True Stories

By, Brad Fisher

Ashtabula County, Ohio

Around 2:00 Monday morning on February 15, 2010, Michelle Pryor and her fiancé, Michael Hommes were getting ready for bed when their dog began barking. She let the german shepherd named Sirus out and was stunned when she heard gunfire outside the home.

Startled, she hid her baby daughter in a laundry basket and alerted Michael. Michael grabbed his pistol and moments later heard the sound of his back door being kicked in. Investigating, he found a man standing inside his home. Michael fired at the man, who ran from the house and then fled the scene in a white, four-door Buick sedan.

In their back yard, they found Sirus shot in the chest and on the muzzle between his eyes. Michelle Pryor believes her dog took bullets that could have been fired at her family. The veterinarian who treated Sirus was amazed that he survived.

As for a motive for shooting Sirus and breaking into the house, Michelle said she had just cashed a tax refund check and believes she was followed home.

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Bedford, IA

On Friday morning, August 16, 2013, Rodney Long climbed a fence and escaped from a prison in Clarinda, IA. Two days later, Long shot and wounded a Sheriff's Deputy about 10 miles northwest of Bedford. Iowa officers, with help from Missouri and Nebraska State Patrol, searched for Long, scouring about 16 square miles, after the sheriff's deputy was shot.

After hiding out all day, Long forced his way into a retired farm couple's home in Bedford about 10:15 p.m., awakening them. Long, who was armed with a handgun, cut their telephone lines and used their cell phone. 71 year old Jerome Mauderly and his wife Carolyn, were held captive in their own home for four hours.

The Mauderlys were aware of the prison escape and shooting. Around 2:00 am, Jerome Mauderly was able to get a shotgun he kept in the kitchen and shot Long once, killing him.

An Iowa State Patrol officer was nearby and quickly responded, finding Long face down on the kitchen floor. The Mauderlys were not injured. The police had searched the Mauderlys' property three times that day prior to the shooting.