If Only They Had A Gun

Police are investigating a home invasion and double shooting that has left one man dead and a woman with serious injuries. Police say a man entered the home armed with a handgun and began firing shots. After shooting his victims, the suspect escaped on foot. More information here.

A 39-year-old man was shot by one of of the three robbers who forced their way into his home on South Marshall Street in Hartford, CT, as he was returning home, police reportedly said.  The criminals then proceeded to ransack the man’s home. One of the home invaders was disappointed by the man’ belongings, and shot him. More information here.

Four men are in police custody after the shooting of a man during a home invasion Thursday night in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Two armed men entered a home in the 4300 block of West 100th Street at 8:40 p.m. Thursday, realized they were in the wrong home and forced their way into a neighboring home, Oak Lawn Police Chief Bill Villanova reportedly said. They argued with and eventually shot a 38-year-old man in the head, Villanova reportedly said. More information here.

A man who tortured and strangled his girlfriend three years ago was reportedly sentenced Friday to life in prison without possibility of parol. Prosecutors reportedly said that Jack Henry Lewis, Jr used his hands, feet and a flashlight to beat Jan Hasegawa, 48, then strangled her because she refused to perform a sex act. Her nude body, covered with more than 150 bruises, was found in their Serra Mesa apartment on Sept. 8, 2005. “This was not only a senseless killing, it was a brutal and horrible act,” Superior Court Judge John Einhorn is reported to have said in court. More information here.

Kenneth Shaffer, 53, of the 1300 block of West 115th Street was reportedly charged Friday morning with home invasion and aggravated battery, according to police News Affairs Officer Daniel O’Brien. Shaffer is a convicted felon with a “lengthy” arrest record, according to O’Brien. Shaffer allegedly broke in, despite burglar bars, and attacked a woman was in her bedroom.  More information here.

A Little Rock, AK TV anchorwoman was beaten in her home and left in critical condition. More information here.

Police in Michigan reportedly said that a man used an 8-inch knife to attack the 44-year-old woman, who had a protection order barring him from contacting her, as her young children watched. More information here.

Two masked gunmen reportedly invaded a house and shot three people in Fort Myers, FL. The two criminals entered the home and demanded money from the residents, police say. Louis Roland, Jeane Louiseau and Genet Desta were reportedly shot during the robbery, according to police. More information here.

At least four people invaded a home in Redwood Village and raped a woman late Friday, resulting in a SWAT team standoff. More information here.

Troy, New York police have reportedly arrested a man in connection with a rape on a bike path that took place over the summer. Stephen Pluff, 24, is reportedly facing several felony charges including rape and unlawful imprisonment. Police say a woman was riding her bike when a man riding in the opposite direction reached his arm out and knocked her down from her bike, raped her, then fled on his bike. More information here.

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 6-year-old Las Vegas boy kidnapped this morning during a home invasion and robbery, Las Vegas Police reportedly said. The child, Cole Puffinburger, was kidnapped at gunpoint shortly after 7 a.m The crime appears to be random, police said, adding that the mother didn’t know the men. More information here.

A woman and her daughter were injured when they landed face first after jumping from a second floor window to escape an armed, masked, duct tape carrying home invader on Chicago’s south side. They jumped to escape the home invader, who they believed was going to kill them. More information here.

Christine Paolilla, 22, was reportedly convicted in the deaths of her friends, Rachael Koloroutis and Tiffany Rowell, both 18; and in the killings of Rowell’s boyfriend, Marcus Precella, 19; and his cousin, Adelbert Sanchez, 21. Prosecution witnesses have said the killings appeared to have been drug-related. More information here.

A Newton, North Carolina man was reportedly arrested and charged with robbing two convenience stores and raping an employee. Ronald Wayne Locklear, 26, of 115 Shady Lane was arrested by Fayetteville, NC Police after crashing in a police chase. More information here.

Police say that intruders smashed through sliding glass doors to get into a home, intending to assault someone they believed might be in the house. That person was not home, but police say the intruders smashed property, broke into a locked bedroom, and terrorized a resident before stealing property and fleeing. More information here.

Georgia police reportedly arrested Eric Foster on Saturday morning and charged him with two sexual assaults that allegedly occurred on Oct. 2 and again on Oct. 8. Police reportedly said he was later transferred to the Fulton County, GA jail, where he is charged with rape, kidnapping, and criminal attempt to commit aggravated sodomy. More information here.

A criminal with a handgun reportedly forced his way into a woman’s Lake Avenue home in Dade City, FL early on April 21. He then reportedly made the woman perform a sexual act on him while he held the gun to her head, Dade City police said. Afterwards, he reportedly robbed the woman. Last month, police said, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab matched DNA from the scene to a man by the name of Mandarin Heshami Colbert, 30, whose last known address was 38344 Hampton Ave., Dade City, FL. Police reportedly arrested him on Wednesday when he arrived for a scheduled appointment with the Parole and Probation office. He is reportedly charged with home invasion robbery and sexual battery with a deadly weapon, and was held on $200,000 bail.  More information here.

A Nantucket woman was sexually assaulted in the early morning when a man entered her home. This is the second such home invasion and sexual assault in a little over three months in the mid-island area. More information here.

Police in Swansea, MA are searching for a criminal that forced his way into a home, and slashed a woman’s throat with a knife after she tried to call 9-1-1.  More information here.

Atlanta, GA police said three intruders forced their way into the home at night. Devontae Alexander Jones, a junior at Carver High School, tried to hide inside a bedroom, but was fatally shot in the head. The criminals also shot and killed the family’s dog. More information here.