Grandma defends home and other self-defense stories
by Robert A. Waters
For many years, I've been fascinated by true stories of innocent people who successfully defended themselves against violent attack. In many of these cases, victims used guns to fend off murderous thugs. Check out my website for information about my books, two of which describe in detail stories of intended victims who defended themselves with guns. Below are brief summaries of a few recent cases.
A couple of weeks ago, Ethel Jones, 69, gained Internet acclaim by shooting a burglar inside her Decatur, Alabama home. According to news reports, Michael Bynum was already on probation for burglary when he tore the air conditioner out of a window and entered Jones’ house. It was 3:00 a.m. as the intruder made the rounds of each room shining a pen-light. Jones, awakened by the commotion, pulled a .38-caliber revolver from beneath her pillow and opened fire. Bynum ended up in the local hospital with a bullet in his belly. “I hope this will make people have second thoughts before they break into a home in our neighborhood,” Jones said.
In my hometown of Ocala, Florida, a drug-crazed woman allegedly broke into the home of an elderly resident. Alicia Kwasny, a stranger to the homeowner, ran through the house screaming that snakes were chasing her. After the frightened resident fired a warning shot with a .25-caliber pistol, Kwasny ducked into a bathroom where she refused to come out. An article in the Ocala Star Banner reported that she was bruised and bleeding and clad only in her underwear. She later told police that she’d been smoking crack cocaine and had taken a Roxy pill. Kwasny stated that when she uses that combination of drugs, snakes always chase her. When she comes down off her high, she might consider herself lucky the resident used restraint and didn’t shoot her.
A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania man was violently attacked by two alleged robbers while delivering Chinese food to a home in a dilapidated neighborhood. Newspapers reported that after demanding money, the assailants punched the driver in the face and hit him over the head with a bottle. The deliveryman then pulled out a handgun and shot one of his attackers. The robbers ran away, but soon a 16-year-old was transported to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Investigators determined that the wounded teenager was one of the robbers. After being treated, he was summarily arrested. Police stated that the deliveryman acted in self-defense--he was not charged with any crime.
In Pulteney, New York, Stephen Boychecko confronted a daylight burglar. A police report states that Michael Peterson broke into Boychecko’s home at about 7:10 p.m. (Peterson was already on probation for another break-in, and was suspected of being a serial burglar.) The elderly homeowner and his wife were napping in their bedroom when Boychecko heard the glass breaking from a nearby bathroom window. The resident grabbed a handgun and shot Peterson twice. The burglar was hospitalized. According to investigators, he will be jailed as soon as he recovers. Police stated that the homeowner will not be charged.
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