Florida Sheriff Clears Up Homeowner Rights Question

After authorities arrested a suspect in a series of break-ins on the same night, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson made quite the statement during a press conference.

Police responded to a call around 4:30am saying a suspicious person was jumping fences and breaking into homes. Shortly after, another call came in that shots had been fired.

The suspect, 32-year-old Brandon Joseph Harris, attempted to evade authorities by breaking into another home, but he was cornered in a bedroom.

“We don’t know what homeowner shot at him,” Johnson said during a press conference. “I guess they think they did something wrong, which they did not. If somebody’s breaking into your house, you’re more than welcome to shoot them in Santa Rosa County; we prefer that you do, actually.”

The suspect is well known to police. He has been arrested 17 times since the age of 13. He was charged with attempted burglary with assault, resisting arrest, burglary of an occupied dwelling, criminal mischief, attempted larceny and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, according to Johnson. His bond was set for $157,500.

“We sent him to prison for six-and-a-half years for a home invasion, and he just can’t seem to get the picture [that] crime does not pay,” Johnson said. “Some people just don’t learn. For us, he is job security. We deal with him all the time. Hopefully, this time he will go and he won’t get out.”