A gun owner shot and killed two of four intruders that entered his home. The homeowner held the two surviving robbers at gunpoint until officers arrived. Now, police have announced the charges.
State police confirm that two suspects were taken into custody and two others are deceased after breaking into a home in Dekalb County, Indiana. The incident occurred just before sunrise when a homeowner was confronted by four intruders armed with a gun.
According to local news WPTA, court documents say the homeowner was awakened by his dog’s barking. The dog was alerting him to two male and two female intruders. The owner claims that one of the female suspects threatened him, holding a gun to his head. While she held him at gunpoint, he says that two other invaders were stealing items from his home. They also demanded money.
Identified the intruders are 42-year-old Shaun T. Kruse, 42-year-old Tabitha L. Johnson, 36-year-old Rameica Moore, and 22-year-old Dylan Morefield. They forced him to write a check with no name on it for $500. He claims that he managed to break away from the suspects and grab his shotgun before shooting two of them, Moore and Morefield.
He reportedly told Kruse to call 911 as he held the remaining suspects at gunpoint until police arrived. Officers then arrested Kruse and Johnson. Moore and Morefield were declared dead at the scene.
Kruse confessed that he had driven himself to the home the day prior and had confronted the owner in an attempt to get money from him. He admitted that he and the suspects returned to the home the next morning and that Morefield was “talking about being gangster over and over.” Kruse says he waited in the vehicle while the others robbed the man.
Johnson told police that she and the suspects were at the man’s home on both days and that she has occasionally stayed with the homeowner over the last decade. She claims she was only trying to get items that belonged to her. However, the police weren’t buying her story.
Kruse and Johnson were charged with burglary with a deadly weapon as well as two counts of felony murder for the deaths of their accomplices. They were processed and booked at the DeKalb County Jail. Charges have not been filed against the homeowner.
Apparently, locals aren’t at all surprised by the outcome.
“I’m not sure what happened. Like I said before, I don’t know the whole story, but I can tell you, if you come up in this area, I think there’s going to be quite a few homes that do the same thing. I think if you come in and you’re caught, I don’t think you’re walking out,” said Tom Davis, who owns a car restoration business next door to the homeowner’s property.
In Indiana, people can be charged with murder if a death occurs while they are committing a felony. This is even if they didn’t directly take the victim’s life. The bodies of the deceased were sent to Northeast Indiana Forensic Center for autopsies.
