Homeowner kills intruder
Ex-coach Mike Monteleone shot after
apparent robbery in Lookingglass
BY JANINE JOBE
The News-Review
November 29, 2000
LOOKINGGLASS — A 40-year-old Roseburg man and
former track and cross country coach at Canyonville Christian Academy was shot
and killed Tuesday by a homeowner who saw him fleeing from his home wearing a
ski mask.
Michael Dale Monteleone, a Glendale High School
graduate, was shot by Charles Patrick Shirtcliff, 54, in the fields outside
Shirtcliff’s Lookingglass home at 1015 Coos Bay Wagon Road.
Shirtcliff told detectives he returned from
shopping and doctor appointments in Roseburg to find a person in a ski mask
running out the back of his house, according to Douglas County Sheriff’s
Office reports.
Shirtcliff grabbed a handgun from his vehicle
and gave chase. He told investigators at the scene that Monteleone refused to
stop and took off in a vehicle. Shirtcliff gave chase in his own vehicle.
As they drove across the back roads of
Shirtcliff’s wooded 40 acres, Monteleone stopped several times but refused to
get out of the vehicle. Shirtcliff said he believed Monteleone had a weapon.
At one point, Shirtcliff was out of his vehicle
and Monteleone attempted to run him over and instead sideswiped Shirtcliff’s
vehicle, according to statements made at the scene.
Shirtcliff shot at the vehicle several times.
Monteleone eventually got out of his vehicle and rushed him, Shirtcliff said.
That’s when he shot him dead, he said, though he might have been hit before.
Shirtcliff told investigators it was
self-defense.
The Douglas County Major Crimes Team was
activated to investigate.
“There has been a dramatic change in Michael
(Monteleone) over the last couple of years that has been sad for his family to
watch,” said Diane Monteleone, Michael’s former wife in a phone interview
today. They have three children.
The pair divorced in March of this year. He was
convicted of assaulting her in May 1999. Monteleone was also arrested this past
June for felony criminal trespass.
“There have been a number of events that has
had his family concerned,” Diane Monteleone said. “I guess bad choices can
lead to more bad choices.”
An autopsy is tentatively scheduled for
Thursday. No charges have been filed and the incident is still under
investigation.
• You can reach reporter Janine Jobe at 957-4213 or by e-mail at jjobe@oregonnews.com.
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