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Shootout in garage
Homeowner exchanges fire with masked gunman; Two arrested in traffic stop
September 25, 2007
VICTORVILLE - Roger Gilchrist woke from a dead sleep when he heard his
pregnant wife screaming for her life as she honked her car horn incessantly
in their garage.
He grabbed his gun.
It wasn't 20 seconds after his wife pulled in and saw a masked gunman
standing near her vehicle that gunfire erupted at point-blank range, the
couple said.
"Under the circumstances, with him having a gun and standing next to my
pregnant wife, I'm not going to wait and see what happens - I'm going to
fire," Gilchrist said.
Officials said the crook shot first and Gilchrist returned fire. About 10
rounds were let off in the confines of the garage,
officials said.
"I hit him once, and then I heard the click, click, click, and I knew he was
out of ammunition," Gilchrist said.
His wife, who asked not to be identified by first name, said those "clicks"
were aimed at her head from about three feet away.
"I told him I was pregnant and not to hurt me, and he said he wasn't going
to. But when he got shot, there is no doubt in my mind that he decided he
was going to kill me - only he was out of bullets," she said.
Authorities said that around 12:30 a.m. Sunday they responded to a call of
shots heard in the 12400 block of Blazing Star Way.
When they arrived they saw a garage door lying in the street behind a car
with shot-out windows and a trail of blood.
Apparently, Gilchrist was screaming at the intruder - later identified as
Timothy Finney, 35, of Rialto - to get out of the house, but Finney
responded that he couldn't, said Deputy Bob Thacker of the San Bernardino
County Sheriff's Victorville station.
Gilchrist's wife then put her car in reverse and slammed through the garage
door, allowing Finney to run out and escape in a white PT Cruiser, officials
said.
It all happened in less than a few minutes, but now the events of that
morning will stay with the family for the rest of their lives.
"It's such a violation. It's really indescribable," the female victim said.
"Reality still hasn't set in. I still haven't cried. I'm still in shock."
Deputy Luke Gaytan, one of the first deputies on the scene, notified sheriff's
dispatch to contact all area hospitals to look for anyone admitted with a
gunshot wound.
When no one was found, Gaytan called the valley dispatch center, Thacker
said.
"They told him there was a deputy from Central Station who had just pulled
over a white PT Cruiser at Highland and State Street for blowing stop
signs," Thacker said. "Gaytan gets his cell phone number and was talking to
him when the deputy found the passenger with a bullet wound and a gun in his
waistband."
Authorities said Finney was bleeding out and pools of blood filled the
vehicle.
While medical aid was called for Finney, deputies also detained the driver,
Roland Ryland, 38, of San Bernardino.
Days after both were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, Gilchrist
found out that Ryland, a friend since childhood, was one of the arrestees.
"I couldn't believe it was someone I know. He's been to my house. We've gone
on vacations together and apparently his wife lost her job and they're not
doing well, so he finds someone to rob me," Gilchrist said. "He couldn't do
it himself."
Deputy District Attorney Britt Imes on Tuesday said he filed two counts of
residential robbery and two counts of assault with a firearm on both Finney
and Ryland. There were also transportation and possession of marijuana
charges against both, Imes said.
Imes said that no charges are to be filed against Gilchrist for the
shooting.
"You just can't shoot a trespasser, but you have the right to self defense
that is proportionate to the threat or danger that is applied to you," Imes
said. "If someone pulls a weapon on you, you can certainly pull one back,
but the law can be very case specific."
As for the Gilchrists, they are just thankful that they owned guns and were
able to ward off tragedy.
Gilchrist's wife said: "If he didn't have that gun, we would've both been
dead."
Shootout in garage
Homeowner exchanges fire with masked gunman; Two arrested in traffic stop
September 25, 2007
VICTORVILLE - Roger Gilchrist woke from a dead sleep when he heard his
pregnant wife screaming for her life as she honked her car horn incessantly
in their garage.
He grabbed his gun.
It wasn't 20 seconds after his wife pulled in and saw a masked gunman
standing near her vehicle that gunfire erupted at point-blank range, the
couple said.
"Under the circumstances, with him having a gun and standing next to my
pregnant wife, I'm not going to wait and see what happens - I'm going to
fire," Gilchrist said.
Officials said the crook shot first and Gilchrist returned fire. About 10
rounds were let off in the confines of the garage,
officials said.
"I hit him once, and then I heard the click, click, click, and I knew he was
out of ammunition," Gilchrist said.
His wife, who asked not to be identified by first name, said those "clicks"
were aimed at her head from about three feet away.
"I told him I was pregnant and not to hurt me, and he said he wasn't going
to. But when he got shot, there is no doubt in my mind that he decided he
was going to kill me - only he was out of bullets," she said.
Authorities said that around 12:30 a.m. Sunday they responded to a call of
shots heard in the 12400 block of Blazing Star Way.
When they arrived they saw a garage door lying in the street behind a car
with shot-out windows and a trail of blood.
Apparently, Gilchrist was screaming at the intruder - later identified as
Timothy Finney, 35, of Rialto - to get out of the house, but Finney
responded that he couldn't, said Deputy Bob Thacker of the San Bernardino
County Sheriff's Victorville station.
Gilchrist's wife then put her car in reverse and slammed through the garage
door, allowing Finney to run out and escape in a white PT Cruiser, officials
said.
It all happened in less than a few minutes, but now the events of that
morning will stay with the family for the rest of their lives.
"It's such a violation. It's really indescribable," the female victim said.
"Reality still hasn't set in. I still haven't cried. I'm still in shock."
Deputy Luke Gaytan, one of the first deputies on the scene, notified sheriff's
dispatch to contact all area hospitals to look for anyone admitted with a
gunshot wound.
When no one was found, Gaytan called the valley dispatch center, Thacker
said.
"They told him there was a deputy from Central Station who had just pulled
over a white PT Cruiser at Highland and State Street for blowing stop
signs," Thacker said. "Gaytan gets his cell phone number and was talking to
him when the deputy found the passenger with a bullet wound and a gun in his
waistband."
Authorities said Finney was bleeding out and pools of blood filled the
vehicle.
While medical aid was called for Finney, deputies also detained the driver,
Roland Ryland, 38, of San Bernardino.
Days after both were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, Gilchrist
found out that Ryland, a friend since childhood, was one of the arrestees.
"I couldn't believe it was someone I know. He's been to my house. We've gone
on vacations together and apparently his wife lost her job and they're not
doing well, so he finds someone to rob me," Gilchrist said. "He couldn't do
it himself."
Deputy District Attorney Britt Imes on Tuesday said he filed two counts of
residential robbery and two counts of assault with a firearm on both Finney
and Ryland. There were also transportation and possession of marijuana
charges against both, Imes said.
Imes said that no charges are to be filed against Gilchrist for the
shooting.
"You just can't shoot a trespasser, but you have the right to self defense
that is proportionate to the threat or danger that is applied to you," Imes
said. "If someone pulls a weapon on you, you can certainly pull one back,
but the law can be very case specific."
As for the Gilchrists, they are just thankful that they owned guns and were
able to ward off tragedy.
Gilchrist's wife said: "If he didn't have that gun, we would've both been
dead."
