Arson in Anytown

Date of incident: April 7, 2016

People of Interest:


Joe sitting on his porch (photo obtained from Facebook).

Description:

On a warm evening in Anytown, Ohio, Joe was home alone, sitting on the front porch of his house when he heard a loud bang from behind his house. Joe got up and ran around the house to the back yard and found Adam Arsonist (Adam) and his accomplice, Flame, throwing molotov cocktails into Joe’s detached garage. Adam was still armed with a molotov cocktail and, when seeing Joe approach, turned to throw a firebomb at Joe’s house. Joe pulled out his .44 Magnum and shot Adam in the chest. Joe then turned his attention to Flame and held him at gunpoint, threatening to shoot him too if he didn’t get on the ground until the police arrived.

Because Joe's neighbor had called the police when Adam and Flame set Joe’s garage on fire, a plainclothes police officer (Cop) was on the scene immediately and witnessed the shooting of Adam by Joe. With his gun drawn, Cop ordered Joe to drop his .44 and get on the ground. In response, Joe told the approaching unidentified stranger (Cop) that he was trespassing, ordered him to get off his property, and fired a warning shot from his .44 Magnum into the air to scare him and let him know he meant business. Upon hearing and witnessing the warning shot, Cop took dead aim at Joe and shot him in the chest, causing Joe to fall to the ground and drop his weapon. Joe was seriously injured from the gunshot wound to his chest and was knocked unconscious.

Replica of Joe's .44 Magnum


Flame was so scared from what he had just witnessed, he picked up Joe’s gun, turned, and began to run away from the scene. Cop gave chaseacross the back yard and shot at Flame several times. One shot fired by Cop hit Flame in the back and dropped him, causing his eventual death.

Adam survived the shooting and was charged with arson of the garage and attempted arson of Joe’s house. Adam was also charged with the aggravated murder of Flame. Joe was charged with the felonious assault of Adam and aggravated menacing of Cop. Cop was charged with felonious assault of Joe and aggravated murder of Flame.

Crimes Committed: