(LA) Man kills burglar, police say
Date: Jul 20, 2005 5:59 PM
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Man kills burglar, police say
Cops: Victim is shot trying to break in
Saturday, July 16, 2005
By Stephanie Chen
River Parishes bureau
A 20-year-old Destrehan man, who authorities say was attempting to burglarize a home, was killed Friday when the resident shot him in the side.

Authorities said Nikita Dabney, of 315 River Oaks Drive, fell down the 20-foot ladder he had climbed to gain entry into the two-story duplex.

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He collapsed in the back yard and was pronounced dead when authorities arrived at the home in the 300 block of Meadows Drive in Destrehan about 12:30 p.m., said St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.

Authorities say Dabney had climbed an extension ladder outside the home and broke into the second floor through a window. Two other men, Samuel Vinett Jr., 19, of Destrehan and an unidentified 16-year-old juvenile also from St. Charles Parish, are accused of trying to burglarize the home with Dabney. They were arrested Friday and booked with burglary and manslaughter, Champagne said.

A court date and bail will be set Monday, he said.

“Whether or not they intended for a killing to happen, they can be charged with manslaughter,” Champagne said.

Champagne said the two may not have pulled the trigger, but their participation in a felony fits the manslaughter charge.

Authorities said Vinett and the 16-year-old remained in the yard while Dabney entered the window on the second floor of the home, where he was shot by a male resident. Authorities would not release the resident’s name, but said he was in his 30s.

Champagne said Dabney was shot in his arm and side with a .40-caliber handgun. An autopsy is scheduled for today to determine how many times Dabney was shot. Capt. Pat Yoes, a spokesman for the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, said none of the suspects had weapons.

If weapons had been found on the two, Yoes said the charges could have become second-degree murder.

Vinett is being held at the parish jail in Killona, and the minor will be sent to a nearby juvenile detention center.

The resident who shot Dabney has no prior convictions, Champagne said, adding that the man’s action was a “justified use of deadly force.”

“Any resident has the right to protect themselves,” Champagne said.

The neighborhood, known as Red Church, has more burglaries and robberies than other parts of St. Charles Parish, Champagne said.

The gunfire seemed endless, said Yolanda Brown, who lives across the street. Brown said she pushed her children — ages 7, 11, and 13 — to the back of the house, where they huddled in fear.

“I don’t feel like this is safe anymore,” she said.

Brown’s lease will expire this month, and she hopes to move her children to another neighborhood.

“I need to move,” she said. “This just hit too close to home.”