TN) Shooting armed invader ruled justifiable killing
Shooting armed invader ruled justifiable killing
By Yolanda Jones
[email protected]
August 20, 2002

The fatal shooting of a home-invasion robbery suspect was ruled a justifiable homicide Monday by investigators.

A Raleigh area homeowner shot the 26-year-old man Sunday after confronting him and a second suspect inside his home, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident at 4313 Hunters Glen West left (Jerry L. Brooks dead after he was shot by homeowner Jeffrey S. Rushing, said Capt. Steve Crouch.

”This was a home-invasion robbery,” Crouch said. ”And with this type of robbery we are seeing more and more residents in the county are armed and are protecting themselves.”

He said Rushing’s gun was legally registered. (What difference does this make?)

Crouch said Brooks and another suspect identified as Kenneth B. Hill, 31, forced entry into Rushing’s home about 1 a.m.

Once inside the home, the suspects, armed with a 9mm semiautomatic weapon, were met by Rushing, who was armed with a .357 handgun.

The suspects did not fire any shots but Rushing, 26, fired several times at the suspects, according to investigators.

Brooks was hit three times and died in the front yard of the house near Egypt-Central and Walter K. Singleton Parkway in the northwest section of the county.

The other suspect fled.

Crouch said his officers were able to identify Hill as the second suspect after the victim picked his picture out of a photo lineup.

Hill has a long arrest record and is a suspect in the March shooting death of a man found in a drainage ditch near Bartlett, Crouch said.

A first-degree murder warrant has been issued for Hill’s arrest in that case. He remained at large Monday.

Brooks, of Memphis, had been arrested on drug charges, an assault charge and traffic violations.

He was due in court Thursday on charges of driving with a suspended license and disregarding a red light.

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_…1335749,00.html

__________________