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Teen, 16, ‘justified’ in dad’s shooting, man broke into home with knife
Thursday, June 6, 2002
By Bryn Mickle
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Flint – A 16-year-old boy was justified when he shot and killed his
father Tuesday after the man burst through the front door at 3 a.m.
holding a knife and a baseball bat, Genesee County Prosecutor Arthur A.
Busch says.
The man’s estranged wife had obtained a court order to keep him away
from the family’s home on Hastings Street near Tuscola Avenue in Flint
after a May 14 incident in which he allegedly broke into the home and
choked her, before being stopped by the boy.
“The system was not capable of protecting this family,” Busch said.
Police said Owen Q. Sharpe, 52, made several phone calls to the house
about 2 a.m. Tuesday, then tried to break in through the front door
about an hour later.
The teen heard the commotion then saw a white-gloved fist break through
the door, Busch said.
The teen, armed with a .22-caliber rifle, fired a warning shot at the
door casing, but Sharpe unlocked the door and came in carrying a
baseball bat and a folding buck knife.
Busch said the teen backed up, then shot his father once in the chest.
Sharpe died at Hurley Medical Center.
The shooting was self-defense, said Busch, adding that Sharpe had a long
history of mental illness, substance abuse and domestic violence.
Sharpe’s estranged wife, Dolores, told a judge last month that Owen
Sharpe choked her May 14 because he did not think she would punish her
son for driving her car without a driver’s license. Owen Sharpe
allegedly grabbed a knife in the incident, but was stopped by the boy.
Busch said the family had done everything right in obtaining a personal
protection order and filing police reports against Sharpe.
