Dec 14, 2006 4:22 pm US/Central
Prosecutor: Shooting Of Intruder May Be Justified
Buffalo, Minn. (AP) ―
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County Attorney Thomas Kelly said Eric M. Cegon shot Erik A. Richter, 35, of Watertown twice with a shotgun after Richter broke in through a back door into Samantha E. Simons' home in Rockford.
The Wright County prosecutor said a Rockford man "may have been very well justified" when he shot and killed an armed man who forced his way into his ex-girlfriend's home before dawn Wednesday.
County Attorney Thomas Kelly said Eric M. Cegon shot Erik A. Richter, 35, of Watertown twice with a shotgun after Richter broke in through a back door into Samantha E. Simons' home in Rockford.
Richter had a loaded pistol when he attempted the enter the bedroom were Cegon, 30, Simons, 21, and her 2-year-old son had been sleeping. The boy's father was Richter.
State law permits someone to defend himself or others in a home if the person believes there is a threat of great bodily harm or death, Kelly said on Thursday.
Cegon was released while the investigation continued and pending an autopsy on Richter, who did not fire his pistol.
"This is a classic domestic situation gone bad," Kelly said. "Cegon may have been very well justified in taking one's life. ... Richter had threatened Simons more than once (that he would) kill her boyfriend."
Kelly noted that Richter was convicted on a methamphetamine charge in 1998 and was sentenced to four years in prison, but he said he didn't know if drugs were involved in Wednesday's shooting.
Kelly also said Richter was charged in April 2005 with making terroristic threats against Simons, but the case was dropped after he failed to appear for his trial.
Further, Kelly said, Richter threatened Simons at her home with a kitchen knife and said he would kill Cegon. "He refused to let her go, and said that if he couldn't have her, nobody would," Kelly said.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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