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Saturday, March 23, 2013 12:36 AM Woman shoots home intruder 2 teens charged in break-in, 1 recovering from gunshot wounds By Corey Friedman Times Online Editor A Wilson County woman shot and wounded an intruder when he found her hiding in a bedroom closet Friday morning, sheriff’s deputies said. Two Rocky Mount teenagers are accused of breaking into the home on Tonya Road north of Elm City. Deputies said the woman shot one of the teens when he discovered her in the closet, and the other ran from the home. "Things can be replaced, but my wife can’t,” said Chris Griffin, the woman’s husband. "If she hadn’t had her pistol, she might have been raped, dead, who knows? It might have been a funeral.” Griffin’s wife shot 18-year-old Christopher Devonte Joseph of 522 Western Ave., according to Wanda Samuel, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office chief of staff. Deputies found him about 300 feet away from the home and caught the second suspect, 16-year-old Michael Daquarius Bynum of 1618 Branch St., on a nearby road. Griffin said his wife was home with the flu when she heard a knock on the side door shortly after 10:30 a.m. She looked outside and didn’t see anyone, but noticed a car in the driveway. Moments later, she heard a knock at the front door, Griffin said. She looked out the window and saw two young men walking around to the side door. "She heard them trying to kick the door down,” Griffin said. "She ran into the bedroom closet with her pistol and was on the phone with 911 telling them that someone was breaking into her house.” Griffin said the men searched the house for valuables, and one began to open the door to the closet where his wife was hiding. "They came into the house, started ransacking the bedroom, the drawers,” he said. "Then they busted open the closet on her and she opened fire.” Griffin said she shot Joseph twice with her .38-caliber pistol. Deputies found him near the home and paramedics took him to Wilson Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition Friday afternoon. Bynum ran into the woods south of the home and deputies captured him on an adjacent road. A sheriff’s K-9 found evidence in the woods linking Bynum to the break-in, Samuel said. Griffin’s wife will not face charges in the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office. North Carolina law allows residents to use deadly force to defend themselves or others when they believe they’re in danger of death or serious injury. The gun "kept her alive and safe,” Griffin said. A former Wilson County Sheriff’s Office jailer, Griffin said 911 dispatchers called him at his welding job and told him there had been a break-in at his home. "I was worried about her,” Griffin said. "She was hysterical.” Griffin didn’t want to give his wife’s name out of concern for her safety. A Wilson County native, he grew up on nearby Homestead Road outside Elm City and said he and his wife had lived on Tonya Road since 1997. Their home had never been burglarized, Griffin said, but they had guns and knew how to defend themselves. "It crosses your mind from time to time,” he said. "You have to keep a watchful eye.” Griffin said the shooting should provide the two young men charged with breaking into his home with a lifelong lesson. "I hope it straightens both of them out,” he said. "Because the next time, he might not be as lucky as he is this time.” Griffin believes the teens chose his home at random, perhaps assuming no one was home because his wife’s car was in the garage. "You know what I wish?” he said. "I wish everyone in the world would quit being stupid and get along. That’s what I wish. Stop being criminals. Stop being idiots.” Deputies are charging Joseph and Bynum with one count each of felony breaking and entering and possession of marijuana. Samuel said deputies found electronics and household items in the teens’ car, and they could face additional charges if those items have been reported stolen. Joseph has a pending charge of disorderly conduct in Edgecombe County, court records show. Bynum was booked into the Wilson County Detention Center under a $25,000 secured bond. Joseph was still in the hospital Friday and his bond information was unavailable. corey@wilsontimes.com | 265-7821 |
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Good Job said...
OUTSTANDING!! Way to go homeowner. It is about time someone stands up to thugs. A bullet will make more of an impression that a $500 bond. Hope it makes criminals think twice now.
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 9:50 AM
OUTSTANDING!! Way to go homeowner. It is about time someone stands up to thugs. A bullet will make more of an impression that a $500 bond. Hope it makes criminals think twice now.
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 9:50 AM
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