(VT) SWAT Raids Home After Man Shoots Alleged Invader

[Drizzt]

SWAT Raids Home After Man Shoots Alleged Invader
Ex-Boyfriend Shoots Invader In Self Defense, Woman Says

POSTED: 8:43 pm EDT August 2, 2005
UPDATED: 9:07 pm EDT August 2, 2005

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A police SWAT team raided an apartment house after shots were fired Tuesday afternoon.

It happened on Grove Street in Burlington, near the Winooski River.

Eyewitnesses said it all started when a man armed with a knife broke into the building and threatened one of the tenants.

One woman -- who was inside the apartment at the time -- said the man refused to leave, so her ex-boyfriend shot him in self defense.

The standoff that followed shut down several streets in the neighborhood while more than a dozen officers surrounded the building to search for weapons or shooters inside.

Danielle Sprano watched said she and her ex-boyfriend, Lucien Perkins, sat inside his apartment when a man he knew barged in with a knife.

"Lucien kept saying 'Get out of my house' repeatedly, and the kid would not get out," said Sprano.

Finally, she said Perkins shot the man in the leg.

"I guess he shot up a warning shot first, I mean, the kid was coming after him with a switchblade -- what do you expect?" said Sprano.

The man who was shot was taken to Fletcher Allen with injuries.

Police continue to process the crime scene for evidence.

Sprano said officers took Perkins to the station for questioning.

"Lucien would never ever hurt anybody on purpose," said Sprano. "He did it in self defense."

There's no word yet on what caused the shooting.

Police plan to fully investigate the case before filing charges against anyone.

http://www.thechamplainchannel.com/news/4801744/detail.html

 

[El Tejon]

I've heard of counterattacking a recently taken postition. Is this now a SWAT tactic?

 

[MechAg94]

I am not sure I understand the police response. It almost sounds like the girl and boyfriend didn't call police and tell them what happened so they just responded to a "shots fired" call from a neighbor or something. Of course, that is just guessing on my part.

 

[JohnBT]

"Lucien kept saying 'Get out of my house' repeatedly"

Lucien is identified as her ex-boyfriend. Whose house is it?
A standoff? Why? What was Lucien doing, flushing his stash or smoking it?

John

 

[Yowza]

Danielle Sprano watched said she and her ex-boyfriend, Lucien Perkins, sat inside his apartment when a man he knew barged in with a knife.

I realize they're trying to get the story out quickly, but can't they at least proofread once?

There's no word yet on what caused the shooting.

What does this mean? No official word? I mean, didn't they just give an eyewitness account of what caused the shooting? Reporting seems to be a lost art.

Rick

 

[mete]

It is confusing . "shot he man in the leg" "warning shot " ?? Shooting in the leg is a poor tactic. If the bullet severs the femural artery he dies very quickly !! A man attacking with a knife is justification for lethal force.

 

[LiquidTension]

This could be an interesting story if someone with an ounce of education writes it up. As it is, there's no telling what happened. C'mon, my high school newspaper was better written than this piece.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

Another story:

Burlington police scour neighborhood after shotgun shooting

Published: Wednesday, August 3, 2005

By Adam Silverman
Free Press Staff Writer

A shooting in a Burlington apartment left one man injured and a neighborhood cordoned off as more than a dozen heavily armed police officers swept houses and yards for two hours Tuesday afternoon.

The incident happened at about 12:30 p.m. during an altercation in an apartment at 32 Grove St., Burlington Police Chief Thomas Tremblay said.

Witnesses said the apartment's tenant, Lucien Benway, fired in self-defense at a knife-wielding intruder, the shot hitting the man in the leg. Police did not confirm that account Tuesday night but planned to release more details today.

Benway was charged with reckless endangerment and aggravated assault. Officers withheld the name of the shooting victim but described the men as acquaintances.

The man who was shot suffered a "non-life-threatening injury" and was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington for treatment, Tremblay said.

Danielle Sprano, 19, of Burlington said she was in Benway's second-floor apartment when the shooting occurred. His was one of four apartments in a house about one block from Colchester Avenue, near the Winooski River.

Sprano said she heard an argument in the hall and then saw Benway and a man she didn't recognize enter the dwelling. The man had a switchblade, Sprano said. Benway yelled at the man to leave, opened a closet, took out a 12-gauge shotgun, fired a warning shot and finally shot the man in the leg, Sprano said.

"I was terrified," Sprano recalled two hours after the shooting.

