A 34-year-old Houma, Louisiana man is lucky to be alive and in jail today after he was shot by an armed homeowner on Tuesday morning. According to authorities, the homeowner heard a noise downstairs around 5:15 Tuesday morning and armed himself before leaving his bedroom to check on the sound. As he was heading downstairs, he was allegedly confronted by Dex Hebert and then fired a shot, sending the man fleeing. 

The homeowner called the police, who found the suspect and an alleged accomplice just a short distance from the burgled residence. 

A location was obtained for Hebert in the 1200 block of Gibb Street and officers went to that location to apprehend him. As officers were attempting to make contact with Hebert, a female identified as Tye Corbitt, 26 years old, exited the home armed with a handgun. Corbitt was quickly taken into custody without incident, and she advised that Hebert was in the home lying on the sofa suffering from a gunshot to the head. A team of officers entered the home but initially were unable to locate the suspect. Several announcements were made warning the suspect that a K9 would be released with no response. K9 Mario was then released into the home where he was able to locate the suspect hiding under a mattress and allow for officers to take him into custody without incident.

Hebert was found to have been shot in the forehead and was transported to a local medical facility for his injuries. Upon arrival at the hospital, it was determined that all his injuries were superficial and was released after treatment.

At the moment, it's Corbitt who's facing the more serious charges. Herbert was arrested on one count of simple burglary as well as an outstanding warrant for an undisclosed probation violation, but Corbitt is facing a charge of felon in possession of a firearm in addition to obstruction of justice and simple burglary. 

The homeowner, meanwhile, isn't facing any charges, nor should he. Under Louisiana law, a person can use deadly force to defend themselves when someone has unlawfully and forcibly entered their property, and based on the reporting by Houma police that's exactly what transpired on Tuesday morning. Hebert had no right to be in the home in question, but the armed citizen had every right to protect himself from an unlawful intruder when he discovered the stranger in his home. 

As I said, Hebert is incredibly lucky that he only suffered a superficial wound to the forehead instead of losing his life. If he's convicted of the burglary, he's looking at a mandatory one-year prison stay, with the possibility of up to twelve years behind bars. Corbitt, meanwhile, is facing a mandatory minimum of five years in prison for possessing a gun as a convicted felon, in addition to any sentence she might receive for burglary or obstruction of justice. 

I can't imagine that there was anything inside that home worth a twelve-month stint in the state penitentiary, much less the possibility of losing your life at the hands of a lawful gun owner, but we can't count on the good judgment of criminals to keep us safe. It's up to us to protect ourselves, and I'm grateful that the homeowner in Houma was willing and able to do so when he became the target of the early morning prowler or prowlers.