Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Intruder Shot To Death By 80-Year-Old Homeowner After Pleading For Her Life Identified

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.

Police have identified the woman shot by an 80-year-old man just outside his home in Long Beach this week. She and an accomplice allegedly attacked him when he interrupted their attempt to burglarize his home.Andrea Miller, 28, of Long Beach was identified as the woman who homeowner Tom Greer shot in the back twice with a .22-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver Tuesday night. Her alleged accomplice Gus Adams, 26, of Long Beach was arrested and booked into jail on charges of robbery as well as a Miller's murder, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

At a press conference yesterday, Long Beach Chief Jim McDonnell said they didn't have confirmation that Miller was pregnant—Greer said she claimed to have been in her final moments as she begged for her life—but authorities plan to perform an autopsy on Miller today.

Greer gave an unfiltered TV interview expressing few regrets about killing an intruder, which he considered self-defense. He told NBC, "She says, 'Don't shoot me, I'm pregnant! I'm going to have a baby!' And I shot her anyway."

Long Beach police are investigating whether Greer will also be charged in the case, and they will be taking into consideration Greer's statements to the TV station. Greer said that he shot Miller in the back twice in an alley as she was fleeing. McDonnell told reporters that the case will come down not to where Miller was shot but whether Greer felt that he was in danger at the time.

Sponsored message

Police offered more details about Greer's story. He said both intruders jumped on top of him and attacked him the moment he walked into his home. Adams stopped attacking Greer so that he could open the safe, while Miller continued attacking. Adams struggled with the safe, so Miller stopped Greer to help her accomplice crack it open. It was during that time that Greer was able to get his gun. He came back out and fired at the pair in his house, prompting the pair to flee with loot from his home. He followed the pair outside and continued firing, which is when he struck Miller twice. Adams escaped before police later caught up to him later.

Greer told police that he has been the victim of three burglaries, and he believed the pair who targeted him this week were the culprits. NBC Los Angeles caught up with his estranged wife Dorothy who confirmed that their home had been burglarized—including once while she was at home. Dorothy wouldn't comment on whether she thought Greer should be charged, but she said she was shocked the burglary turned violent: "It's scary. Either way it goes, it's scary. It was just a bad situation, all the way around."

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. An autopsy has confirmed Andrea Miller wasn’t pregnant, Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter told CBS Los Angeles.

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Chip in now to fund your local journalism

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right