Colorado man shot for breaking into home, previous protection order against him

Cañon City, Colorado was the scene of a citizen's defensive gun use that thwarted breaking and entering involving Cameron Locke, 33, and William Bellew, 29 as reported locally by the Canon City Daily Record. The incident took place on October 5 on Greenwood Avenue and on October 9 law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Locke.

Scene of the crime

At around 1:30 AM Locke broke a window and forced his way inside of Bellew's home.

Bellew and another individual were both inside and aware someone was attempting to gain entry. When Bellew saw Locke he gave Locke orders to cease his action and to leave the property. Locke persisted and once he was inside Bellew opened fire on Locke with a handgun, striking him once in the stomach. Locke was disabled by his wounds and arrested by police who arrived on the scene minutes later. Such scenes of homeowners shooting intruders routinely occur in the United States.

Locke was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries. He remains in the hospital in stable condition and has been charged with stalking, second-degree burglary, third-degree assault, first-degree trespassing, harassment, violation of a protection order, and domestic violence.

Past history of criminal involvement

Locke has had been involved with several attractions over the years with William Bellew, 29 according to the local reporting of KVOR.com. It is not known what the terms are of the protective order that was placed against Locke for Bellew or how long the order has been in place.

Homeowner unlikely to face criminal charges

Bellew may face charges for shooting Locke if prosecutors determine Bellew did not have cause to use force. In 1985 Colorado passed the Homeowner Protection Act which is colorfully known as the "Make My Day" law. Citizens are granted wide latitude to use deadly force inside of their home against individuals who attempt to break inside if the homeowner believes the person intends to either commit a crime or commit violence against the homeowner.

However, the law only allows for this action to be taken inside a home and homeowners are not protected by the law if they shoot someone on their property, but outside of the home.

Give that Locke already had a protection order placed against him for Bellew the chances of Bellew facing any criminal charges is all but an impossibility.

If Locke is convicted on all charges he could be sentenced to over 100 years in prison.