Elderly Man Arrested After Shooting Couple Who Shattered Window
REVERE (CBS) - He says he acted in self-defense, but an elderly man was arrested, charged with attempted murder.
Eighty-two-year-old Charles Dicino was carted away in cuffs early Wednesday morning, charged with two counts of attempted murder, even as his neighbors insisted he'd done the right thing.
Late last night, Dicino summoned Revere police to his home on Calumet Street, saying a homeless couple had shattered his front window.
WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod reports
Three hours later, the Korean War vet with no criminal record called 911 again, and told officers he'd just shot the couple with his .22 rifle after they tried to break in.
The wounded homeless two are neighborhood regulars, often sleeping at a vacant house, after long nights downing vodka and beer right next to the elderly man's house, amid frequent runs to the nearby liquor store, where the woman was banished for shoplifting.
The homeless couple has been identified as Joe Ross, who was shot in the abdomen, and Evelyn O'Neill, who was shot in the legs. Their injuries are not considered life threatening.
But the couple told police they were neither tormenting Dicino nor trying to break in, when he fired from inside his home and hit them standing out front.
Despite the logistics, veteran attorney Geoff Nathan believes all the legal points are there to prove Dicino was justified in firing, afraid for his life when faced with potential home intruders.
