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Off-duty deputy kills burglar breaking into his home
Friday, April 25, 2003
By LORI MONSEWICZ
GREEN — An off-duty Summit County sheriff’s deputy called 911 to say he shot to death a man who was breaking into his house late Wednesday night.
Investigators said the unidentified dead man may have been sniffing spray paint shortly before he was killed at the deputy’s home in the 900 block of E. Turkeyfoot Lake Road at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday.
The deputy was placed on leave, and his name won’t be released pending results of preliminary investigations by the Sheriff’s Department and the Summit County prosecutor’s office, Sheriff Drew Alexander said in a news release.
Jill Skapin of the Summit County medical examiner’s office is investigating.
“The suspect had paint smears on his hands, face and hair,†said Sheriff’s Capt. Larry Momchilov. He said that two spray-paint cans and a plastic bag were at the scene. That, he said, “indicates that the suspect may have been inhaling harmful intoxicants at this time of the incident or shortly before the incident.â€
Deputies’ reports said the burglary and shooting took place between 11:10 and 11:12 p.m., when the man forced open a rear window on the first floor of the house.
Shortly after deputies were sent to the house for a burglary in progress, the dispatcher announced shots had been fired, the reports said.
The 911 tape said the deputy called, saying, “Got a guy who just tried to come in my house ... . There’s been a shooting.â€
The dispatcher asked if he shot the intruder, and he replied, “yes.†When she asked the deputy if he was OK, he replied, “Yeah, I’m OK. He don’t look so good, though.â€
A woman can be heard crying in the background on the tape.
The deputy explained, “My wife. She’s all rattled up, too.â€
The dispatcher asked if anyone was there with the dead man.
The deputy told her, “I don’t see anybody.â€
Arriving deputies found the suspected burglar lying on the deck on the back of the house, according to reports.
The deputy and his wife were treated at the scene by Green Fire Department paramedics, but no serious injuries were reported, deputies’ reports said. The reports do not say why the couple was treated.
Skapin said the man was dead at the scene of the shooting, though he was officially pronounced dead at the medical examiner’s office at 3:35 a.m. Thursday.
Deputies and plainclothes officers filtered in and out of the deputy’s two-story, wood-frame home throughout the day.
A plainclothes officer in an unmarked car sat midway on the quarter-mile-long gravel drive between Turkeyfoot and the house, sending away inquiring media. He also sent away a health-care worker who arrived at a neighbor’s home to render scheduled care.
Tim Elfrink, the deputy’s next-door neighbor whose business, Tim’s Custom Body Works, also is in front of the house, said he has been burglarized several times “for a couple of years now.
“(Burglars) have been in the shop, and one was in my house.â€
He and his family were not injured in the burglaries.
But some of his paint, which can cost as much as $480 a quart, has been stolen from the shop several times, he said.
Elfrink’s home is just west of The Village Chapel church. The road that runs behind his and the deputy’s homes was blocked at the church by a small front-end loader placed on the church property, which features a large field, a pond and a park.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=15&ID=96619&r=0
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Off-Duty Officer Won’t Face Charges In Fatal Shooting
April 24, 2003
An off-duty Cleveland police officer who fatally shot an intruder in his backyard 14 times will not be charged.
The county prosecutor's ruling came Wednesday in the case of 36-year-old SWAT officer James Toomey.
The prosecutor says Toomey acted in self-defense when the man allegedly moved toward the officer with a pipe before dawn last June.
Backers of 20-year-old Joseph Finley say he was running from a gang. They say shooting him 14 times is ridiculous, and say a civil lawsuit is possible.
http://www.onnnews.com/story.php?record=23734
Friday, April 25, 2003
By LORI MONSEWICZ
GREEN — An off-duty Summit County sheriff’s deputy called 911 to say he shot to death a man who was breaking into his house late Wednesday night.
Investigators said the unidentified dead man may have been sniffing spray paint shortly before he was killed at the deputy’s home in the 900 block of E. Turkeyfoot Lake Road at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday.
The deputy was placed on leave, and his name won’t be released pending results of preliminary investigations by the Sheriff’s Department and the Summit County prosecutor’s office, Sheriff Drew Alexander said in a news release.
Jill Skapin of the Summit County medical examiner’s office is investigating.
“The suspect had paint smears on his hands, face and hair,†said Sheriff’s Capt. Larry Momchilov. He said that two spray-paint cans and a plastic bag were at the scene. That, he said, “indicates that the suspect may have been inhaling harmful intoxicants at this time of the incident or shortly before the incident.â€
Deputies’ reports said the burglary and shooting took place between 11:10 and 11:12 p.m., when the man forced open a rear window on the first floor of the house.
Shortly after deputies were sent to the house for a burglary in progress, the dispatcher announced shots had been fired, the reports said.
The 911 tape said the deputy called, saying, “Got a guy who just tried to come in my house ... . There’s been a shooting.â€
The dispatcher asked if he shot the intruder, and he replied, “yes.†When she asked the deputy if he was OK, he replied, “Yeah, I’m OK. He don’t look so good, though.â€
A woman can be heard crying in the background on the tape.
The deputy explained, “My wife. She’s all rattled up, too.â€
The dispatcher asked if anyone was there with the dead man.
The deputy told her, “I don’t see anybody.â€
Arriving deputies found the suspected burglar lying on the deck on the back of the house, according to reports.
The deputy and his wife were treated at the scene by Green Fire Department paramedics, but no serious injuries were reported, deputies’ reports said. The reports do not say why the couple was treated.
Skapin said the man was dead at the scene of the shooting, though he was officially pronounced dead at the medical examiner’s office at 3:35 a.m. Thursday.
Deputies and plainclothes officers filtered in and out of the deputy’s two-story, wood-frame home throughout the day.
A plainclothes officer in an unmarked car sat midway on the quarter-mile-long gravel drive between Turkeyfoot and the house, sending away inquiring media. He also sent away a health-care worker who arrived at a neighbor’s home to render scheduled care.
Tim Elfrink, the deputy’s next-door neighbor whose business, Tim’s Custom Body Works, also is in front of the house, said he has been burglarized several times “for a couple of years now.
“(Burglars) have been in the shop, and one was in my house.â€
He and his family were not injured in the burglaries.
But some of his paint, which can cost as much as $480 a quart, has been stolen from the shop several times, he said.
Elfrink’s home is just west of The Village Chapel church. The road that runs behind his and the deputy’s homes was blocked at the church by a small front-end loader placed on the church property, which features a large field, a pond and a park.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=15&ID=96619&r=0
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Off-Duty Officer Won’t Face Charges In Fatal Shooting
April 24, 2003
An off-duty Cleveland police officer who fatally shot an intruder in his backyard 14 times will not be charged.
The county prosecutor's ruling came Wednesday in the case of 36-year-old SWAT officer James Toomey.
The prosecutor says Toomey acted in self-defense when the man allegedly moved toward the officer with a pipe before dawn last June.
Backers of 20-year-old Joseph Finley say he was running from a gang. They say shooting him 14 times is ridiculous, and say a civil lawsuit is possible.
http://www.onnnews.com/story.php?record=23734
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