Man apparently bangs on door of home yelling for help — then barges in. Homeowner shoots the man dead and won't be charged.



A homeowner in Lincoln Heights, Ohio, shot a man dead who apparently was banging on his door yelling for help Monday night and then barged in.

But the Hamilton County sheriff's office told WCPO-TV there won't be charges against the homeowner and that the state’s stand-your-ground law can be applied in the case.

What are the details?

Henri Jennings, 48, was involved in a domestic dispute while driving, suffered cuts to his neck, and crashed his vehicle on Chamberlain Avenue, the sheriff's office told the station.

Image source: WCPO-TV video screenshot

Jennings then tried running away from the passenger in the vehicle and went to the steps of a house less than 30 feet from the crash site and barged inside, WCPO said in its video report.

The voice on the corresponding 911 call tells the dispatcher, "We need help! Someone is banging at my door, trying to get in here!"

Image source: WCPO-TV video screenshot

The 911 caller sounded frightened: "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry! Please hurry!" The dispatcher replied that "multiple police" were on their way.

WCPO said in its video report that the homeowner hung up, but 911 was able to reconnect, after which a different voice told the dispatcher, "We heard someone yelling for help. He came in our house."

Law enforcement officials told the station the homeowner feared for his life and fired several shots at Jennings, who died at the scene.

According to WCPO, the homeowner was watching TV when Jennings came in, and officials said the homeowner dialed 911 as the incident was unfolding. It's unclear, however, why the homeowner was watching TV when Jennings came in if the 911 caller said, "We need help! Someone is banging at my door, trying to get in here!" The sheriff's office on Wednesday morning didn't immediately respond to TheBlaze's request for comment on the apparent discrepancy.

Anything else?

Other neighbors dialed 911 after the shots were fired, WCPO said.

"I see two people on the porch. Looks like someone's beating someone with a hammer. Just heard five shots. They're beating them down the steps right now," one 911 caller said, according to the station.

Image source: WCPO-TV video screenshot

The sheriff's office has not released information regarding an arrest or possible charges for the passenger in the vehicle Jennings was driving, WCPO reported.

Ohio grand jury affirms 'Stand Your Ground' law, refuses to indict man who shot his daughter's ex-boyfriend, who had broken into their home
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Ohio grand jury affirms 'Stand Your Ground' law, refuses to indict man who shot his daughter's ex-boyfriend, who had broken into their home



An Ohio man will not face criminal charges, even after he fatally shot his daughter's ex-boyfriend who had broken into their home.

On July 31 at approximately 11 a.m. local time, James Rayl stood on the front porch of his ex-girlfriend's house in Sidney, Ohio, about 40 minutes north of Dayton. Rayl rang the doorbell repeatedly, briefly left the porch, returned, and then began attempting to break through the door with his shoulder.

Meanwhile, the homeowner Mitchell Duckro stood on the other side of the door and asked Rayl to leave his property. He also warned the young man that he was armed. When Rayl finally managed to breach the deadbolt lock, Duckro fired his gun and shot Rayl three times, once in each shoulder and once in the back. Rayl then staggered to the driveway and collapsed.

He died within minutes.

The entire harrowing scene, including Duckro's warnings, was captured on a front door camera. His daughter, Allyson Duckro, can also be heard asking her father "Dad, is he trying to kill me?"

After Rayl was shot, Allyson told her father, "Dad, there’s nothing you could have done. You saved my life."

Shelby County Prosecutor Tim Sell showed the grand jury the front door camera footage, as well as the 911 call tape. The grand jury voted 8-1 not to indict, citing Ohio's "Stand Your Ground" and "castle doctrine," which affirm the rights of homeowners to use lethal force against those who threaten their safety or property.

Despite the evidence demonstrating that Rayl posed an immediate threat to the Duckros and their property, some in Rayl's family remain convinced that Duckro should have been indicted.

"You should absolutely be ashamed of your actions all around," Rayl's sister, Jessica Marie Colbert, wrote on Facebook. "Every single one of you connected to the Duckro family that has no regard for my family whatsoever.

