Video Shows Minnesota Man Shoot An Intruder In His Backyard, Ruled Self Defense
A woman and her son were shocked to find an intruder in their backyard who scaled their privacy fence and was in their garage. Back in February in a neighborhood in South Minneapolis, Martin Lee Johnson could be seen on video wiggling the lock on a privacy fence in a backyard. He then proceeded to hop the fence and approached the home.
The homeowner a 53-year-old woman heard Johnson jiggling the door handle to her house as he then stepped back on the deck. She then yelled to her son to grab her gun as Johnson walked off the deck and dipped into her detached garage. The woman then opened her sliding glass door and yelled to the intruder "to get the ___________ out of the garage!" She yelled a few more times for him to get out along with her son and fired a few warning shots into the air.
Johnson finally did come out of the garage and instead of hopping back over the fence, he started walking toward the woman and her son. After two more warning shots, a fatal shot was fired by the son who was standing next to his mom. Joe Tamburino who is a Minneapolis criminal defense attorney is representing the mother and son and spoke to KARE11 saying: " My clients were acting completely in self-defense. They gave warning shots. They said go away. And he continued to approach their home. It was clear-cut. "
The homeowner and her son both said that taking Johnson's life was the last thing they wanted to happen. Despite protests from Johnson's family and friends, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office declined charges in the case, calling it valid self-defense. Watch the video below of the incident.