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Published On: Thu, May 30th, 2013

Corey Thompson, Oregon Iraq Afghan veteran, loses AR-15 and arrested for firing warning shot at intruder

An Oregon man, a veteran, has had rifle confiscated and is facing criminal charges after he attempted to stop a wanted felon from breaking into his home by firing a warning shot.

Corey Thompson, a military veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, cautioned the burglar before eventually firing a warning shot at Jonathon Kinsella as the runaway felon was trying to come in through his backdoor.

“I told him ‘I’m going to give you a warning shot’,” Thompson told KDRV-TV.

Corey ThompsonThompson brandished his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and fired a shot at Kinsella without hitting him or any other person.

Officers responded to the apartment complex in the area after receiving a disturbance call. During their investigation, cops heard a gun shot and a man running away toward the complex’s parking lot.

Authorities say 40-year-old Jonathon Kinsella, a wanted felon, was attempting to flee the scene when he was arrested on outstanding warrants, including for burglary and assault.

Thompson says Kinsella was trying to beak into his home via the back door. Defending his property, Thompson said he warned the criminal that he was armed and he was giving him his one and only warning shot.

“This is the end result. You break into someone’s house, there’s consequences,” Thompson said.

Police later determined he wasn’t justified in firing his weapon. Medford Police Lt. Mike Budreau said “there was nothing that the suspect was doing that was aggressive enough to justify the shooting.”

Thompson was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, menacing and reckless endangering. The veteran’s AR-15 was seized by police because they claim it was used in the commission of a crime.

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About the Author

- Catherine "Kaye" Wonderhouse, a proud descendant of the Wunderhaus family is the Colorado Correspondent who will add more coverage, interviews and reports from this midwest area.

Displaying 9 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. Anna says:

    In all truth, your damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The legal system will make hay either way. If I truly said beyond that what I think the best way to handle this situation would be I would be setting myself up if ever I was in the situation. Never speak publicly about what can be later used against you in a court of law. They will take your worst moments and use them to make you look like a gun totting psychopath.

  2. Dave says:

    This guy was following what he was taught by the Military in Iraq. The rules of engagement allowed “warning shots.” This is what he was taught in combat.

    http://news.lawreader.com/2006/11/15/us-forces-in-iraq-must-follow-rules-of-engagement-in-use-of-force/

    • Travis says:

      #1. No, our ROE/RUF does NOT allow for warning shots, and has not for almost a decade. But in this case, it’s the best thing to do. A warning shot in the dirt has a magical way of disarming a hostile scene before actual blood is spilt.
      #2 Has nothing to do with Iraq practices, other than vets knowing an AR-15 better than any other weapon.
      #3 This is a Police and DA problem. They refuse to take into account that this no-doubt “bloodthirsty, traumatized vet” killed NOONE. They’re simply after a prosecution to add another notch to the belt. The cure to that problem is to create a new agency to provide actual OVERSIGHT of rampaging prosecutors who use any pretext to lock people away and ruin their lives, especially after being in a life threatening situation.

  3. American Voter says:

    I’ll give you the exact quote: “”If there’s ever a problem,” Biden said he told his wife, Jill, “just walk out on the balcony here–walk out, put that double barrel shot gun and fire two blasts outside the house — I promise you whoever is coming in … You don’t need an AR-15, it’s harder to aim, it’s harder to use…Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!””

  4. John DeVito says:

    Mr. Thompson did not fire “at” the intruder as you story states. Had he fired “at” him we can be sure that you would be posting information about Kinsella’s funeral arrangements. Mr. Thompson safely and responsibly fired a warning shot “at” the ground, and I might add that he was following the vice-president’s advice about firing a warning shot. Perhaps you should get the story right. As for the local authorities, they said he wasn’t justified to give the warning shot, but had Kinsella gotten in and killed or hurt Thompson they would have pointed to the “fact” that private firearms ownership is not a self-defense asset. Anything to make gun owners look bad.

    Perhaps you need to worry more about the truth than the MSM agenda you’ve been forcefed. As for me, I am happy that the criminal (the real criminal) didn’t hurt Mr. Thompson (the guy who isn’t the criminal, in case you needed some help in differentiating between the two).

    • Ray says:

      If you think The Dispatch is MSM then you must be new here. Thompson still shot “at” him and I don’t think the writer is trying to paint him in the “wrong” light

  5. Stephanie says:

    Ok…I’m confused our own vice pres. Told us to warn an intruder by shooting in the air…what yet another lie….and now we can’t defend our home our family…until what let the guy pull a gun or hurt someone before taking action? What is America coming to when criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens…

  6. Lions of Liberty says:

    […] rifle without hitting the intruder, any other person, or damaging a neighbor’s property.  The Global Dispatch describes the event in detail. […]

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