Neighbor voyeur meets armed homeowner

The Sandusky Register is reporting that a man shot while trying to gain unlawful entry into a home was found to have more than 50 mobile phone videos of neighbors, including minor children, at least some of whom were in various stages of undress. The videos appeared to have been taken without the subjects' knowledge.

From the article:

A resident, Jill Michaloski, told a [911] dispatcher that someone was trying to break into her house. She said that her husband, Christopher Michaloski, 41, had fired a gun in response.

“We were trying to crawl into bed,” she told the dispatcher. “I heard someone try to open my patio door and get into my bedroom.”

Christopher Michaloski then got on the line to clarify the situation, according to a recording of the 911 call. After identifying himself as a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent, he calmly explained what happened after he noticed the individual at his door.

“I went outside,” he said, “I said, ‘Hey, stop.’ (He) came at me, rushed at me. I had a pistol on me. I shot at him.”

Oliver said Michaloski fired six times.

According to the article, the suspect, 45 year-old David K. Schindley, escaped the scene, but was later arrested after his wife called 911 to request medical attention for her husband, who had been shot.

David Schindley spoke to the dispatcher as well, according to a 911 recording.

“I was walking around the neighborhood. And it’s my fault,” he explained. “The neighbors shot at me. They hit me in the leg with a gun.”

Schindley suffered a gunshot wound to the left thigh, Oliver said.

...

The sheriff’s office executed a search warrant at the Schindley's residence around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Oliver said. There they recovered the clothing he was believed to have been wearing during the shooting and the cellphone on which deputies found the videos on Monday. A later search warrant allowed authorities to seize all computer-related equipment.

According to Erie County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jared Oliver, the recovered videos were seemingly shot with the cellphone held closely to outdoor windows and peering into bedrooms, bathrooms and other living spaces. Many of the videos seem to have been taken through closed blinds.

An approximately 10-second video outside a home on the 500 block of Bald Eagle Drive seems to correspond to the moments before the homeowner, Christopher Michaloski, shot Schindley. Michaloski told deputies he believed Schindley, whom he did not appear to recognize at the time, was attempting to break into his home.

According to the article, Schindley is being held without bond on charges of attempted aggravated burglary, a second-degree felony, and voyeurism, a third-degree misdemeanor. Additional charges are expected once they identify the recorded children, and this could include a felony charge of pandering obscenity involving a minor.

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.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.