Store Owner May Be Prosecuted For Killing An Armed Robber Who Shot At Him

by John Hawkins | April 21, 2013 12:51 pm

Hamilton, Ohio — Smail Gueddari was with his sleeping two year old son in the back of his clothing store, Mazagan Urban Ware, when he heard something alarming: His wife was screaming in terror.

An armed robber with a piece of black cloth over his face had entered the store, drawn a gun on Gueddari’s wife and was demanding that she hand over the contents of the cash register.

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Fearing for his wife’s safety, Gueddari armed himself and went towards the front of the store. As he came out the door, the robber fired at him. Luckily, the bullet missed and slammed into a mannequin.

Gueddari returned fire twice at the robber and one of his shots found its mark.

The robber, Jeremy Scott Irvin, staggered out the front door of Mazagan Urban Ware, collapsed to the ground and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

When asked for a comment, Gueddari said, “Anybody in my place would have done what I do. I didn’t kill him; he killed himself.”

Almost unbelievably, Gueddari could be prosecuted for defending his family.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser is turning the case over to a Grand Jury. According to Gmoser, “The parameters with respect to the use of deadly force and fire arms, and the protection of business property only, had to be laid out clearly so people don’t get the wrong idea of what they can do and they can’t do.”

If you can’t legally kill an armed robber who fires a weapon at you in your own store, you’re basically banning the use of handguns in your own defense. Unless Gmoser is alleging that Gueddari is lying about the case, there’s nothing here for a Grand Jury to discuss. If Gmoser can’t figure that out, maybe the people of Butler County need a new prosecutor.