Neighbors: Drop charges against man, 80, in shooting of burglar

By Rosemary Sobo, Liam Ford and Lolly Bowean Tribune reporters 12:22 p.m. CDT, March 27, 2012

Neighbors are calling on prosecutors to drop charges against an 80-year-old owner of a local tavern who allegedly shot a burglar in his Englewood home on the South Side.

“If a man can’t defend himself from harm, what can he do?” asked Darryl Smith, surrounded at a news conference by dozens of longtime Englewood residents and activists. “If he hadn’t defended himself, we would be here for a different reason — because an intruder came in and killed him.

“We’re outraged as a community and we’re calling for the state’s attorney’s office to drop the charges,” he added. “This man has done nothing wrong.”

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