Businessman Is Arrested in Shooting of Intruder

VENTURA —  The intruder arrived with a 3-foot piece of rubber hose. The store owner met him with a sawed-off shotgun.

Sunday, the intruder was in the hospital with wounds to the arm. The appliance store owner was in jail, facing possible assault and illegal weapons charges.

Police say business owner Robert Lewis Crose, 33, of Ventura was inside Stan’s Appliance, in the 1700 block of Thompson Boulevard, just before 9 p.m. Saturday when Christopher Adam McIntyre, 39, also of Ventura, knocked on the back door.

When Crose opened the rear door, he found McIntyre with a rubber washing-machine hose, police said. Crose told McIntyre to leave.

After McIntyre refused to leave and entered the store, Crose shot him in the left arm with the shotgun, police said.

Crose then called police, who arrested him. He was booked into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of an illegal weapon, police said. On Sunday, Crose remained in jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

McIntyre was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. He was listed in fair and stable condition, hospital officials said Sunday.

Police said a store owner isn’t justified in shooting an intruder unless a life is threatened.

“You can’t shoot someone unless your own life is threatened,” said Teresa Stanley, of the Ventura Police Department. “A rubber hose is not going to kill you.”

What’s more, sawed-off shotguns are illegal because they spray the shot over a wide area and can cause severe damage, Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Carpenter said. By law, the barrel of a shotgun has to be a minimum of 18 inches in length, he said.

Several neighbors said the store and apartments above it have generated nothing but trouble in the past couple of months.

During that time, frequent fights, with loud swearing, have occurred, lasting sometimes until 3 a.m., a neighbor said.

Another neighbor said police and city officials came to the store on several occasions to tell the store owner not to display his appliances on the sidewalk.

On Sunday, police would not confirm whether there had been any incidents at the property.

But the owner of the building said that Crose has been a source of problems since he moved in two months ago. The owner, who declined to give his name, said Crose had rented the ground-floor commercial space but had moved with several other people into one of the four apartments above the store. The owner said Crose has fallen behind in his rent and is facing eviction.

The building had a “For Sale” sign in front of it, and a banner that read “Now Renting” was draped over the second-floor windows.

A 16-year-old man who identified himself as Michael Roy Schillito said he lives in one of the upstairs units and works at Stan’s Appliance. He said Crose was set to move out of the store today.

With Crose in jail, Schillito said he and his family would have to move out the remaining merchandise.