Police closed nearby streets, and tactical officers carried large, black rifles and shotguns as they searched the apartment house, adjacent buildings and elsewhere in the neighborhood. A few houses away, contractor Dick Morrill was working on a house-painting project.

"They all came flying in. They were all around here with guns drawn," Morrill said. "We ducked. I was hiding in front of that van."

Officers cordoned off Barrett, Chase and Grove streets until 3 p.m., when the tactical units were certain the neighborhood was safe. The scene then was turned over to Burlington detectives. Investigators recovered the weapon they suspect was used in the shooting and applied for search warrants to further their inquiry, police said.

Sprano said Benway was taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Police asked that anyone with information about the incident call the department at 658-2704 or Champlain Valley Crime Stoppers at 864-6666.
Contact Adam Silverman at 660-1854 or [email protected]

I wonder what we are not hearing. If this was indeed straight-up self defense, why would the shooter be charged?

 

[Drizzt]

warning shot = next one is COM

 

[griz]

I wondered who called the police? Sounds like more of a responce than you would get when the neighbor tells 911 "I think I heard a shot". To say the least the details are too fuzzy to know what happened.

 

[Daniel T]

Investigators recovered the weapon they suspect was used in the shooting and applied for search warrants to further their inquiry, police said.

What on earth for? I wonder if the shooter is an ex-con.

 

[Jim K]

I don't know any facts in the case except what has been posted here, but this should be required reading for those who really are silly enough to think that you can shoot someone, just say it was self defense, and get congratulated by the mayor.

Any shooting, even in one's own home, or in a home where one is legally present, is going to be investigated. Even when the shooter believes the shooting was legal and necessary, and has witnesses to that effect, the police are going to treat the incident as a possible crime and act accordingly.

Jim

 

[JohnBT]

Okay, now I see. She was visiting her ex-boyfriend's place.

So was the conflict over love, money or drugs? Maybe all three?

And a shotgun, too. I wonder if it was tactical warning shot he fired?

John

 

[Buck Snort]

A "tactical" warning shot? OMIGOD! :banghead:

 

[Sportcat]

There's no word yet on what caused the shooting.

Uh, the guy charged him with a knife? :banghead:

 

[Standing Wolf]

I guess he shot up a warning shot first, I mean, the kid was coming after him with a switchblade -- what do you expect?

In my neighborhood, a "warning shot" is two to the center of mass, one to the head.

 

[NineseveN]

Roger that Standing Wolf.

 

[LawDog]

In the first story, the name of the shooter is given as Lucien Perkins. In the second news story, it has changed to Lucien Benway.

In the first story, the witness states that she was inside the apartment with the shooter, quote:

Danielle Sprano watched said [highlight]she and her ex-boyfriend, Lucien Perkins, sat inside his apartment[/highlight] when a man he knew barged in with a knife.

In the second story, the witness states that the shooter and the shootee entered the apartment together, quote:

Sprano said she heard an argument in the hall and then saw [highlight]Benway and a man[/highlight] she didn't recognize [highlight]enter the dwelling.[/highlight]

Now, I may sound a bit nit-picky, but when a witness to an incident can't keep the major details of the story straight, I tend to get a wee bit suspicious.

The minor details, okay, people are going to forget and get wrong, it's human nature.

Yoru ex-boyfriend sitting with you and the shootee barging into the apartment versus arguing out in the hall and then entering with the shootee is too important a detail to forget.

LawDog

 

[Andrew Rothman]

Well, either the witless or the press got it wrong.

It's an even bet, if you ask me.

 

[David N]

No Offensive Weapon Found (Yet)

I live in Vermont and am following this story on the local news.

The shooter has been charged with "Reckless Endangerment", presumably because his first shot-from a shotgun but I don't know what load-went through the floor and into the apt. below him.

He has also been charged with "Aggravated Assault" for shooting the shootee in the leg. "AA" is the term used in VT for assault with a weapon.

The shooter claimed he fired in self defense after being threatened by the shootee with a knife. However, no knife was recovered from the scene, hence the charges.

Apparently the shootee is also in jail on possession of a "large amount" of Oxycontin. A Burlington (VT) Police Detective interviewed at the scene said both men were "vague" about how they knew each other. Draw your own conclusions.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Dead]

This is the part that gets me.. Guess the "weapons" are the real danger, never mind the people USING the "weapons"...

"The standoff that followed shut down several streets in the neighborhood while more than a dozen officers surrounded the building to search for weapons or shooters inside."

 

[chris in va]

I'm confused about this 'standoff' reference. Did Lucien hold the SWAT team at bay or something?