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This was in The Albuquerque Journal today.
URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/239487metro10-12-04.htm
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Judge's Wife Says He Killed Man in Self-Defense
By Michael Davis
Journal Staff Writer
A Rio Rancho municipal judge shot and killed a man outside his home on Friday— a man who had reportedly appeared in the judge's courtroom previously.
Municipal Judge Calvin Shields killed the man in self-defense, according to his wife, Karen. She said she and her husband believe the man waited more than two hours outside their home and then opened fire when her husband went to investigate.
Rio Rancho police have not released the identity of the dead man nor have they confirmed Shields' involvement in the incident.
However, Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety spokesman John Francis confirmed that the gunman had appeared before Shields in court.
"I don't know if that led to his going over there or not," Francis said.
"I cannot release any other details because this case is still being investigated, but it is important to note that the homeowner has not been charged with a crime."
Calvin Shields, a former police chief in Farmington, declined to comment, pending the outcome of the investigation.
But Karen Shields said her husband fired at the man through a gate after the intruder fired at him, barely missing him.
"I'm thanking every guardian angel we have," Karen Shields said in a phone interview. "He had lots of ammunition and lots of speed loaders."
Shields said that the gunfight left her husband with powder burns to his face and hands and that a bullet had grazed his knee.
"His shirt had an entry hole and exit hole, but Calvin wasn't hurt," she said.
Karen Shields said that the gunman had recently been summoned into municipal court for sentencing.
"My husband had ordered a pre-sentencing report for him and it had come back," she said. "As I understand it, he had been arrested for disturbing the peace and interfering with a police officer. I don't have the particulars about the initial incident, but I know that police had to use mace on him, which contributed to the other charge."
Karen Shields said police told her that her husband's assailant was involved in an anti-government militia movement.
"Police told us that he hated the judicial system and government in general and Calvin was the face of all that was wrong in his world," she said.
According to Francis, a 911 caller informed police about 11:20 p.m. Friday that someone may have been shot in a back yard near Osceola and Paiute.
Francis provided some details of the incident without referring to Shields by name.
He said the homeowner saw an adult male in his front yard. A motion sensor light went on when the homeowner walked out of the house, and the intruder fled to the back yard. The homeowner went around back to make sure the intruder was leaving, and the man opened fire on him. The homeowner fired back, killing the intruder, Francis said.
Karen Shields said the trouble began at 6:30 p.m. when she received a call from a pay phone. When she handed the phone to her husband, the caller hung up.
"A man with a really gruff voice asked, 'Is Calvin there?' and I handed the phone over," she said. "It then dawned on me that people calling for Calvin refer to him as Judge Shields and wouldn't be calling from a pay phone in the first place. We joked about it, but I had a really bad feeling. It turns out I was right."
About 9:30 p.m., Calvin Shields noticed that the motion-activated lights had turned on in the back yard and asked if she had gone outside, Karen Shields said.
"I told him no and when the lights went out, we didn't think much of it," she said.
About two hours later, the couple turned out the lights to prepare for bed. Calvin Shields was letting the dogs out in the back yard, she said.
"He was inches away from the guy who was looking in our window," Karen Shields said. "The guy started walking away and Calvin told me to call 911 and tell dispatchers we had a prowler. I had not known this, but Calvin had gone to get his gun."
Calvin Shields went through the house to the front yard to get a description of the prowler, his wife said. However, the prowler didn't come to the front yard, and Shields noticed him hiding behind a pine tree in the side yard. The man then walked into the back yard. Karen Shields said her husband followed him with a flashlight and his revolver.
"He pushed the gate open with his flashlight and heard the gate hit the guy's gun," Karen Shields said. "The guy got off a round that whizzed by Calvin's ear."
She said her husband and the assailant emptied their revolvers.
"I thought the guy had killed him," Karen Shields said. "I was talking with the operator and I knew that I would have to go to him."
As she was about to go to her husband, Calvin Shields ran back into the house and told her to lock the back door, while he locked the front.
The couple crouched in the living room waiting for police or Shields' assailant, Karen Shields said.
When police arrived, they ran through the house to the back yard, Shields said.
"I heard one of them say 'we've got him over here. He's down,' '' she said. "Calvin got off six shots. Three got the guy: one in the stomach and two to the chest. Calvin shot him through the gate. The guy was in our garden. Apparently, he had time to reload his weapon."
Rio Rancho police found the assailant's car at the corner of Navajo and Osceola and noticed suspicious wires protruding from it. The Albuquerque police bomb squad was called in to clear the area and about eight houses were evacuated for about 21/2 hours Francis said.
"The wires just went to a fan," Francis said. "They looked suspicious but didn't lead to any sort of explosive device."
URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/239487metro10-12-04.htm
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Judge's Wife Says He Killed Man in Self-Defense
By Michael Davis
Journal Staff Writer
A Rio Rancho municipal judge shot and killed a man outside his home on Friday— a man who had reportedly appeared in the judge's courtroom previously.
Municipal Judge Calvin Shields killed the man in self-defense, according to his wife, Karen. She said she and her husband believe the man waited more than two hours outside their home and then opened fire when her husband went to investigate.
Rio Rancho police have not released the identity of the dead man nor have they confirmed Shields' involvement in the incident.
However, Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety spokesman John Francis confirmed that the gunman had appeared before Shields in court.
"I don't know if that led to his going over there or not," Francis said.
"I cannot release any other details because this case is still being investigated, but it is important to note that the homeowner has not been charged with a crime."
Calvin Shields, a former police chief in Farmington, declined to comment, pending the outcome of the investigation.
But Karen Shields said her husband fired at the man through a gate after the intruder fired at him, barely missing him.
"I'm thanking every guardian angel we have," Karen Shields said in a phone interview. "He had lots of ammunition and lots of speed loaders."
Shields said that the gunfight left her husband with powder burns to his face and hands and that a bullet had grazed his knee.
"His shirt had an entry hole and exit hole, but Calvin wasn't hurt," she said.
Karen Shields said that the gunman had recently been summoned into municipal court for sentencing.
"My husband had ordered a pre-sentencing report for him and it had come back," she said. "As I understand it, he had been arrested for disturbing the peace and interfering with a police officer. I don't have the particulars about the initial incident, but I know that police had to use mace on him, which contributed to the other charge."
Karen Shields said police told her that her husband's assailant was involved in an anti-government militia movement.
"Police told us that he hated the judicial system and government in general and Calvin was the face of all that was wrong in his world," she said.
According to Francis, a 911 caller informed police about 11:20 p.m. Friday that someone may have been shot in a back yard near Osceola and Paiute.
Francis provided some details of the incident without referring to Shields by name.
He said the homeowner saw an adult male in his front yard. A motion sensor light went on when the homeowner walked out of the house, and the intruder fled to the back yard. The homeowner went around back to make sure the intruder was leaving, and the man opened fire on him. The homeowner fired back, killing the intruder, Francis said.
Karen Shields said the trouble began at 6:30 p.m. when she received a call from a pay phone. When she handed the phone to her husband, the caller hung up.
"A man with a really gruff voice asked, 'Is Calvin there?' and I handed the phone over," she said. "It then dawned on me that people calling for Calvin refer to him as Judge Shields and wouldn't be calling from a pay phone in the first place. We joked about it, but I had a really bad feeling. It turns out I was right."
About 9:30 p.m., Calvin Shields noticed that the motion-activated lights had turned on in the back yard and asked if she had gone outside, Karen Shields said.
"I told him no and when the lights went out, we didn't think much of it," she said.
About two hours later, the couple turned out the lights to prepare for bed. Calvin Shields was letting the dogs out in the back yard, she said.
"He was inches away from the guy who was looking in our window," Karen Shields said. "The guy started walking away and Calvin told me to call 911 and tell dispatchers we had a prowler. I had not known this, but Calvin had gone to get his gun."
Calvin Shields went through the house to the front yard to get a description of the prowler, his wife said. However, the prowler didn't come to the front yard, and Shields noticed him hiding behind a pine tree in the side yard. The man then walked into the back yard. Karen Shields said her husband followed him with a flashlight and his revolver.
"He pushed the gate open with his flashlight and heard the gate hit the guy's gun," Karen Shields said. "The guy got off a round that whizzed by Calvin's ear."
She said her husband and the assailant emptied their revolvers.
"I thought the guy had killed him," Karen Shields said. "I was talking with the operator and I knew that I would have to go to him."
As she was about to go to her husband, Calvin Shields ran back into the house and told her to lock the back door, while he locked the front.
The couple crouched in the living room waiting for police or Shields' assailant, Karen Shields said.
When police arrived, they ran through the house to the back yard, Shields said.
"I heard one of them say 'we've got him over here. He's down,' '' she said. "Calvin got off six shots. Three got the guy: one in the stomach and two to the chest. Calvin shot him through the gate. The guy was in our garden. Apparently, he had time to reload his weapon."
Rio Rancho police found the assailant's car at the corner of Navajo and Osceola and noticed suspicious wires protruding from it. The Albuquerque police bomb squad was called in to clear the area and about eight houses were evacuated for about 21/2 hours Francis said.
"The wires just went to a fan," Francis said. "They looked suspicious but didn't lead to any sort of explosive device."