Re: Dear John: Thank God for the new Florida Law:

Homeowner Shoots Suspect in Home Invasion


By Grayson Kamm
First Coast News

MACCLENNY, FL -- Police say a suspect was shot early Thursday morning by a
man who was protecting his home and his pregnant wife.

Police are calling it a home invasion robbery.

A 17-year-old boy is in police custody, while his brother is in the hospital
in critical condition.

Friends locked up the gate Thursday afternoon to the Macclenny home that
will never feel the same for Jody Paul Thrift and his pregnant wife Sabrina.

Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson says early Thursday morning, Jody Paul got
up to get some water, and noticed his lights were out. But the power was
still on at the house next door.

"So he knew that something was up," Sheriff Dobson said.

Dobson says Richard Munoz and his 17-year-old brother had cut the power and
phone lines to the house.

Dobson says the pair then took a boat anchor from a shed and hurled it
through a glass door.

"So [the victim] went to his bedroom, retrieved his firearm, [and] waited in
his bedroom," Dobson said.

"And as [the suspect] opened the door, [Thrift] saw a flashlight, a little,
small flashlight, and he began to fire. And he shot at the suspect, and the
suspect fell right in his bedroom door," Dobson said.

As three Baker County deputies sped to the scene, they say they came across
the younger suspect, scrambling through the woods toward the getaway car.

Deputies put him under arrest.

Sheriff Dobson says the older suspect, Richard Munoz, was carrying a cocked
and loaded pistol with him the whole time.

In fact, when deputies found Munoz on the floor of the house, they say he
was still trying to reach for his gun.

There's no word yet on why the Thrift family may have been a target.

Police are investigating whether the suspect ever fired his gun inside the
home. He is in critical condition at Shands Jacksonville.