Screen capture by Boch. Via ABC7.

Bad guys brazenly broke into a home in Fontana, CA to steal stuff that didn’t belong to them. Twice. In one day! Among the loot: guns. But like the roach motels where cockroaches check in but they don’t check out, one of the alleged intruders suffered an overdose of hot lead and died on the scene.

The homeowner caught the second attempted break-in while it was still in progress. He called the police, reported that multiple people were attempting to invade his residence, and then he hung up.

When police arrived, they found one suspect had completed the room temperature challenge and others had fled with great haste — almost as if their hair was on fire.  Coincidence, obviously.

NBC Los Angeles has one of the reports:

Police are investigating a Saturday night fatal shooting in Fontana, after a home owner says he had to defend himself during an attempted burglary.

The homeowner, whose name has not been released by authorities, called the Fontana Police Department at 10:47 p.m. Saturday.

He told police multiple people were attempting to break into his house at the corner of Cypress Avenue and Baseline, that he believed at least one of them was inside, and that he believed they were armed. The home owner then armed himself with a handgun before the call with Fontana PD disconnected.

When police arrived at the scene, the home owner came out of the house and surrendered himself, saying he had shot someone inside the home…

The dead man also had a semi-automatic handgun next to his hand, and according to police, there were signs of a shootout in the home. Brass casings from two different weapons were found.

According to ABC7, the homeowner told police that burglars had stolen a number of firearms from the home just hours earlier.

Of course, the dead man probably had zero connection with the earlier theft of firearms, right? And his unlawful presence at the home, wielding a firearm and shooting at the homeowner, was likely a mere coincidence, right?

We’re glad the homeowner survived and was able to defend himself and his property from armed invasion. Hopefully he recovers from what these criminals forced him to do.

 

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80 COMMENTS

  1. What are the odds that the BG’s handgun was stolen from the house in the first burglary, and that he came back to get some more that he couldn’t carry the first time?.

    • If so, California may well charge the homeowner with something, saying he is at fault since he iwns the firearm. I don’t put anything past CA anymore.

      • that’s exactly how it works. if anyone gets ahold of a gun you own and uses it in a crime, you are guilty of violating the law.

        • Dont know about that, unless the laws changed and California has different laws then Ks.
          1980 I had handgunms stolen from me and used in robberies, nothing was said to me about breaking no laws. All they asked was for description of weapons and if I knew the serial numbers.

        • Yes, you could be charged with failure to safely store the firearm. I think there is an exception if you are home, but if he had been absent when the first burglary occurred, and he couldn’t demonstrate that he had “safely” stored his firearms in his absence I believe under current CA law he could be charged with failure to safely store his firearm.

          If the dead burglar happens to be under 18 and the firearm he had is one stolen from the homeowner, he definitely will be charged with failure to safely store his firearms when agent from the home.

          No good deed goes unpunished in the Kalifornikadia.

      • California actually has an excellent castle doctrine law.

        They are not able to prosecute you for armed self-defense inside your home.

    • The problem with this story is someone died. Through gun violence. When will the gun violence end! Safe storage laws could have prevented this massacre by locking up these weapons of mass destruction in a safe that the homeowner couldn’t open fast enough. Such a policy could have saved lives! Further, we need to enact universal background check laws. It doesn’t matter that this burglar would not have sought out to pass a universal background check when he stole these firearms. What matters is we need to generate lists of who has what, so we can confiscate/ban these firearms, so these burglars wouldn’t have broken into this house to take them. If there are no guns in a home, there are no guns that will get stolen from a home. Further, it would have saved a life, from gun violence.

      • “The problem with this story is something died.” Or words to that effect. I disagree. The only problem with this story is that it wasn’t you.

        • You should have a few more lines. This one was written by “dacian (satire version)”.

        • “This one was written by ‘dacian (satire version)’”

          the satire and the real version are identical.

      • The problem with this story is the cops once again showed up with their meat wagon and hauled the dead guy off.
        With the rising cost of food humans should be complaining about that, I mean you shot it how come the cops always get to haul them off.
        That guy could have fed a family for a week.
        But NO, the cops get it.

