by Michael
Luo
Staff Writer
February 15,
2001 - Thursday - Page A 28
Newsday.com
A Queens man who tried to rob
residents of a Central Islip home was killed yesterday morning after he was
struck in the chest by a shotgun blast from one of the residents, Suffolk police
said.Wesley Jones, 22, of Rosedale, and another unidentified suspect, fled after
the shot was fired, said Det. Lt. John Gierasch, commander of Suffolk's Homicide
Squad. Jones collapsed, however, a few hundred feet from the East Cedar Street
home and was pronounced dead. The second suspect fled.
Police have not charged the
shooter and declined to identify him yesterday.
They said preliminarily that
the shooting appears to be justified. Three men who lived at the home were
inside, along with a female friend of one of them.
The home was empty yesterday.
A man outside, who would identify himself only as the father of one of the
residents, said the men had moved out because they feared retaliation.
"They're scared,"
he said. He would say only that they are members of a heavy-metal rock band and
were renting the home.
Police said the intruders
broke in through a side door about 12:40 a.m. The pair split up, one going
upstairs, and the other staying downstairs. They forced open bedroom doors and
were met by men with shotguns.
Jones, however, disarmed one
of the men, striking him on the head with an object, Gierasch said. After
demanding and receiving cash and a cell phone from the man, Jones marched him
downstairs at gunpoint, according to police and an account provided by the
father.
Meanwhile, on the ground
floor, the other suspect met the other resident with a shotgun, dropped his gun
and ran. When Jones came downstairs, he was shot in the upper chest.
A next-door neighbor said
yesterday he heard commotion, including yelling and a door being kicked in,
before he heard someone scream, "Die," followed by an expletive. A
shot then rang out, he added.
Jones, whose family could not
be reached for comment yesterday, has relatives and friends in the Central Islip
area, Gierasch said.
In the chaos as they fled the
house, the intruders left behind several guns. Among the items discovered on
Jones were cash and property believed to have been taken from the home, Gierasch
said.
Police said it was not clear
why this house was targeted. They said they also are investigating the
possibility that a third man was involved.
The district attorney's
office will review the case before determining whether charges are filed against
the shooter, Gierasch said.
KeepAndBearArms.com Note:
Had this citizen not been armed, what chances would he have had to thwart this
crime? Zilch. We applaud this citizen's actions and encourage him to teach his
family member proper weapon retention so nobody can take his gun away from him
-- should the escaped criminal return, for example. QUESTION FOR ANY
ANTI-GUN PERSON: Do you know of anything that would have made the
surviving bad guy run away, other than a gun? And do you know of anything
other than a gun that would have stopped these perpetrators from doing whatever
they wanted including killing this whole family?
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.
Section 107, this material is distributed, without profit, for research or
educational purposes. We do our best, as well, to give credit to the original
news source who published these Guns Save Lives stories out of respect and
appreciation for their willingness to spread the word that Guns Save Lives. God
Bless the Americans that publish these stories - for assisting Americans in
hearing the truth.
