Youngstown homeowner defends self from attempted home invasion

by Chad D. Baus

The Youngstown Vindicator reported recently that police believe a man was reacting to a burglary in progress when he fired one shot through his front door, killing Terry D. Allen, 36, of Morris Street in Mineral Ridge.

From the article:

The man who fired the shot, who is not being identified, told police he saw two people outside the house and heard several voices before firing at 12:30 a.m. The home is just south of Youngstown Road near the Royal Mall apartments.

Det. Jim Robbins of the Niles Police Department said police found that the side door to the residence had been broken open, and they found evidence that someone had started to break into the front door.

Police found Allen dead of a single gunshot wound to the torso just outside the front door, Robbins said, adding that the investigation is still in the early stages and will continue today.

"We believe it was a burglary in progress, but we're not locked into that," Robbins said.

...The autopsy report from Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Trumbull County coroner, will help determine whether the shooter was justified in his actions, but the damage [to the doors] at the house is "consistent to what the renter said," Robbins said late Friday afternoon.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, which took effect in 2008, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter the owner's occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.