Appeals judge who held home invader at gunpoint: 'I almost shot him'
A senior judge with the Virginia Court of Appeals is still shaken about how close he came to killing a home invader April 1.
Judge James W. Haley Jr. heard the front door of his Fredericksburg home open at about 4 a.m., and then someone started up the stairs. Then Haley saw someone he didn’t know standing on the landing, the Free Lance-Star reports.
The judge backed up to a desk, pulled a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol from a drawer and said to the young man, who was only about 5 feet from him: “Get down on the floor or I will shoot you,” the newspaper reported. Haley also called to his wife, telling her to phone 911.
The intruder stared at him, said nothing and took a step toward him, Haley said. The judge reached back and turned on a light to show the intruder he indeed did have a gun.
Still saying nothing, the man moved closer to him. The judge pushed him back with his left hand, holding the gun in his right hand, and again told the intruder to get on the floor. This time, he complied, telling Haley: “Chill, chill.” By the time police got there, he was passed out, and he was later determined to be intoxicated.
Not knowing why the man was in his home, and believing that he could be intending to rob or even murder in retaliation for a court decision, Haley told the newspaper he came very close to pulling the trigger during the incident. And if he had, he said, he would have shot to kill.
“I would have lived the remainder of my life in despair and regret had I shot him,” Haley said. “The thought that I almost shot him, more than the intrusion itself, it what haunts me. How close I was.”
The alleged intruder, Matthew Christopher Rogers, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday to interfering with the property of another and public intoxication, both misdemeanors.
He was sentenced to a year in jail but will be required to serve only three months, the newspaper reports. However, he is appealing the Fredericksburg General District Court conviction to circuit court, so he will not immediately be required to serve his sentence.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Report: Appeals judge holds intoxicated home intruder at gunpoint until police arrive”
