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Three bullets failed to stop home intruder, records say
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
9/16/2003 11:26 pm
Like a scene in a horror movie, three bullets from Charles
Cryderman's .357 magnum revolver didn't stop the intruder who broke into
his Douglas County home Aug. 2, according to reports released Tuesday.
So Cryderman, 51, grabbed a shotgun out of his bedroom and, lacking
shells for it, clubbed Walter Francis Hetrick, 40, over the head and
upper torso hard enough to break the gun, Douglas County SheriffÃs Office
reports said.
After the shotgun came apart, Cryderman 'said he continued striking
Hetrick with the butt of the shotgun as Hetrick crawled down the hallway
towards the childrenÃs bedroom,' one report said.
Cryderman could see Hetrick was 'running out of gas,' the report
said, and Cryderman pleaded with Hetrick to ìstay thereî and stop
crawling down the hallway.
Moments later, sheriff's deputies swarmed the home, handcuffing a
bloody Hetrick and ending the trauma to Cryderman. His wife and their two
children were hiding in a bathroom.
Hetrick later died in a hospital.
Recounting the incident later for investigators, Cryderman said it
was like the movie "Friday the 13th" or "like Jack Nicholson in 'The
Shining,'" a report said.
Prosecutors said Aug. 29 they wouldnÃt file criminal charges against
Cryderman for the death of Hetrick, who spent most of the last 20 years
in California psychiatric hospitals for the 1984 murder of a friend.
District Attorney Scott Doyle returned from vacation last week. The
investigative reports were not released until Tuesday, after Doyle had
reviewed the decision not to prosecute and also decided not to hold a
coroner's inquest, sheriff's Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said.
Cryderman declined to comment Tuesday on the contents of the
reports, which recount in detail what happened at the Log Cabin Road home.
Cryderman was watching television when Hetrick, whom he had never
met, showed up at his door and asked, 'Is Stacy here?' the reports said.
Cryderman told him he had the wrong house.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Hetrick became angry, starting talking about
rape and began pounding on the door, the reports said.
As Cryderman got his Smith & Wesson revolver from a bedroom, the
noise at the front door stopped. Cryderman thought Hetrick might have
left, the reports said.
Then Hetrick began banging on a side door, saw Cryderman was armed
and yelled, 'Put the gun down,' the reports said.
Hetrick threw a brick against the door and kicked it open. Cryderman
fired, and the door slammed shut. Hetrick kicked the door open twice
more, and Cryderman fired one shot both times, the reports said.
Hetrick 'finally lunged into the residence,' the reports said, and
Cryderman fired twice more, using up the five rounds in the six-shot
revolver.
Cryderman, who had loaded the gun with Federal brand ammunition
called Hydra-Shok, told investigators he kept one cylinder in the
revolver empty and put the revolver hammer on that empty cylinder during
storage.
Three of Cryderman's five shots hit Hetrick: in the upper torso, the
thigh and in the foot. The shot to the thigh ultimately proved fatal,
severing Hetrick's femoral artery.
But Hetrick still kept moving through the home, so Cryderman got his
unloaded shotgun with over-and-under barrels. He had no ammunition, so
with the gun still in the case he began beating Hetrick with it, the
report said.
Hetrick grabbed the shotgun at one point and the two struggled over
it, but Cryderman got it back and continued beating him, even after the
case came open and the shotgun game apart, the reports said.
Two days after the break-in, investigators talked to Hetrick's
mother and aunt in Antioch, Calif.
HetrickÃs relatives showed investigators seven bottles of
prescription medication Hetrick had stopped taking and his mother, Linda
Minor, described him as a danger to himself and others when he stopped
taking medication, the reports said.
Copyright © 2002 The Reno Gazette-Journal
Three bullets failed to stop home intruder, records say
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
9/16/2003 11:26 pm
Like a scene in a horror movie, three bullets from Charles
Cryderman's .357 magnum revolver didn't stop the intruder who broke into
his Douglas County home Aug. 2, according to reports released Tuesday.
So Cryderman, 51, grabbed a shotgun out of his bedroom and, lacking
shells for it, clubbed Walter Francis Hetrick, 40, over the head and
upper torso hard enough to break the gun, Douglas County SheriffÃs Office
reports said.
After the shotgun came apart, Cryderman 'said he continued striking
Hetrick with the butt of the shotgun as Hetrick crawled down the hallway
towards the childrenÃs bedroom,' one report said.
Cryderman could see Hetrick was 'running out of gas,' the report
said, and Cryderman pleaded with Hetrick to ìstay thereî and stop
crawling down the hallway.
Moments later, sheriff's deputies swarmed the home, handcuffing a
bloody Hetrick and ending the trauma to Cryderman. His wife and their two
children were hiding in a bathroom.
Hetrick later died in a hospital.
Recounting the incident later for investigators, Cryderman said it
was like the movie "Friday the 13th" or "like Jack Nicholson in 'The
Shining,'" a report said.
Prosecutors said Aug. 29 they wouldnÃt file criminal charges against
Cryderman for the death of Hetrick, who spent most of the last 20 years
in California psychiatric hospitals for the 1984 murder of a friend.
District Attorney Scott Doyle returned from vacation last week. The
investigative reports were not released until Tuesday, after Doyle had
reviewed the decision not to prosecute and also decided not to hold a
coroner's inquest, sheriff's Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said.
Cryderman declined to comment Tuesday on the contents of the
reports, which recount in detail what happened at the Log Cabin Road home.
Cryderman was watching television when Hetrick, whom he had never
met, showed up at his door and asked, 'Is Stacy here?' the reports said.
Cryderman told him he had the wrong house.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Hetrick became angry, starting talking about
rape and began pounding on the door, the reports said.
As Cryderman got his Smith & Wesson revolver from a bedroom, the
noise at the front door stopped. Cryderman thought Hetrick might have
left, the reports said.
Then Hetrick began banging on a side door, saw Cryderman was armed
and yelled, 'Put the gun down,' the reports said.
Hetrick threw a brick against the door and kicked it open. Cryderman
fired, and the door slammed shut. Hetrick kicked the door open twice
more, and Cryderman fired one shot both times, the reports said.
Hetrick 'finally lunged into the residence,' the reports said, and
Cryderman fired twice more, using up the five rounds in the six-shot
revolver.
Cryderman, who had loaded the gun with Federal brand ammunition
called Hydra-Shok, told investigators he kept one cylinder in the
revolver empty and put the revolver hammer on that empty cylinder during
storage.
Three of Cryderman's five shots hit Hetrick: in the upper torso, the
thigh and in the foot. The shot to the thigh ultimately proved fatal,
severing Hetrick's femoral artery.
But Hetrick still kept moving through the home, so Cryderman got his
unloaded shotgun with over-and-under barrels. He had no ammunition, so
with the gun still in the case he began beating Hetrick with it, the
report said.
Hetrick grabbed the shotgun at one point and the two struggled over
it, but Cryderman got it back and continued beating him, even after the
case came open and the shotgun game apart, the reports said.
Two days after the break-in, investigators talked to Hetrick's
mother and aunt in Antioch, Calif.
HetrickÃs relatives showed investigators seven bottles of
prescription medication Hetrick had stopped taking and his mother, Linda
Minor, described him as a danger to himself and others when he stopped
taking medication, the reports said.
Copyright © 2002 The Reno Gazette-Journal
