Vigo County teenager shoots, kills man
Youth says he thought intruder was going to pull a weapon
By Karin Grunden/Tribune-Star
October 12, 2002
When his teenage son complained of suspicious vehicles in his northern Vigo County neighborhood, Carl Rader provided the 17-year-old with a couple of guns -- just in case.
Rader's glad he did, noting it may have saved his son's life. Believing an intruder was about to pull his own weapon, Aaron Rader shot and killed the man early Friday.
Danny Stewart, 24, of Terre Haute, was found dead in Rader's back bedroom by Vigo County Sheriff's deputies, who responded to a 911 call at about 5 a.m. Friday in the 7400 block of Thayer Street.
Rader has not been charged in connection with the shooting. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jim Walker said a decision about whether to file any charges would not be made until the investigation is complete.
Asked about self-defense under Indiana law, Walker referenced a state statute that justifies using deadly force during a home invasion.
Indiana law also permits a minor, defined as someone under 18, to possess a firearm in his or her own residence with the permission of a parent, adult family member or guardian.
After the shooting, Rader phoned his father who drove to his son's home and called 911, telling a dispatcher "there's a guy that broke into my son's house . . . he threatened to kill them for money. They shot him. I think he's dead."
Sheriff's investigators said Stewart, described as weighing about 400 pounds, allegedly showed up banging on the front door of the Thayer Street duplex where the teenage Rader lives.
Aaron Rader told police he let Stewart -- who he did not know -- in to use the phone, but the suspect then tried to rob Rader and his 18-year-old girlfriend, Lacie Downing. During the incident, Rader fired five shots from a .45-caliber handgun, fatally wounding Stewart.
Asked if five shots were justified, Sheriff Bill Harris said that "we'll let the prosecution determine that." Harris said a national records search showed Stewart had no arrest record.
While the shooting happened at about 4 a.m., police were not notified of Stewart's death for about an hour, Harris said. He said Aaron Rader believed a neighbor already had called authorities.
Someone did place a call just before 5 a.m. about people standing with a shotgun on a porch in Country Manor Estates, according to a 911 tape of the call, but Harris believes the caller possibly was referring to Rader and his father. The woman said she'd also seen a suspicious white car in the area at about 4:20 a.m.
A deputy responding to that call was in the neighborhood when Rader's father dialed 911.
Inside Rader's duplex off of Trout Avenue, police found Stewart dead in the corner of a back unoccupied bedroom. Stewart, who had no identification with him, was wearing a yellow T-shirt and jeans. In his pocket, he had a flashlight, cigarettes, a pocket knife and a brown amber bottle with unidentified pills in it, Harris said. The resident's cordless telephone also was in his pocket.
A 9 mm handgun and L-shaped lug wrench were next to his body. According to Rader and his girlfriend, Stewart brought both items with him, police said.
While detectives and an Indiana State Police technician scoured the scene, Aaron Rader and Downing were separately questioned about what happened, Harris said. They both gave a similar account:
They awoke to someone knocking on the front door at about 4 a.m. Rader got dressed and stashed a gun into his pants before finding a large man out of breath in front of his home.
The man asked, by name, if someone was at the residence and then asked to use the phone when Rader said the person was not there. Rader let Stewart in, who dialed a number on Rader's cordless phone, hung up and stuck the phone in his pocket.
Asking where "Lacie" was, Stewart then produced a tire tool, took them to a back bedroom and forced the teenagers to lie on the floor. He then demanded their property and threatened to kill them if they didn't turn their money and guns over, police said.
Harris said Rader told investigators that he opened a safe in his closet, handed the man a loaded shotgun and asked Stewart to leave, telling him he had no money. Again threatening to kill them, Stewart dropped Rader's shotgun and reached to his waistband, as if he was retrieving a pistol.
Rader told investigators he grabbed his own gun and shot the man twice. After Stewart yelled, Rader shot him again, followed by two more rounds. An autopsy later showed Stewart was shot twice in the face and three times in his body, police said.
After talking to detectives, Rader and Downing were released to their parents. Neither could be reached for comment Friday.
Police were hoping interviews with others would help verify details of the incident and how Stewart got to the residence.
Mandi Hoar, who lives on Braddock, an adjacent street, said she got up to use the bathroom earlier Friday when she noticed something unusual. Peeking out the window, she saw a police car with its lights on. Nearby, was an ambulance, both abnormal sights in her neighborhood. Normally, "it's quiet out here," she said.
John Hurlow of Clinton, owner of the duplex where Aaron Rader lives, said he'd had "nothing like this" happen in the 17 years he's owned the homes along Thayer Street.
Describing Rader as a "quiet" tenant who has lived in the rental for about three months, Hurlow said, "If someone's pulling off a home invasion, I have no complaints with the result. It doesn't bother me."
http://www.tribstar.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/October/12-2181-news03.txt
400 pounds?
.....and they're asking if 5 shots was too much?
