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January 07, 2006
Making Ventura County safer, one ex-felon at a time
This story in the L.A. Times reminds me there's more than one way for a crook to earn the label "ex-felon."
An Oxnard man who broke into the bedroom of a Rancho Cucamonga apartment early Friday morning was shot and killed by one of the occupants — a prison counselor for the state Department of Corrections, authorities said.
The intruder, Hector Soto, 21, of Oxnard, died less than three hours after being shot and undergoing surgery at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, the San Bernardino County coroner said.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department did not release the prison counselor's name. He will not be charged, a spokeswoman said.The break-in occurred about 2:50 a.m. Sheriff's homicide investigators said Soto opened a front window to enter the apartment in the 8400 block of Fir Street, and walked to a bedroom. The prison counselor fought with Soto and then pulled a pistol from his nightstand, sheriff's investigators said.
When Soto advanced, the prison counselor shot Soto one time, investigators said.
It's nice when criminals leave our county, and it's even better when they get a one-way ticket on the Dirt Nap Express (all sales final; no refunds; no exchanges). Burglars are particularly deserving of opprobrium; we can only presume that someone entering an occupied house in the middle of the night is both unconcerned at the thought of encountering the residents and probably willing to use force on them, too.
That's why "res-burg" is a strike under California's "Three-Strikes" rule; the risk of someone getting killed during a break-in is quite high.
Every so often, the right guy ends up dead.
Hat tip to Wild Bill for the story.
Posted by Mike Lief at January 7, 2006 08:18 PM
Comments
It sounds like Hector was looking for someone. It's a good thing the counselor did not live in San Francisco!
Thanks for the story, Wild Bill!
Posted by: Thin Ice at January 8, 2006 05:13 PM
You are a fucking idiot, get your facts right. Hector was not a felon, he was a good guy. He entered the wrong house by mistake after a night of drinking, celebrating our graduation from UTI (which was the next day).
P.S. I would approve of YOU having a "dirt nap."
Posted by: Beau at January 18, 2006 02:33 PM