly until police arrived. Ly is being held on suspicion of assault and attempted murder. (The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah, 4/28/12)
