DE) Armed burglar shot by resident 02-15-05
Date: Feb 15, 2005 4:04 AM
www.delawareonline.com ? The News Journal ? LOCAL ? Burglary
suspect shot near Smyrna
Address:http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/02/15burglarysuspect.html
Changed:2:30 AM on Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Burglary suspect shot near Smyrna
By ROBIN BROWN / The News Journal
02/15/2005

A burglary suspect, already wanted on drug and weapons charges, was shot
in the face while trying to stab a Smyrna-area resident and his
neighbor, police said Monday.

The incident occurred about 11:30 p.m. Sunday outside a house on
Cathleen Drive in Burtonwood Village, south of Smyrna.

A 58-year-old man saw a stranger inside the shed next door and armed
himself with a .38-caliber revolver before going to alert his neighbor,
said state police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Oldham.

The neighbor and the resident, who is 43, went to the shed and were
confronted by the intruder, who was armed with a knife, Oldham said.

As the suspect lunged toward the men, the resident tried to close the
shed door to protect himself, but caught the suspect in the doorway,
Oldham said.

With his upper body outside the door, the intruder kept jabbing the
knife at the men, Oldham said. They told the man repeatedly to drop the
knife, but he kept trying to stab them, Oldham said.

The neighbor then fired his gun once, hitting the intruder in the face,
Oldham said. The resident and neighbor both stayed with the suspect
until state police and medical personnel arrived, he said. They were not
injured.

The suspect – identified by police as James P. Porter, 26, of Holly
Hills Estates, Smyrna – was flown to Christiana Hospital, where he was
in critical but stable condition.

“No charges [have been] filed against the neighbor at this time,” Oldham
said.

Porter faces charges including attempted first-degree robbery,
second-degree burglary and two counts of aggravated menacing. Police
said Porter already was wanted on drug and weapons charges.

Oldham said anyone who lives in the area and recently had items stolen
from a shed or vehicle should call police at 697-4454.