A man who broke into a home near downtown Springfield last month was apprehended by a retired police officer and his wife, both armed, and was almost shot in the process.
A career in law enforcement had prepared Bob Steelman to defend his home, but it was his wife who fired at the intruder after he came toward her, according to court documents.
“She just missed him by four or five inches,” Steelman said.
Steelman, 78, worked as a parole officer locally for 20 years after stints as police chief in Golden City and Eureka Springs, Ark., among other positions.
Steelman said that prior to the incident he and his wife Beverly had talked about the “Castle Doctrine,” a state law that allows residents to defend their home from an intruder with the use of deadly force in certain situations. He said he had explained to her how to handle a situation involving a home intruder.
Beverly Steelman, 66, said firing a shot at the man is not something she’s proud of, and she had to get reassurance from her priest that she did the right thing.
“Thank goodness I missed him,” she said.
Matthew J. Vanconia, 24, is charged with first-degree burglary, a B felony; first-degree property damage, a D felony; and a specific type of misdemeanor assault that outlaws putting “another person in apprehension of immediate physical injury.”
According to the probable cause statement, the Steelmans heard a crashing sound downstairs at their South Avenue home in the middle of the night on Feb. 21.
Beverly Steelman said after she heard the third crash, the security alarm went off. When the couple, both armed, went downstairs, there was glass all over the floor and Vanconia was in the library, she said.
Also follow us on Instagram or Twitter. Buttons are on the right side of the page.
#firearms #firearmstraining #shooting #shootingsports #guns #handguns #rifles #shotguns #pistols #ammo #2a #gunsmith
