An unwanted person was shot by a homeowner on Mud Road and will face charges in Bulloch County once he is released from the hospital.
The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that deputies and investigators responded to a location on Mud Road after a report of a person with a gunshot wound.
Upon arrival, deputies found David Lane Martin with a gunshot wound to his lower left leg. They administered medical treatment and he was transported to a location for Air Evac to fly him to a hospital in Savannah.
After preliminary investigation and a series of interviews with residents of the home, investigators learned that Martin came onto the property on Mud Road without invitation and began yelling and screaming at the residents. The residents told investigators that Martin walked on the porch of the home and approached the front door ‘showing intentions of entering the home.’
The femlae resident began calling for her husband and was able to close the door before Martin made entry into the home.
The male resident yelled at Martin and told him to leave their house and yard, but Martin reported began walking around their house and entered the shed located next to the house. The male resident told investigators that Martin continued to yell and scream statements about “demons and the devil” and was not making any sense.
Concerned about his safety, the male resident retrieved his handgun to defend himself and his wife if necessary.
According to the press release from the Sheriff’s Office:
[The male resident said] Martin approached his dog pen and physically damaged the gate to the pen. Martin immediately directed his attention at the resident and began to yell and scream at him while walking in aggressive manner towards him. The male resident stated he feared Martin was coming at him to cause harm and would go back to the house to cause harm to his wife, so he pulled his handgun from his back and pointed it in the direction of Martin, ordered him to stop, and leave his property.
The resident explained Martin continued to approach him so he discharged the firearm into the ground in front of Martin in attempts to stop him from assaulting him. Again, the resident stated Martin continued towards him, therefore, he shot Martin in the leg to stop him from committing an assault against him.
During the investigation, both the residents explained they did not know who Martin was and had no idea why he even came to their property.
Upon Martin’s release from the hospital, he will be facing criminal charges consistent with the acts committed against the homeowners.
In the news release, Sheriff Noel Brown advised that citizens should make every effort to call 911 when faced with ‘unwanted persons and intruders,’ but if a homeowner reasonably believes they are being physically threatened and are put in a position where they have no other option but to defend themselves and their family with a firearm, then laws are in place for those circumstances.
Sheriff Brown is referring to the Georgia Code section (16-3-21-Use of force in defense of self or others).
