SPRINGVILLE — A homeowner fatally shot a would-be robber who entered his house in Springville early Thursday morning. The intruder apparently stopped for a snack and changed clothes before going upstairs to threaten the home's residents.
Police now say the man may have been responsible for another crime last week.
Springville police responded to a call of a home invasion robbery at 2:48 a.m. in the area of 800 South and 475 East. When officers arrived they found the suspect had been fatally shot in the bedroom.
Lt. Dave Caron with the Springville Police Department said the intruder entered the home through a back door that the homeowners thought they had locked. The robber then took off his clothes that had become wet while traipsing through the snow and change into some of the resident's clothes, which were folded on the couch in the living room. Caron said the intruder then went to the kitchen, made a tortilla and ham wrap, ate some of it, and returned the uneaten portion to the refrigerator before going upstairs.
The man then entered the bedroom, told a man and his wife that he had a gun, and demanded they get their wallet and keys to drive him to an ATM. The homeowner instead retrieved his own gun from a closet and fatally shot the intruder.
Investigators say it appears that prior to entering this home, the intruder had walked through the neighborhood, checking at least 20 homes for unlocked doors.
Caron said the suspect matches the general description of a man wanted in connection with a similar incident last week.
"In that case he went into the home, stole a gun and apparently a cell phone," Caron said. "He told these homeowners tonight that he had stolen a gun before, so we're pretty sure it's the same guy. We haven't made positive i.d. yet."
Investigators are calling Thursday morning's shooting a case of self-defense. They also say three young children were in the home at the time of the incident.
