A man and woman who committed an armed robbery stopped by a shotgun wielding 11-year-old girl have been sentenced in Michigan.
Last year,, 11-year-old Reese saw two people banging on her door before circling her house trying to find a way in. The young girl remembered her father’s advice, that if anything went wrong, she should grab the family’s shotgun and hide in the bathroom of the master bedroom.
“I pointed it in his face and they ran off as soon as I did,” Reese said. The girl gave investigators a description of the suspects and thanks to her help, police were able to track down the pair. James Wasson and Rhonda Steward were quickly apprehended and charged with home invasion and felony gun charges, according to the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office.
MLive reports:
James Wasson, 54, pleaded no contest on Thursday, April 14, 2016 to multiple counts of first-degree and second-degree home invasion among 18 felony offenses connected to nine break-ins.
One of the cases against Wasson revolves around a Jan. 30, 2015 home invasion on Five Lakes Road in North Branch Township during which an 11-year-old girl was home alone.
She locked herself in a bathroom and hid with a shotgun, until Wasson eventually opened the door and closet where the girl was hiding. She pointed the shotgun at Wasson, who then fled the home in a van filled with stolen property.
Wasson was later taken into custody. DNA collected from Wasson by law enforcement connected him to two other home invasions in Lapeer County. He later confessed to five other home invasions in the county.
“While our office does not think lightly of anyone who commits crimes, we take particular offense to any individual who enters our County to prey on our communities and residents,” said Lapeer County Prosecutor Tim Turkelson, in a statement on Wasson, an Oakland County resident.
Rhonda Steward, 33, of Detroit, previously pleaded on charges of second-degree home invasion and concealing stolen property of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000 in connection to two break-ins, including the North Branch Township incident involving the 11-year-old girl.
Stewart was sentenced to a minimum of three years and maximum of 15 years in prison.
Wasson, who was also charged as a habitual four-time-felon with multiple prior felonies on his record prior to the plea, faces up to life in prison.
Hey liberals, criminals don’t follow the law. More gun laws will not help, but more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens, even 11-year-old ones, do.
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