MS) Second burglar in recent weeks killed by homeowner 10-21-03
Date: Oct 21, 2003 10:33 PM

http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0310/21/mshoot.html

October 21, 2003
Jackson homeowner shoots, kills alleged burglar
The Clarion-Ledger

A north Jackson homeowner early today fatally shot a man police say was
trying to break into a Floral Drive home.

The shooting marks the second time in recent weeks that a homeowner has
killed an alleged burglar.

The dead man was identified as Christopher Stiff, 31, whose last known
address was 3811 Mosley Ave., said police spokesman Robert Graham.
Police identified the homeowner as Tommy Christian, 53, of 5933 Floral
Drive.

Graham said Stiff had an extensive criminal history with the department.
“He has been arrested numerous times by police, including on charges of
business burglary, domestic violence, possession of narcotics, simple
assault and aggravated assault,” Graham said.

Jackson Precinct 3 officers responded to a house burglary in progress at
about 3:30 a.m. at the Floral Drive address, Graham said.
Officers at the scene said the homeowner, who was alone, told them he’d
heard noises at his back door .

The homeowner went to the back door, officers said, and noticed that
someone had forced the door open with a crowbar and had entered the
home. The homeowner shot the suspect twice, once in the abdomen and once
in the leg, Graham said.

Stiff was pronounced dead about 5:30 a.m. at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center, Graham said.

Graham said the homeowner was questioned and released. The case will be
presented to a Hinds County grand jury, which is standard procedure any
time there is a shooting involving a death.

On Sept. 3, Anthony Mayers, who was in and out of jails and prisons for
more than a decade, was shot to death by a Jackson homeowner while
breaking into a house in northwest Jackson.

Sinartha Bradfield, 31, of 1807 Linda Lane, fired a shotgun blast
through his bedroom window when he heard the glass in the window being
broken out, police said. Mayers, 31, of 304 Jennings St., was fatally
struck in the chest.

The burglar bars on Bradfield’s bedroom window appeared to have been
pulled off.

“I hate this happened, but if people continue to commit these kind of
crimes, it’s bound to happen,” Jackson police Sgt. Joe Wade said then.

Mayers had been arrested 14 times since 1992, mostly on burglary
charges, and weathered four stays at the State Penitentiary in Parchman,
state and county officials said.