Ohio man stops violent offender; charged with crime

Van Wert Independant
October 15, 2003
Man shot at Restwell said improving

The condition of a man shot early Tuesday morning after he allegedly beat up
a former girlfriend at the Restwell Apartments has been upgraded, according
to a Van Wert County Sheriff's Department spokesperson. Robert L. King, 25,
of Convoy is now listed in serious condition after surgery Tuesday at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., for a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

King was shot after confronting a man at the Restwell Apartments sometime after 3 Tuesday morning. According to Van Wert County Sheriff Stan Owens, King apparently kicked a door leading to Apartment No. 4 and, after the door was opened, severely assaulted Amy Dunlap, 19, who lived there. Detective Paul Swander, who is handling the case, said Dunlap and King had dated in
the past, but that relationship had ended. Dunlap was taken to Van Wert County Hospital by Brickner's Ambulance Service, where she was treated and released on Tuesday.

In the meantime, hearing the disturbance in Apartment 4, Richard A. Rable, 49, of Apartment 1, Restwell Apartments, reportedly confronted King with a .40-caliber handgun. Rable first fired a warning shot
into the air, before shooting King in the stomach area when King confronted
him. After he was shot, King was able to leave the apartment complex and
walk across Lincoln Highway to Brookside Convenience Store. A Van Wert Fire
Department EMS squad was dispatched there to transport him to Van Wert
County Hospital, and he was later life-flighted to Parkview.

After conferring with County Prosecutor Charles F. Kennedy III, deputies charged
Rable with one count of felonious assault. "We felt this was an appropriate
charge for the circumstances, as we know them today," Sheriff Owens said.
Rable appeared in Van Wert Municipal Court on the charge and a preliminary
hearing was set for October 24. Charges are also pending against King for
assaulting Dunlap.

Click here to read a shorter version of these events in the Toledo Blade.

Click here to visit the website of the Van Wert County prosecutor.