Radio Interview of Billy Jackson (70) Defends Himself Against 2 Home Intruders.
While we are in Illinois, and this happened in Kentucky, the audio is interesting and revealing - the "I'm going home to see my wife and kids" mentality may keep you fighting when the chips are down...
Property owner Billy Jackson shot and killed two men who he said were trying to rob him.
Listen to the interview.
Jackson said he was sprucing up an apartment in the house he owns at 3517 West Broadway when two masked men forced their way inside. He said one had a large gun, and threatened to kill him and his wife.
"I figured I was going to die and they were going to die, too," said Jackson. "I faked a heart attack; shot him in the side."
The coroner released the names of the alleged intruders late Wednesday afternoon. They are Earl Springer and Dazmond Turner, both 19.
"It just seems like I'm going to lay down, wake up and this is not happening," said Stephanie Roach, Turner's great aunt.She said Turner's death doesn't seem real. She said he once had dreams of NBA stardom, but she never dreamed he would be accused of invading a home.
"It's just something that he wouldn't do and it's been eating at me all night long. It's like, no, that's not Daz," she said. "I don't know if he was forced into doing it, but that is not my nephew."
"At least one of the suspects was armed with a handgun," said Metro Police Detective Phil Russell.
"The property owner was assaulted. He sustained minor injuries."
Police said Springer died at the scene, while Turner died early Wednesday morning at University Hospital.
"They will confer with the commonwealth attorney's office in order to determine if charges need to be placed," Russell said. "At this time in the investigation, it looks as though this was self-defense."
Family members said Turner was once a star point guard for Valley High School who was working toward getting his GED while preparing to be a first-time father this summer.
Roach said family members thought Turner was out of town at the time of the shooting. Now they wish he would have followed through on those plans.
"That's what's shocking everybody. He was supposed to be in Florida to reunite with his mother and his sisters," Roach said. "Now, they're on their way to bury him."
Of course the families of the intruders are saying they those "kids" were the "greatest people in the world"... Sigh...
Posted 04:47PM Jun 10, 2008 by MCSA
