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)

Woman catches burglar in her home, holds him at gunpoint while waiting for police. When he makes a threatening move, she opens fire.



A homeowner in Vicksburg, Mississippi, defended herself and her property with a firearm Thursday morning.

What happened?

According to the Vicksburg Daily News, the woman arrived at the home just after 11 a.m. Thursday to perform a daily check when she discovered a burglary in progress at her residence.

She fired what she described as a warning shot before briefly exiting the home, alerting neighbors and telling them to call the police.

Investigators said the woman then re-entered the home and attempted to hold the burglar at gunpoint until police arrived. But when the burglar made a "threatening move," the homeowner felt compelled to open fire, striking the burglar in the arm, WAPT-TV reported.

A few minutes later, the burglar, reportedly a young man, showed up at the nearby River City Rescue Mission suffering from a gunshot wound to his forearm.

The suspect's injuries were deemed non-life-threatening. According to investigators, he was treated by paramedics before being transported to the Vicksburg Police station for processing. He will reportedly be charged with burglary.

The homeowner was also reportedly taken to the station for processing but is not expected to be charged because her actions are likely protected by the castle doctrine.

What else?

Neighbor Sharon Flowers said that she had just arrived at her home Thursday morning when she heard the woman shouting for help. Flowers told the Vicksburg Daily News that she alerted the police at the homeowner's request before witnessing the second shot being fired.

"The silence was terrifying," she recalled. "You couldn't see anything, you didn't see anyone move, it was silence."

Under Mississippi's castle doctrine — similar to "stand your ground" laws — the homeowner was legally permitted to fire upon the intruder.

According to the state's legal code, "a person who is not the initial aggressor and is not engaged in unlawful activity shall have no duty to retreat before using deadly force ... if the person is in a place where the person has a right to be, and no finder of fact shall be permitted to consider the person's failure to retreat as evidence that the person's use of force was unnecessary, excessive or unreasonable."

Vicksburg woman shoots burglary suspect inside home, says police www.youtube.com

CROWDER: John Oliver's take on 'Stand Your Ground' laws DEBUNKED



Steven Crowder believes that John Oliver had a lot of stupid things to say about "Stand Your Ground" laws. Today, Crowder picks them apart one by one. Also, "Pope Tony Fauci" had his biggest COVID flip-flop to date, and this one might just prove Donald Trump RIGHT! Later, Crowder gives what he says is another example of how Gretchen Whitmer is a horrible governor who sucks at life.

You must be a BlazeTV subscriber to watch the LIVE show as Crowder will not be on YouTube. Watch here.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.