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80-Year-Old Homeowner Who Killed Burglar Begging For Her Life Won't Face Charges
The 80-year-old Long Beach man who said he had no regrets about gunning down a burglar who pleaded for her life won't be facing any charges, prosecutors said today. Thomas Greer arrived home on July 22, 2014 to find Gus Polly Adams, 26, and Andrea Miller, 28, ransacking his Bixby Knolls home on Country Club Drive. Greer said the pair tackled him, threw him to the ground and jumped on top of him. Miller beat him while Adams opened his safe and retrieved $5,000 in cash. Miller stopped beating Greer long enough for him to pull out his .22-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver. The pair fled but Miller wasn't fast enough. Miller begged for her life and claimed—falsely, it turns out—that she was pregnant.
Greer was in no mood to show mercy, and he suspected that the pair were the culprits in two other previous burglaries at his home. He gave a very candid interview afterward, explaining how it went down: "She was dead. I shot her twice, she best be dead ... (The man) had run off and left her." He added, "I shot her so that's going to leave a message on his mind for the rest of his life."
City News Service reports that prosecutors determined that Greer, who shot Miller once in the knee and once in the chest, was acting well within his rights. They called him a "vulnerable victim" who suffered a broken collarbone as well as bruises and cuts during the assault:
Thomas Greer is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury ... This presumption coupled with a careful review of the evidence presented makes it clear that Thomas Greer exercised his legal and legitimate right of self defense when he shot and killed Andrea Miller. No criminal liability arises from his actions.
The prosecution also offered up more details about that night. They say that Adams' mother Ruby Adams and a child blocked Greer's front door, trapping him inside. And they say that after Greer shot Miller he dragged her body into his garage to lure Gus Adams. Adams did return but he stole Greer's gun and cell phone before making an escape with his mother.
Gus Adams was charged with murder, first-degree residential robbery, first-degree residential burglary, grand theft firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also was charged with inflicting great bodily injury and elder abuse in the commission of the crime. Ruby Adams was charged with first-degree residential burglary and first-degree robbery, along with an allegation of elder abuse. Both are awaiting a preliminary hearing set for February 3.
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