Headline: Paraplegic man kills intruder during Johnstown home break-in

The Newark Advocate is reporting that a paraplegic man is alive today thanks to the .357 revolver he keeps near his bed.

From the article:

John Mutter was asleep in his bed on Sunset Drive when an intruder poked him in the head with a shotgun.

Mutter, a paraplegic who keeps a gun nearby for protection, fatally shot the intruder, early Sunday, Licking County Coroner's investigator George Ridgeway said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Ridgeway said.

It appears that he was looking for medication or money, Ridgeway said. Johnstown police are investigating whether someone else was involved in planning the burglary, Licking County Prosecutor Ken Oswalt said.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, police identified Johnstown native Brian Dyer, 27, as the man found dead on the floor of Mutter's home when they arrived shortly after 2:15 a.m. Sunday.

Johnstown Police Chief Don Corbin said that the shooting appears to be a justified response to a home-invasion robbery.

Corbin said he does not believe charges against Mutter, 33, are warranted, but the case will be presented to the Licking County prosecutor’s office for review.

The intruder entered the house through an unlocked door and had found one of Mutter’s guns before he awoke the man, the police chief said.

The man told Mutter, "I have some of your property," and wanted to know where other guns could be found, Corbin said. At least two gunshots fired by Mutter struck Dyer in the upper body, he said.

Mutter was composed when he called 911 shortly after the shooting, a recording of the call shows. "Somebody broke in my house and had a gun to me and I shot at him," Mutter tells a dispatcher. "I woke up and they had a gun to me."

The investigation continues, with police believing that Dyer may have been familiar with Mutter's home and the fact he owned several guns, Corbin said.

According to the article, Mutter lost the use of his legs after a car crash about a year ago, neighbors said last night. Since then, he has been living at home and trying to regain his mobility.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter an occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense, and will not be second-guessed by the State.