Another area crime victim fights back

By Ed Runyan

No charges were filed against the man who shot the suspect.

WARREN — A 68-year-old city man fired his pistol once at a 49-year-old man who had broken into his sister’s house on Wallace Street Southeast and demanded money while holding a 12-inch knife.

The shot missed, and the intruder fled Wednesday.

Less than two hours later, the same man broke in again, Warren police said.

This time, Kurfward Hutton’s aim was true. The intruder fled a second time, this time with serious injuries.

The suspect made it to a home on Wick Street Southeast not far away and went by ambulance to Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

But police said Hutton won’t be charged.

Jeff Hoolihan, a Warren police detective, said the man taken to the hospital is the same one the homeowner accused of the break-ins. The homeowner, Hutton’s sister, knew the intruder by name, police said.

Hoolihan said the suspect will be taken into police custody when he is released from the hospital. He faces possible charges of aggravated burglary and burglary, both felonies.

Lt. Gary Vingle of the Warren Police Department said the suspect, who lives at Hayes Avenue Southwest, was in serious but stable condition late Friday.

A Warren police report says the first break-in occurred at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, when the intruder broke the rear-door window of the house while Hutton and his sister were inside the living room.

The intruder demanded $100, and Hutton fired the gun at the intruder and missed, causing the intruder to flee on foot.

Hutton said he was staying with his sister because she is legally blind and has other medical problems.

At 10:30 p.m. — after police had left — the same intruder returned, Vingle said.

He returned through the same rear door, pushed his way in, leading to a verbal altercation between the two men, Vingle said.

No mention is made in police reports of the intruder’s having a weapon during the second break-in, Vingle said.

At some point during the argument, Hutton fired the gun again, this time hitting the intruder, Vingle said.

Hutton isn’t facing any charges, the police official said.

Dennis Watkins, county prosecutor, said he doesn’t know the facts of the Wallace Street incident, but said there is a new law on the books in Ohio that pertains to individuals taking action against someone breaking into his or her home.

The law, known as the Castle Doctrine, went into effect last September. It allows a person to use deadly force in his home or car if he or she feels that someone is likely to cause him or her serious physical harm.

The law says a person has “no duty to retreat in a place where he has a right to be,” Watkins said.

This is the third time in recent months that victims in Warren and Warren Township took action against someone committing a crime against them.

On Oct. 25, Kenneth Rowles, 50, of Dover Street in Warren Township, made national news when he fired a rifle at two teenagers in front of his house, hitting one of them in the arm.

Rowles fired the rifle after one of the teens stopped his parents’ sport-utility vehicle in front of Rowles’ house and vandalized Rowles’ campaign sign supporting John McCain, police said.

Rowles was indicted on a felonious assault charge for his actions. Authorities said no charges would be filed against the boys.

On Jan. 26, Robert E. Cherry, 34, of Larry Lane in Bazetta Township, allegedly tried to rob a female cashier in the Arby’s restaurant on West Market Street Southwest.

Police said Cherry punched the 30-year-old Warren woman in the face and reached into the cash register.

A male co-worker jumped over the counter after Cherry and was assisted by two customers, who helped hold him down until police arrived, police said.

Cherry was bound over to a Trumbull County grand jury on a felony robbery charge.

runyan@vindy.com