Home intruder shot by intended victim

Originally published here as:
"Shelby man shoots alleged intruder"
Published August 9, 2001
by Joy Scott, Shelby Star Staff Writers

SHELBY, NORTH CAROLINA - A Lawndale man is in stable condition after he was shot in a Shelby home Tuesday night. Shelby Police are trying to determine if a burglary that allegedly happened moments before at the same home is connected to the shooting.

"We have nothing concrete to link the two together at this point," Sgt. Tammy Endicott said Wednesday. "We're looking at two separate incidents. We're still trying to piece it together."

According to police reports, at approximately 10:36 p.m. police responded to a shooting at 214-B Broad St. When police arrived they discovered that Brandon Leon Wilson, 20, of 173 Nolan Road in Lawndale, had been shot in the stomach. Wilson was on the porch when police arrived, but he was later taken to Cleveland Regional Medical Center.

Wilson was in stable condition Wednesday afternoon, said Cindy Kirby of the hospital's public relations office.

According to police reports, Austin Deminick Montecuollo Jr., 27, told police that he shot Wilson. Montecuollo also told police that earlier that night three men came into his home, fired their guns into the floor and then robbed him.

Reports said that a payroll check and $515 were some of the items taken during the burglary.

Montecuollo also told police that two small children were in the room when the men came in shooting their guns. One of the men, he said, hit him in the head during the burglary. 

Montecuollo told police he didn't see which way the men left, but afterward he went out the back door with his handgun. Montecuollo told police that when he came back inside he found a man in the house holding a gun. 

According to the police report, Montecuollo told the man to put his gun down, but instead the man pointed it at Montecuollo. Montecuollo told police he then shot the man.

Montecuollo told police he unloaded the man's gun and put it in a kitchen cabinet until police arrived.

Reports say that police saw bullet fragments and shell casings on the floor and two handguns, one on a heater and one in a cabinet. Police also found two ammunition magazines, one under a bed and another on an entertainment center shelf, reports said.

Ms. Endicott said the department is still interviewing witnesses and victims. No charges had been filed Wednesday evening.

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed, without profit, for research or educational purposes. We do our best, as well, to give credit to the original news source who published these Guns Save Lives stories out of respect and appreciation for their willingness to spread the word that Guns Save Lives -- and when an original link is available, we ALWAYS send all our visitors to read the original article on the original site where it was posted. God Bless the Americans that publish these stories - for assisting Americans in hearing the truth about guns saving lives.