A suspected home intruder has died after initiating a shoot-out with a rural California homeowner, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. The deceased, 41-year-old Rodney Lee Martin, was found inside the home with a stolen firearm on his person, authorities said.
At around 12:22 p.m. on Friday, deputies responded to a 911 call from a homeowner in unincorporated Modesto, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. Upon arrival, they found Martin dead from at least one gunshot wound.
The homeowner told the authorities that they rushed home after receiving an alert from their alarm company that their home had been broken into. Upon arriving and confronting Martin, the suspect opened fire, and the homeowner – who has not been identified or charged with any crimes – fired back.
Authorities said the homeowner is cooperating with law enforcement and several aspects of the incident remain under investigation.
FOX 40 noted that Friday’s incident was the second death that week of a suspected home intruder in the Modesto area. On Tuesday, 32-year-old suspect Pearl Fierro allegedly used a fire extinguisher to break a sliding glass door at an elderly couple’s home and threatened to kill them.
