SC woman shot escaped inmate who kicked her door in. She won’t be charged, cops say
Two inmates escaped a South Carolina jail earlier this month, and one of them broke into a nearby home, WHNS reported.
Bruce Webb McLaughlin Jr. escaped from Pickens County Prison on Dec. 4 before he kicked in the backdoor of the home and was near the bedroom when he was shot and killed by the woman who lives in the home, according to WYFF.
On Monday, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office announced the homeowner would not face any criminal charges, in a news release.
The decision was made with guidance from the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, according to the news release.
“It is the opinion of this office that (the homeowner) would be immune from prosecution for any charges relating to the shooting death of Bruce McLaughlin,” Assistant Solicitor J. Baker Cleveland III said in the news release. “Her actions in this matter are a textbook example of what type of actions the Protection of Persons and Property Act seek to provide absolute criminal immunity for.”
The homeowner’s identity has not been released by authorities.
The 30-year-old McLaughlin was shot in the head and taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a news release from Pickens County Coroner Kandy C. Kelley.
McLaughlin escaped from the detention center along with fellow inmate Timothy Cleveland Dill, as they attacked two guards in a “premeditated plan to escape,” Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark said, according to WHNS.
Within 30 minutes of escaping, Dill was arrested, per the Greenville News.
Around that same time, the shooting was reported in a 911 call by the homeowner, who is a trained concealed weapons permit holder, WSPA reported.
McLaughlin “who was wearing an orange jumpsuit, was armed with a metal knife” according to Clark, who commended the homeowner, who was not injured during the break in, according to WYFF.
“This is the shining example of what this lady did. She took the time to get her CWP and set herself up to be able to protect herself and not be harmed, killed or raped or whatever,” Clark said, the TV station reported. “She came out on the good on this end and the bad guy didn’t.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 9:20 PM with the headline "SC woman shot escaped inmate who kicked her door in. She won’t be charged, cops say."