"Mitch shot him in the back and killed him. And we know more than just that Mitchy. I hope your days are more miserable than they've ever been. You're a disgusting excuse of a human being along with your daughter," she added.

According to Fox News, Allyson Duckro had broken up with Rayl about 18 months ago. The night before the incident, Rayl had called Allyson and left her a voice mail. The contents of the message are unknown.

Colbert shared on Facebook a YouTube video of an extended version of the front door camera footage. The YouTube account is called Justice for James Rayl.


Rifle-toting homeowner who fatally shot intruder through front door won't be charged; grand jury agrees it's a 'stand your ground' self-defense case



A Tennessee grand jury will not bring charges against a Lenoir City homeowner who fatally shot an intruder through a front door in May, saying the shooting was a "stand your ground" self-defense case, according to a Wednesday press release from Russell Johnson, the 9th Judicial District Attorney General.

What are the details?

The deceased suspect, Michael Owen, had just jumped through a window at 502 W. 2nd Ave. — a known drug house — on the evening of May 17 when police were called regarding a disturbance at a neighboring residence on the same street.

Police body camera with audio captured some of that disturbance: a loud noise followed by Owen banging on the door of the neighboring residence, loud shouting, and finally, multiple gunshots, the press release said.

The investigation revealed Owen first threw a large planter at the front porch window of the neighboring home and that screws in the window frame came loose from the impact.

Owen left a bloody handprint on the window, but it was determined that he had cut his head jumping through the window of the first address — 502 W. 2nd Ave., the known drug house — before making his way across the street and up to the neighboring home, the press release said.

Owen was yelling and banging on the front door of the home and trying to make entry inside. The home was occupied by a man and his parents.

The homeowner's father — described in the press release as "older" — was trying to close the door after Owen had gotten it partly open.

The homeowner son then shot through the front door with a rifle five times, killing Owen, the press release said.

The autopsy revealed that Owen was hit by gunfire multiple times and that marijuana and an extremely high level of methamphetamine were in his system, the press release added.

The grand jury reviewed a presentation by Lenoir City Police Department detectives Lynnette Ladd and Jon Yates and agreed with the District Attorney General Johnson's decision not to bring criminal charges against the homeowner who fatally shot Owen based on the "stand your ground" statute and that it was a case of self-defense.

According to WATE-TV, the state's “stand your ground” statute guarantees one's right to use force for self-defense if there is a reasonable belief of imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.

A man killed someone who broke into his home. Now he's reportedly being investigated for murder.



A man in St. Louis, Missouri, is being investigated for murder after he killed an intruder who broke into his home over the weekend.

What happened?

The incident reportedly occurred Sunday evening on the 3900 block of Dunnica Avenue in the city's Dutchtown neighborhood, the St. Louis Dispatch reported.

Police said a 34-year-old woman broke into the 46-year-old man's residence at approximately 6:20 p.m. That's when the man confronted the woman and placed her in a chokehold until she died. By the time officers arrived on the scene, the woman was dead.

The Post-Dispatch reported that police took the man into custody and are seeking warrants for first-degree involuntary manslaughter. The Associated Press and other media outlets, however, have reported that police said they are investigating the incident as a homicide.

Information about the incident remains scarce. Police have not released the names of either of the individuals involved, nor have they provided any more detail about the incident not included in this report.

TheBlaze reached out to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on Monday seeking more information but was unable to get an immediate response. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

What else?

Missouri is a "stand your ground" law state, meaning it has legislation on the books that aims to protect residents who injure or kill someone while defending themselves or a third party.

But according to KTVI-TV, Missouri lawmakers have recently tried to strengthen the state's law. In December 2021, Republican state Sen. Eric Burlison filed legislation that would grant criminal immunity to residents who use deadly force in self-defense unless the force is used against an on-duty law enforcement officer.

Under Missouri's current "stand your ground" law, someone using deadly force in self-defense is required to prove he or she reasonably believed such force was necessary to defend themselves.

