Pregnant Mom with 2 kids shoots Home Intruder dead

[Quarterbore]

http://www.wral.com/news/8001292/detail.html

Cumberland Co. Mother Shoots Home Intruder, Authorities Say

POSTED: 5:13 pm EST March 14, 2006
UPDATED: 10:08 am EST March 15, 2006

EUREKA SPRINGS, N.C. -- An armed intruder confronted with a pregnant Cumberland County mother Tuesday afternoon, allegedly trying to rob her home. The incident ended in a shootout that left the invader dead.

Detectives say 23-year-old Crystal Strickland -- 9 months pregnant and mother of two small children -- acted in self defense

"He broke into the apartment, she ran into the back bedroom where there were some children in the apartment to defend them, and when he entered into the bedroom area, shots were fired,” said Debbie Tanna with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.

Strickland told authorities she did not know the armed man. Her two young girls were taking a nap when the violent encounter happened. The 3-year-old said she wasn't scared.

"I didn't get hurt," she said.

Residents in the area said they have noticed a pattern of break-ins -- five in the last month, and most occurring in broad daylight.

"My house got robbed, the side door got kicked in,” said neighbor Shawn Kilbourne. “They took some small things, including a pistol."

Kilbourne suspects the recent break-ins are related. He said if an armed man busted through his family's door, he would do the same thing his neighbor did.

Investigators are still trying to determine the identity of the home intruder. Detectives say that the case is still under investigation and that when it is complete it will be turned over the district attorney who decide whether to file charges.

Reporter: Jason Stoogenke and Paul LaGrone
Photographer: Michael Joyner and Bobbie Eng
Web Editor: Kelly Gardner and Dana Franks

[Quarterbore]

http://www.wral.com/news/8023689/detail.html

Man Killed While Allegedly Breaking Into Home Identified

POSTED: 9:57 am EST March 15, 2006
UPDATED: 10:09 am EST March 15, 2006

EUREKA SPRINGS, N.C. -- Authorities released the identity of a man who they say was shot while breaking into the house of a pregnant mother near Fayetteville Tuesday.

Louis Deon McMillian of 822 Whitfield Street, Fayetteville, died after police said he tried to force his way into the home of Crystal Strickland, 23, in Eureka Springs.

Strickland told investigators she was watching television in the living room of her home when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen.

Strickland saw a shadow of a man and went to get her gun for protection.

The suspect then went to the front of the home and kicked in the door. McMillian pointed a gun at Strickland and shots were exchanged.

Strickland, who is 9 months pregnant and mother of two small children, told authorities she did not know the armed man. Her two young girls were taking a nap when the violent encounter happened.

Detectives say that the case is still under investigation and that when it is complete it will be turned over the district attorney who decide whether to file charges against Strickland.

[Quarterbore]

Here is a video clip:

http://www.wral.com/video/8020919/detail.html

[Quarterbore]

One more link...

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=228604

Woman kills intruder

By Melissa Willett
Staff writer

A woman who is nine months’ pregnant shot and killed a man who broke into her home in the Eureka Springs neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.

Two children were in the home at the time of the shooting, which happened about 2:15 p.m. at 6098 Charles Ave.

The woman, Crystal Strickland, was lying on her couch when she heard the mini-blinds at her kitchen door rustle, said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Strickland got up to investigate and saw a man trying to get in.

The man ran around the corner of the brick duplex to the front door and peered in through the glass slats. He began trying to kick the door in.

“She told him she had a gun, and he said he had one, too,” Tanna said.

Strickland, 23, ran down the hall and into a bedroom, Tanna said.

“They exchanged gunfire,” Tanna said.

The man was shot at least once in the chest. Strickland was not hurt, Tanna said.

The man was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. On the way to the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest. He underwent surgery at the hospital but died about 4:30 p.m., before he could tell investigators his name. The man was not carrying identification, Tanna said.

Investigators plan to check the man’s fingerprints today.

On Tuesday afternoon, deputies for the Sheriff’s Office cordoned off the scene with yellow tape. A barefoot Strickland wore a white tank top and blue pajama bottoms as she talked to detectives outside the building.

Her boyfriend, who did not want to talk to reporters, watched from a sport utility vehicle parked across the street. Two children were with him in the SUV.

Shawn Kilbourn, a neighbor, wasn’t surprised by the shooting.

“I lived in D.C. and I heard gunshots all the time,” Kilbourn said. “This is right there with it.”

He pointed out five duplexes that had been broken into during the past year and said drive-by shootings happen frequently in the neighborhood.

He said his home was broken into in the past six months, but his wife and 2-year-old daughter were not there at the time.

“There was a loaded pistol in the house that he took. Who knows what would have happened if they would have been home at the time,” Kilbourn said.

“You have to protect yourself.”

Staff writer Melissa Willett can be reached at willettm@fayettevillenc.com or at 486-3574.