      • Listen dimwit Dackie Noyu. The bilbican punishment for breaing into someone’s home is that the homenwoer may “strike him that he die”. So, dirtbag(s) broke in, homeowner “struck him that he died”. No harm no foul.

        What about the e”thou shalt not steal’ bit? IF folks would stop breaking into other people’s homes and steling their stuff, the guns would not be necessary for defense. Other uses, yes, but not defense.

        IF they catch up to Dead Gouy’s accomplice HE could be charged wiht murder, complicit in a crime.

      • @ dacian
        I usually don’t agree with you but when I do, it’s because I was drinking Dos Equis

      • dacian, the Dunderhead, The man dies because he was STUPID! I guess you think the home owner should have helped him out the door with his loot?
        The way I look at it, the home owner just save the taxpayers the cost of the trial and the criminal’s incarceration.

        Play the game, pay the price.

      • If Alfred E Newman werent so sick, it would be hilarious.
        Hope the homeowner is ok and can get some therapy if needed.

  2. WONDER , EAR’S STILL RING FROM INSIDE SHOOTING . WHEW .
    GLAD NOT MY PLACE .
    PRAYERS NEEDED ALL AROUND

  3. I have to wonder, did he report the earlier theft prior to this incident? This could have the appearance of a “throw-down” gun. It would be interesting to hear the final outcome of this one.

    • Agree. Strange no mention of a called-in report of the first break-in. Possible the two incidents were in close proximity, preventing call-in of the first home invasion. Also possible the homeowner was away during the first burglary, and was assessing the loss when the intruders returned.

    • Given that reporting burglaries is generally a waste of your time in CA, it is likely that he did not report the burglary. In LA the cops won’t even show up if you are burglarized. If you are a well known name, they will, but otherwise you phone in your burglary report without talking to any human. Then if you want a copy of the burglary report they charge you for the report. Which foolishly, the first time you file a claim on your homeowner’s insurance policy and then watch you premium go up by the amount of your claim the following year.

      I live in SoCal. I have had approximately ten burglaries of my home and businesses in the 50+ years I have lived in this town. Even when the tech came out and lifted a complete, five print exemplar of the burglar’s fingerprints from a newly cleaned glass window the cops never sent it to Sacramento to see if the burglar had a prior record. Not even when I asked the burglary dick about it two times did it get sent in.

      So if all they do is go through the motions of investigating and then it gets filed away, why bother spending time with the tech? In one burglary on a Sunday afternoon, the local patrol cop drove by my business while the thief was taking stuff out the front window. Think that might be suspicious? Not by that cop’s standards, I guess. We found out from the old guy who lived across the street. Of course, he told us about it afterwards, but didn’t bother to call the cops. He figured it was all right when he saw the patrol cop drive by without even slowing down.

      Now getting guns stolen, that is a different matter. First of all, they want to check to see if they can bust you for improper storage. Then they will put the serial numbers in the national list in case they show up sometime. If you don’t notify them, that is another offense if the gun is used in a crime and is traced back to you.

      The whole thrust of the gun laws is to get as many people as possible on the forbidden list by enforcement of laws of omission as opposed to commission. You didn’t report the gun stolen, you didn’t do anything wrong, you just failed to follow the edicts of your masters. Safe thing with locking your guns up so a THIEF can’t steal them. Why should the burden be on you to prevent someone from stealing your property. Once you have been convicted of even certain misdemeanors, you lose your right to own guns for the rest of your life. One of the “justices” on the Federal Supremes even asked that question in a recent case, whether that wasn’t rather draconian, to lose a constitution right for the rest of your life for the commission of a misdemeanor. Even she thought that was kinda wrong.

      I can see the homeowner now calling. Heck, he might still be counting up everything that was taken and was busy straightening up his house before the cops called. When burglars hit, they trash your place while they pull out drawers and dump them. Sometimes they zhit in your living room to add insult to injury. And others who suggested that they came back to pick up stuff they had to leave because they couldn’t carry it all may well be correct in that surmise.

  4. I love a story with a happy ending. Too bad the homeowner didn’t Darwin Award a couple more of the perps.

      • “SOB made a mess of the carpet.”

        We don’t see much written about the after effects. Things such as: continuing to live in a house where someone was shot/shot and killed; finding new, or temporary housing; determining if the real estate laws require disclosing the shooting incident; implications of remediation costs if living in an apartment, or other rental residence (the landlord’s insurance may cover remediation costs, but the insurance company may be able to sue the resident for reimbursement); impact to resident/renter’s ability to qualify for a new domicile. Probably other considerations, too.

        • I would suggest that any home that gets a reputation for being a place where burglars die would increase in value.

      • Firearms Legal Protection covers all costs related to a defensive shooting in the insured primary residence.
        Bail is covered if the insured is arrested.
        A check for $1k is handed to the insured at time of release if the firearm was taken as evidence. Purchase a replacement firearm, or use for whatever.
        1.5 mil legal defense coverage paid as the case proceeds, not a reimbursement after the case is over. What good is reimbursement insurance if someone doesn’t have the funds to pay up front.

        Personal defense insurance is a must have.

  5. I like to see articles where the victim legally terminates the criminal. It saves two things, some liberal judge or prosecutor letting them off with a slap on the wrist,or having to go through the process at all and wasting taxpayer money to prosecute these people.

    • This is California. Unfortunately, that likely means that the taxpayers’ money will be wasted anyway, as will our plucky defender’s money and time. They have this nasty habit of persecuting those who dare to protect themselves.

      • This is FOntana, out in Riverside (San Bernardino?) COunty. The Sheirffs out that way have ASK>ED the citizens who can lawfully do it t come by and fill out the peperwork, whereupon he will be happy to issue to each one their very own Mother May I Card. He is clearly FOR guns in private hands, has been on the TeeVee set encouraging folks to arm themselves and do their own “First Responding”. They are stretched far too thin to do the good job they want to.

        • Well sure the cops want you to do the hunting for them. His story would change if he didn’t get to keep the meat.

        • San Bernardino County, not Riverside County. Fontana was a zhithole 60 years ago. Like bad wine it has not improved with age.

  6. One more outta the gene pool! That’s why we should be allowed to own sub guns……make it a twofer or threefer!!

  7. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Just like the casino, the bad dudes should have left the table while they were up!

  8. And everyone misses the whole point.

    If the Moron gun/home owner would have had his guns in a safe and had a security alarm system none of his guns probably would have been even touched and the bad guys would have all been on their way to prison.. That is what safe storage laws do and all civilized countries have had such laws for decades.

    Not to mention the fact that the home owner could easily have been the one shot and killed in the firefight.

    Of course all this goes right over the head of the far right paranoids who are still trying to catch up in the evolutionary race with the much farther advanced Neanderthals.

    • You presume much there, damien. But thanks for being the nanny we all don’t need. It’s a good look for you, with your red mommy’s demanding some action shirt.

    • Most gun safes are not bank safes. Many could be wheeled out on a trolley. Even 300+ lb ones. Having the safe secured to a structure makes removing the safe harder. Lighter ones can be forced into but recessed doors and multiple locking points make this difficult. The factor is to make it too much time and effort to make it worth while.

    • dacian, the Dunderhead, a safe is only a deterrent for a period of time. Safes are routinely broken into. Or didn’t you know that?

      There are some of us who are willing to take a chance to defend what is ours in our own home. It would behoove you to remember that.

  10. I’m sure that the dead guy was actually returning the guns that he had inadvertently taken previously. The poor guy was just turning his life around.

    He leaves behind a ho who loved him dearly, a dad he never met, and dacian who also loved him dearly.

  11. @Rider/Shooter
    “Sam, I have a perfectly good excavator. And I can buy more carpet. Jus sayin…”

    Thinking a not significant number of home invasions happen in the hinterlands, vs. urban areas.

    But, not really knowing what a “hinterland” is, I could be wrong.

