cyclopsshooter
Member
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011351045_homeinvasion16m.html
Two shot in Kirkland home invasion
By Susan Gilmore, Sara Jean Green and Mark Rahner
Seattle Times staff reporters
Two people were shot during a home-invasion robbery early Monday in Kirkland and a third suspect was apprehended. Authorities are searching for two other suspects.
King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said medical marijuana was being grown in the house in the 11000 block of Juanita Drive Northeast and that's likely the motive for the robbery.
"We are aware of the house," said Urquhart.
The incident occurred just before 5 a.m. when Steve Sarich, 59, and his girlfriend were alerted to the intruders by their barking dogs. Sarich got up and was confronted by two men inside his house.
The suspect and Sarich apparently shot each other.
The suspect, 19, of Renton, was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, said Urquhart. Sarich's injuries were not as serious.
The suspect, who underwent surgery Monday morning, is listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview.
A second suspect, 19, was found hitchhiking, said Urquhart. Police are searching for two other suspects.
Sarich was treated at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland and released, said hospital spokeswoman Sherry Grindeland.
Sarich is licensed to grow medical marijuana and runs a medical marijuana advocacy group called CannaCare out of his house.
Sarich said that when he heard the dogs barking Monday morning, he grabbed a .22-caliber pistol from near his bed and went out to search the house.
"When I walked out in the living room a guy raised a shotgun like he was going to shoot me, and I shot him instead," he said.
Sarich said the man then fired at him. "The shotgun blast missed taking off my head by about three or four inches," he said.
Sarich said he went back to his bedroom and "another guy came to the bedroom door after that, and I shot through the window and door and hit him." Then the suspects ran out of the house.
Sarich said he still had shotgun pellets in his face and arm after he was discharged from a hospital Monday afternoon.
According to the Sheriff's Office, Sarich reported that on Jan. 13 two men broke into his home around 2 a.m.
He chased off the two intruders and fired off a couple of gunshots, the Sheriff's Office said.
Sheriff's detectives are looking into whether the incident is related to Monday morning's home invasion.
On Saturday, Sarich had sent an e-mail to Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles — who sponsored a medical marijuana bill that passed in the Legislature last week — expressing concern about home-invasions of medical pot growers and about police responses to them.
He cited the January incident at his own home and one last week that resulted in the death of a medical pot grower and patient in Orting, Wash. Sarich was outraged at what he claimed was law enforcement's apparent weak efforts investigating the home invasions while they instead raid the homes of the growers.
"I just thought you should know that this is what we face and why patients constantly live in fear. We not only have to fear being robbed, but we have to fear what will happen when law enforcement shows up to 'investigate,'" he wrote
Juanita Drive, which was closed Monday morning while the search for the other suspects was underway, was reopened about 9 a.m. Urquhart said officers will later get a search warrant and go inside the house.
He didn't know how many people were living in the house.
"This was most likely drugs or money," said Urquhart, in explaining the reason for the robbery. "That's probably the motive for the home invasion. This was absolutely not random. Home invasions are rarely random."
Two shot in Kirkland home invasion
By Susan Gilmore, Sara Jean Green and Mark Rahner
Seattle Times staff reporters
Two people were shot during a home-invasion robbery early Monday in Kirkland and a third suspect was apprehended. Authorities are searching for two other suspects.
King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said medical marijuana was being grown in the house in the 11000 block of Juanita Drive Northeast and that's likely the motive for the robbery.
"We are aware of the house," said Urquhart.
The incident occurred just before 5 a.m. when Steve Sarich, 59, and his girlfriend were alerted to the intruders by their barking dogs. Sarich got up and was confronted by two men inside his house.
The suspect and Sarich apparently shot each other.
The suspect, 19, of Renton, was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, said Urquhart. Sarich's injuries were not as serious.
The suspect, who underwent surgery Monday morning, is listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview.
A second suspect, 19, was found hitchhiking, said Urquhart. Police are searching for two other suspects.
Sarich was treated at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland and released, said hospital spokeswoman Sherry Grindeland.
Sarich is licensed to grow medical marijuana and runs a medical marijuana advocacy group called CannaCare out of his house.
Sarich said that when he heard the dogs barking Monday morning, he grabbed a .22-caliber pistol from near his bed and went out to search the house.
"When I walked out in the living room a guy raised a shotgun like he was going to shoot me, and I shot him instead," he said.
Sarich said the man then fired at him. "The shotgun blast missed taking off my head by about three or four inches," he said.
Sarich said he went back to his bedroom and "another guy came to the bedroom door after that, and I shot through the window and door and hit him." Then the suspects ran out of the house.
Sarich said he still had shotgun pellets in his face and arm after he was discharged from a hospital Monday afternoon.
According to the Sheriff's Office, Sarich reported that on Jan. 13 two men broke into his home around 2 a.m.
He chased off the two intruders and fired off a couple of gunshots, the Sheriff's Office said.
Sheriff's detectives are looking into whether the incident is related to Monday morning's home invasion.
On Saturday, Sarich had sent an e-mail to Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles — who sponsored a medical marijuana bill that passed in the Legislature last week — expressing concern about home-invasions of medical pot growers and about police responses to them.
He cited the January incident at his own home and one last week that resulted in the death of a medical pot grower and patient in Orting, Wash. Sarich was outraged at what he claimed was law enforcement's apparent weak efforts investigating the home invasions while they instead raid the homes of the growers.
"I just thought you should know that this is what we face and why patients constantly live in fear. We not only have to fear being robbed, but we have to fear what will happen when law enforcement shows up to 'investigate,'" he wrote
Juanita Drive, which was closed Monday morning while the search for the other suspects was underway, was reopened about 9 a.m. Urquhart said officers will later get a search warrant and go inside the house.
He didn't know how many people were living in the house.
"This was most likely drugs or money," said Urquhart, in explaining the reason for the robbery. "That's probably the motive for the home invasion. This was absolutely not random. Home invasions are rarely random."
Sarich may be highly skilled with that .22 pistol or he may have been lucky -- probably both. The shotgun blast came after the perp was shot so Sarich did not stop the perp, he got lucky. So we have possible luck with the .22 shot by Sarich and definite luck on the round fired back. Sarich has pretty much used up his HD luck. 
