24-year-old burglar meets 92-year-old vet

[ReynardMuldrake]

I bet you can guess what happens next.

VERONA — Earl Jones had just turned off his new TV shortly after 2 a.m. Monday when he heard a bang in the basement.

The 92-year-old Boone County farmer walked eight paces to get his loaded .22 caliber rifle from behind the bedroom door. He unwrapped a beige cloth and returned to the living room, sitting in a chair with clear view – and shot – of the basement door, waiting with the gun across his lap.

Some 15 minutes later, when he heard footsteps moving closer up the stairs, he raised the rifle to his eye. The intruder kicked open the door. Jones fixed his aim on the center of the man’s chest and fired a single shot. The Boone County Sheriff later announced the death of the intruder, Lloyd (Adam) Maxwell, 24, of Richmond, Ky.

“These people aren’t worth any more to me than a groundhog,” Jones told the Enquirer. “They have our country in havoc. We got so many damned crooked people walking around today.”

In Earl Jones’ mind, his actions are justified, as well. He said he was completely within his rights to defend his life and ranch home on the 500-acre farm he has worked since 1955.

“I was hoping another one would come up – I aimed right for his heart,” Jones, who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1941 through ’46, told the Enquirer Monday afternoon. “I didn’t go to war for nothing. I have the right to carry a gun. That’s what I told the police this morning.”

Not long after the shooting, Kenton County Police responded to a call on Courtney Road of a man who had been shot. There they found Maxwell’s body and two uninjured men in a 2001 Chevrolet Impala who later, during questioning, would admit to being at Jones’ home on Violet Road.

The break-in was the third Jones has experienced on his farm this year. In April, thieves stole 90 head of cattle from the field behind his house. In August, burglars took from his house a television, a few thousands dollars cash and a personal check they unsuccessfully tried to cash and ripped his phone out of the wall.

“I can’t leave the damn house to do my work outside,” said Jones, removing his World War II veteran cap with his right hand and running his left through his thin white hair.

Jones has lived alone since his wife, Virginia Pearl, died in 2006. The couple had no children. Jones grew up hunting squirrels in Boone County and volunteered for the forerunner to the U.S. Air Force in 1941. He went through weapons training in the military.

He is not happy that police took the rifle used in the shooting.

“How am I going to protect myself if they come back looking for revenge?” he said.

Maxwell fell back seven steps onto a landing. Jones didn’t pursue them into the basement.

He called a neighbor and calmly said, “I need help. I just shot a man,’” he said.

At the same time, the two unhurt intruders, Dalton and Inabnit, fled Jones’ property with Maxwell’s body. Not long afterward, having driven across the county line, they called Kenton County Police with a bogus story of how Maxwell had been shot.

When Boone County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at Jones house, they found the basement door ajar and no one except Jones in the home.

Jones didn’t like how deputies treated him. “They stood down there with their guns on me, yelling, `Get your hands up! Get your hands up!’” he said. “I told them, `I’m not putting my damn hands up.’”

Finally, he did. Police approached up the long gravel driveway, flanked by a field of tobacco that Jones rents to another farmer, and questioned him.

“Was I scared? Was I mad? Hell no,” Jones said. “It was simple. That man was going to take my life. He was hunting me. I was protecting myself.”

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB...xt%7CFRONTPAGE

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Because you can't shoot properly I'm reeruned? Makes sense.

Well, the last time I went shooting I outshot an Air Force security forces range instructor. I impressed him. Impressing your stupid ass isn't something I care about. It's neat that you think you're Annie Oakley with a .22, but if you truly believe that's an adequate home defense weapon, you're out of your mind. Do cops carry .22s? No. Do our troops carry 22s? No. Do most criminals who'll break into your ****ing house with a weapon carry 22s? I'm thinking probably not. THERE'S A REASON FOR ALL THIS.

[HoneyBadger]

Originally Posted by frazod

Well, the last time I went shooting I outshot an Air Force security forces range instructor. I impressed him. Impressing your stupid ass isn't something I care about. It's neat that you think you're Annie Oakley with a .22, but if you truly believe that's an adequate home defense weapon, you're out of your mind. Do cops carry .22s? No. Do our troops carry 22s? No. Do most criminals who'll break into your ****ing house with a weapon carry 22s? I'm thinking probably not. THERE'S A REASON FOR ALL THIS.

Yet it can kill if in the right hands. That's my point.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Yet it can kill if in the right hands. That's my point.

So can a pencil. Perhaps you could add one of those to your fearsome home defense arsenal.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by frazod

So can a pencil. Perhaps you could add one of those to your fearsome home defense arsenal.

I would feel safe with a Colt .22 revolver.

I don't think my original post was touting the .22 as the premeire weapon of choice, just that it can and will kill you at close range.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by stevieray

I would feel safe with a Colt .22 revolver.

I don't think my original post was touting the .22 as the premeire weapon of choice, just that it can and will kill you at close range.

And again, of course it can. Is it better than nothing? Of course it is. But it's not a good choice if you can get something better.

That was the point I was trying to make when some moron opined that I must be a crappy shot because I don't use a .22 as a primary defensive weapon.

[Frazod]

Also, I personally know two people who have been shot with .22s. My dad and my uncle. My dad was shot accidentally by one of his friends when he was 20. Shot in the chest, just above his left lung. Guess what - he lived. My uncle was shot in the lower abdomen during a bar fight when he was in the Navy. He actually beat the crap out of the guy who shot him AFTER being shot, and was thrown in jail for it. Only later when they realized he was bleeding did they take him to the hospital. Guess what - he lived.

[MOhillbilly]

Dumbass old man needs a mean dog.

[HoneyBadger]

Originally Posted by frazod

And again, of course it can. Is it better than nothing? Of course it is. But it's not a good choice if you can get something better.

That was the point I was trying to make when some moron opined that I must be a crappy shot because I don't use a .22 as a primary defensive weapon.

Done being a grumpy old man?

[Gravedigger]

I side with the old man ten million times over. This is an open shut case where death wasn't necessarily warranted but if someone kicks down my door from my basement where there are no doors outside of the one he's kicking, guys getting shot. If the guy was robbed of his cattle and other possessions inside of his house, chances are that these kids were involved and are just hitting what appeared to be a weak old man over and over again.

[Imon Yourside]

This sucks man, I thought the days of quality gun control were here. Can't a man even steal others belongings anymore without getting shot?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

The only part if this story I don't like is his comments about wishing another one would come up so he could kill another person. You shouldn't ever want to kill, it should be last resort. Not saying his actions weren't warranted but there are so many ppl out there just wanting any reason they can to shoot somebody. I hope I never have to kill anybody

I agree. He was well within his rights for sure. I'd feel a lot less weird about it if he showed at least a little remorse, though.

[Imon Yourside]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I agree. He was well within his rights for sure. I'd feel a lot less weird about it if he showed at least a little remorse, though.

It could be just bravado, I mean if someone else thought he might be a little soft they may try again knowing that.

[DaFace]

I feel like a n00b these days. I can't keep up with this shit, so I just chime in and reply to posts that are a few hours old from time to time.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Done being a grumpy old man?

Done being a idiotic douche?

[HoneyBadger]

Originally Posted by frazod

Done being a idiotic douche?

You started the name calling. Go enjoy your pathetic life, alone.