Homeowner Shoots Prowler With WWII Rifle
April 18 – Santa Barbara
William Cavit Blair, 33, a current probationer, remains at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital under treatment for a gunshot wound to his leg following an altercation with a Westside homeowner, and has been identified as a burglary suspect in the case.
A vintage Carbine similar to the one used by the homeowner to thwart the intruder
In the predawn hours of April 11th, Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications Center via 911 Emergency received multiple calls that a man fitting Blair’s description was roaming a local neighborhood in what was described to 911 operators as “an altered state of mind,” according to Sergeant Riley Harwood, SBPD media spokesman.
Before arrived on scene, the suspect had already broken through the doors of a private residence and was confronted by the owner of the home, a 54 year-old unidentified male. “The suspect was told to leave,” Harwood reported to the media, “but failed to do so.” At that time, the resident, armed with a vintage M-1 carbine military rifle, fired a warning shot into the floor of the home. Undaunted, the intruder continued in his attempt to enter the home. Moments later, according to Harwood’s media report, “the suspect was shot by the homeowner.”
When SBPD officers arrived, they found Blair inside the home suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to Cottage Hospital Emergency, and was shortly thereafter booked on charges of residential burglary, vandalims, and prowling.
According to Sgt. Harwood, Blair has had “repeated contacts” with local police over the past two years, and was on unsupervised probation at the time of the shooting.
Photo: courtesy United States Army
Read More:
Noozhawk: DA’s Office Files Misdemeanor Charges Against Alleged Intruder Shot By Homeowner
keyt.com: Man Shot In Leg Faces Misdemeanors