However, the current law does carve out a protection for those who use deadly force against someone who unlawfully enters their property or place of occupancy.

According to the statute, a person is allowed to use deadly force in self-defense if "such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter private property that is owned or leased by an individual."

Man being investigated for homicide after killing burglar in south St. Louis www.youtube.com

Ex-cop dad of 14-year-old TikTok star fatally shoots stalker who blew open family's front door with shotgun. Dad likely in the clear due to stand your ground law.



Imagine if your daughter, only 13, downloads TikTok and then after a year nabs more than a million followers — most of them male — who enjoy her lip-sync and dance clips.

Imagine one of her fans, an 18-year-old man, keeps trying to contact her, then buys photos of her — and even her cellphone number — from her friends, which he uses to call and text her.

Imagine this guy tells your daughter what he would pay for photos of her feet and rear end. Imagine if this fan sends your daughter hundreds of dollars in the hope that she will unblock him.

Imagine that you text this guy, inform him your daughter is a minor, and tell him stop contacting her.

Now imagine it doesn't work — and only gets worse. And in a a terrifying and deadly manner.

The aforementioned scenario is exactly what happened to TikTok star Ava Majury and her parents and siblings in the summer of 2020, according to the New York Times.

What are the details?

Indeed, Ava's 18-year-old stalker — Eric Rohan Justin of Ellicott City, Maryland — was getting downright scary. The Times said text messages that made their way to Ava indicated that he asked one of her male classmates if he had access to a “strap,” or gun, and shared plans to assault her — and added, “i could just breach the door with a shotgun i think.”

That's exactly what he did.

Early on July 10 that year, Justin showed up at the Majury home in Naples, Florida, and blew open the front door with a shotgun, the Times said.

With that, Ava’s father, Rob Majury — a retired police lieutenant who's the one who ordered Justin to stop contacting his daughter — chased after him but fell to the ground, the paper said.

When Majury got back to his house, he grabbed a gun and stood guard at the front door in case Justin returned before police arrived, the Times said.

Sure enough, Justin came back, the paper said.

Majury said he ordered him to drop his shotgun, but Majury fired when Justin instead pointed the weapon at him, the Times said.

By sunrise Justin lay dying, the paper reported.

Majury told the Times that police have assured him that under Florida's “stand your ground” law — which outlines legal use of deadly force — he was not subject to prosecution.

The aftermath

Despite the world of trouble Ava and her family experienced after she rose to fame on TikTok, the 14-year-old is still active on the popular social media platform, the paper said.

The Times noted that Ava's notoriety has translated into thousands of dollars in sponsorship deals and interest from Hollywood, including from reality TV producers.

“I have three TikTok accounts, so I could have one brand come to me and be like, ‘Oh, I’ll do $1,000 for one video on your main account,’ and I’ll be like, ‘Oh great, I have two other accounts that are different types of people on there,’” Ava explained to the paper. “So altogether, I’m making $1,700 off just my name, because I opened up three accounts rather than just building off one.”

Her dad added to the Times that Ava's "creations, her contacts, her videos became such a big part of her that to take it away would have been hard." Her mother Kim noted to the Times that "we chose what’s best for our family. We know there are going to be two sides, and some people won’t understand.″⁣

Still, not long after her dad shot her stalker dead, Ava got messages from a man who referred to her as “baby girl" and offered to pay $1,000 a month for her phone number, the paper said, adding that Ava's mom and dad found out his name matches the name of a registered sex offender who had been arrested for soliciting a 14-year-old girl.

What's more, Ava told her parents that the boy who received Justin’s menacing messages was following and watching her, the Times said, and another classmate recorded a video of himself firing at a shooting range and sent the clip to Ava.

Finally Ava withdrew from school this month, the paper said, and now she attends class from home.

Nevertheless her mom told the Times she doesn't want “sick individuals” to force Ava to shun social media: “Why should we allow them to stop her? Maybe she’s meant to bring awareness to all this."

(H/T: The Daily Wire)