Youth says he thought intruder was going to pull a weapon
By Karin Grunden/Tribune-Star
October 12, 2002
When his teenage son complained of suspicious vehicles in his northern Vigo County neighborhood, Carl Rader provided the 17-year-old with a couple of guns -- just in case.
Rader's glad he did, noting it may have saved his son's life. Believing an intruder was about to pull his own weapon, Aaron Rader shot and killed the man early Friday.
Danny Stewart, 24, of Terre Haute, was found dead in Rader's back bedroom by Vigo County Sheriff's deputies, who responded to a 911 call at about 5 a.m. Friday in the 7400 block of Thayer Street.
Rader has not been charged in connection with the shooting. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jim Walker said a decision about whether to file any charges would not be made until the investigation is complete.
Asked about self-defense under Indiana law, Walker referenced a state statute that justifies using deadly force during a home invasion.
Indiana law also permits a minor, defined as someone under 18, to possess a firearm in his or her own residence with the permission of a parent, adult family member or guardian.
After the shooting, Rader phoned his father who drove to his son's home and called 911, telling a dispatcher "there's a guy that broke into my son's house . . . he threatened to kill them for money. They shot him. I think he's dead."
Sheriff's investigators said Stewart, described as weighing about 400 pounds, allegedly showed up banging on the front door of the Thayer Street duplex where the teenage Rader lives.
Aaron Rader told police he let Stewart -- who he did not know -- in to use the phone, but the suspect then tried to rob Rader and his 18-year-old girlfriend, Lacie Downing. During the incident, Rader fired five shots from a .45-caliber handgun, fatally wounding Stewart.
Asked if five shots were justified, Sheriff Bill Harris said that "we'll let the prosecution determine that." Harris said a national records search showed Stewart had no arrest record.
While the shooting happened at about 4 a.m., police were not notified of Stewart's death for about an hour, Harris said. He said Aaron Rader believed a neighbor already had called authorities.
Someone did place a call just before 5 a.m. about people standing with a shotgun on a porch in Country Manor Estates, according to a 911 tape of the call, but Harris believes the caller possibly was referring to Rader and his father. The woman said she'd also seen a suspicious white car in the area at about 4:20 a.m.
A deputy responding to that call was in the neighborhood when Rader's father dialed 911.
Inside Rader's duplex off of Trout Avenue, police found Stewart dead in the corner of a back unoccupied bedroom. Stewart, who had no identification with him, was wearing a yellow T-shirt and jeans. In his pocket, he had a flashlight, cigarettes, a pocket knife and a brown amber bottle with unidentified pills in it, Harris said. The resident's cordless telephone also was in his pocket.
A 9 mm handgun and L-shaped lug wrench were next to his body. According to Rader and his girlfriend, Stewart brought both items with him, police said.
While detectives and an Indiana State Police technician scoured the scene, Aaron Rader and Downing were separately questioned about what happened, Harris said. They both gave a similar account:
They awoke to someone knocking on the front door at about 4 a.m. Rader got dressed and stashed a gun into his pants before finding a large man out of breath in front of his home.
The man asked, by name, if someone was at the residence and then asked to use the phone when Rader said the person was not there. Rader let Stewart in, who dialed a number on Rader's cordless phone, hung up and stuck the phone in his pocket.
Asking where "Lacie" was, Stewart then produced a tire tool, took them to a back bedroom and forced the teenagers to lie on the floor. He then demanded their property and threatened to kill them if they didn't turn their money and guns over, police said.
Harris said Rader told investigators that he opened a safe in his closet, handed the man a loaded shotgun and asked Stewart to leave, telling him he had no money. Again threatening to kill them, Stewart dropped Rader's shotgun and reached to his waistband, as if he was retrieving a pistol.
Rader told investigators he grabbed his own gun and shot the man twice. After Stewart yelled, Rader shot him again, followed by two more rounds. An autopsy later showed Stewart was shot twice in the face and three times in his body, police said.
After talking to detectives, Rader and Downing were released to their parents. Neither could be reached for comment Friday.
Police were hoping interviews with others would help verify details of the incident and how Stewart got to the residence.
Mandi Hoar, who lives on Braddock, an adjacent street, said she got up to use the bathroom earlier Friday when she noticed something unusual. Peeking out the window, she saw a police car with its lights on. Nearby, was an ambulance, both abnormal sights in her neighborhood. Normally, "it's quiet out here," she said.
John Hurlow of Clinton, owner of the duplex where Aaron Rader lives, said he'd had "nothing like this" happen in the 17 years he's owned the homes along Thayer Street.
Describing Rader as a "quiet" tenant who has lived in the rental for about three months, Hurlow said, "If someone's pulling off a home invasion, I have no complaints with the result. It doesn't bother me."
http://www.tribstar.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/October/12-2181-news03.txt
400 pounds?
.....and they're asking if 5 shots was too much?