    • Sam, yes, we’ve had a few but mostly in vacant recreational/retirement properties. I like to think “hinterland” means we give the known ones a ‘hint’ at what’ll happen to em if they continue. And I and a buddy up here went and did exactly that. Guess what, zero thefts and break ins in our (immediate) area for a few years, at least until that crew moved away. Amazing what a face to face constructive and demonstrative dialogue can accomplish. Jeff Cooper had it exactly right…

    • I should clarify by saying after 30+yrs here I can think of only one instance of a home invasion involving occupants present. One person murdered, none caught (I think). More than a few involving black bears though. I’ve now had three come right thru my screen door. Had to shoot one, right in my house, the other two spun and ran when they saw they weren’t alone. Turned around to say hi to a grizzly standing just inside my 25’sq shop with me as well. He was cool though, just checking things out. Makes you realize your place in the grand scheme of things. 🌲👀🌲

      • Can maybe understand a black bear might give you a short glance and a pass, but a grizzly? Wow.

        • Actually it’s a determined black bear that is a bigger threat; if they keep pushing it means you are definitely on the menu. Grizzly are much more of a show you who’s boss kind of thing, meaning most of your body might actually survive the lesson. Black bear, fight for your life, grizzly, play dead as it’s likely your best chance if they’re on you. But yeah, it was very up close n personal. He was right there and who knows for how long? Mostly just looked around though, not much concerned with me. And no wonder cause the day before I tried to chase him out of my yard (at first thinking he was a black bear) with an air horn and going all anthropological on his ass. He just stared at me from fifty feet away and then went on his way. Felt pretty stupid. The next day that he was in my shop I was packing my ride for a month long excursion in a .5mm thick nylon tent in real grizzly country. Not an auspicious start. Ha!: So when ya coming up?

    • “Hinterland” means some place that is the hind-end of someplace else.
      My Grandpa, who lived in the Michigan hinterlands, told me this. Contrary to popular belief, a hinterland can be a good place to live.

      • ” “Hinterland” means some place that is the hind-end of someplace else.”

        Thanx for that. Always thought Hinters were a “people”, thus “Hinterland”. Using your explanation, Minot ND is “Hinterland”. Spent four winters there making my assessment.

  12. ” And another one bites the dust”
    I hope the homeowner isn’t charged with anything. Just from the report, he was justified in shooting. The perps. partner if caught should be charged with his buddy’s death simply because he was along for the crime that resulted in a death.

  13. @Rider/Shooter
    “So when ya coming up?”

    Have been holed-up in the house since that day. Only leave to buy groceries. No interest in long distance travel, I’m afraid. But, I have discovered a whole new universe of information available on the internet. Been toying with the idea of tuning up my old guitar, and taking lessons via U-Tube.

    • Understood. But don’t let it beat you down, friend, somehow I doubt the Colonel would approve. And I only wish I could play the gee-tar, much as I love my music (Southern Style mostly). I’m a lot of things but musically inclined ain’t one of em.

    • Bah! It says “video unavailable”! Only two or three chords? Must be CCR 😁. So much of that good old music resonates still today, strongly. With luck you will find a brother (or sister?) from another mother at the shooting range and it will become something you look forward too. You meet the nicest people behind a Single Action Army 😉. We just head out into all that bushy paradise in your other vid. Might even get a hankering to upscale from yer 22…

    • Yeah, that worked. So, so much good music out there. So much talent. We’ve spent many a night trapped in little bars Stateside because the homegrown band playing that night was so good. Some of the best times I’ve had. Miss it much. Get to work, buddy! Shootin n pickin… can’t go wrong.

    • @Sam

      Thanks for posting that link.

      I listen to Rick’s channel every so often for his take on classic songs. Had not heard of Mary Spender…LIKE her voice…dark, smokey and a touch sultry.

        • @Sam

          Yea, I watched this one when he posted it…waaay beyond my musical pay grade! Glad that there are composers who understand the 1,001 intricacies of their craft so that I can enjoy (or not) their music creations. Currently listening to Five Finger Death Punch covers of several classic rock songs…I can’t write ’em, but I can appreciate ’em.

  16. “I can’t write ’em, but I can appreciate ’em.”

    I, too, consider myself a highly professional audience member.

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