(OK) Homeowner justified in killing burglar 09-06-03
Date: Sep 10, 2003 3:02 AM
No link for this story.
2003 The Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
September 6, 2003 Saturday Final Home Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Tulsa; Crime; Pg. A17
Homeowner justified in killing burglar, DA says
BY CARY ASPINWALL World Staff Writer
Prosecutors have ruled that a Tulsa man was justified in fatally
shooting a burglar last month.
Homer Saunders, 57, will not be charged with a crime for shooting and
killing Michael Eugene Frost on Aug. 28 after he caught Frost breaking
into his home, officials said.
Prosecutors ruled that "it was a justifiable homicide based upon
self-defense," Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.
"The homeowner was in a position of being in fear for his life," he
said.
The state's "Make My Day" law allows any lawful occupant of a dwelling
to use any amount of force, including deadly force, against people who
enter the dwelling unlawfully, prosecutors have said.
Evidence indicates that Frost, 32, was holding a brick when he "came at"
Saunders and that "the homeowner decided to defend himself."
When police and EMSA medics arrived at Saunders' home at 2217 S. 128th
East Place about 11:30 a.m. Aug. 28, they saw Frost on the ground in the
side yard.
Frost, who was bleeding from a shotgun wound to the lower back and
buttocks, was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
An investigation revealed that Frost had cut the screen on a window of
Saunders' house, police said.
Frost reportedly ignored Saunders' verbal commands after Saunders had
armed himself with a shotgun, officials said.
Saunders saw a pouch that he suspected contained a handgun by the window
where Frost was trying to break in.
Frost had a brick and kept eyeing the pouch while running in Saunders'
direction and toward the pouch when Saunders fired, police said.
The pouch contained a day planner, Kunzweiler said.
Frost was on probation after being caught breaking into a house in March
2002, court records show.
In that burglary, he smashed a window and entered the house while a
teenage girl was home alone taking a shower, court records show. She
managed to escape through the bathroom window and run to a neighbor's
house to call the police.
Frost pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, and District Judge Tom
Gillert sentenced him June 3, 2002, to seven years in prison but agreed
to review that sentence in nine months.
After receiving a Department of Corrections report on Frost's conduct in
prison, Gillert modified the sentence on March 10 to a six-year,
three-month probation, entitling Frost to release.
He was to be supervised by the DOC and perform 80 hours of community
service, records show. He did not fulfill the requirements of his
probation, however, and prosecutors applied in mid-August to revoke the
suspended sentence.
Gillert issued an arrest warrant for Frost on Aug. 14, but Frost was
never arrested for that warrant, court and jail records show.
Date: Sep 10, 2003 3:02 AM
No link for this story.
2003 The Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
September 6, 2003 Saturday Final Home Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Tulsa; Crime; Pg. A17
Homeowner justified in killing burglar, DA says
BY CARY ASPINWALL World Staff Writer
Prosecutors have ruled that a Tulsa man was justified in fatally
shooting a burglar last month.
Homer Saunders, 57, will not be charged with a crime for shooting and
killing Michael Eugene Frost on Aug. 28 after he caught Frost breaking
into his home, officials said.
Prosecutors ruled that "it was a justifiable homicide based upon
self-defense," Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.
"The homeowner was in a position of being in fear for his life," he
said.
The state's "Make My Day" law allows any lawful occupant of a dwelling
to use any amount of force, including deadly force, against people who
enter the dwelling unlawfully, prosecutors have said.
Evidence indicates that Frost, 32, was holding a brick when he "came at"
Saunders and that "the homeowner decided to defend himself."
When police and EMSA medics arrived at Saunders' home at 2217 S. 128th
East Place about 11:30 a.m. Aug. 28, they saw Frost on the ground in the
side yard.
Frost, who was bleeding from a shotgun wound to the lower back and
buttocks, was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
An investigation revealed that Frost had cut the screen on a window of
Saunders' house, police said.
Frost reportedly ignored Saunders' verbal commands after Saunders had
armed himself with a shotgun, officials said.
Saunders saw a pouch that he suspected contained a handgun by the window
where Frost was trying to break in.
Frost had a brick and kept eyeing the pouch while running in Saunders'
direction and toward the pouch when Saunders fired, police said.
The pouch contained a day planner, Kunzweiler said.
Frost was on probation after being caught breaking into a house in March
2002, court records show.
In that burglary, he smashed a window and entered the house while a
teenage girl was home alone taking a shower, court records show. She
managed to escape through the bathroom window and run to a neighbor's
house to call the police.
Frost pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, and District Judge Tom
Gillert sentenced him June 3, 2002, to seven years in prison but agreed
to review that sentence in nine months.
After receiving a Department of Corrections report on Frost's conduct in
prison, Gillert modified the sentence on March 10 to a six-year,
three-month probation, entitling Frost to release.
He was to be supervised by the DOC and perform 80 hours of community
service, records show. He did not fulfill the requirements of his
probation, however, and prosecutors applied in mid-August to revoke the
suspended sentence.
Gillert issued an arrest warrant for Frost on Aug. 14, but Frost was
never arrested for that warrant, court and jail records show.
I'm surprised they did the right thing here. THey could have made it a murder case.