On the night of Thursday, December 26, a Florida homeowner used a personal firearm to fight off two masked home invaders, both of whom turned out to be migrants, one from Chile and the other from Mexico. The Mexican migrant had been arrested in 2023 for burglary and was out on parole at the time of the incident.
In its original press statement on the matter, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office noted that the homeowner had seen, via a home surveillance system, two unknown males trying to enter his house through a rear entryway and managed to fight them off in that attempted home invasion turned-shooting.
It said, “Detectives are actively investigating a shooting and apparent home invasion that occurred in the River Club community last night. Just after 9 p.m. on December 29, 2024, two unknown males were captured on a homeowner’s video surveillance system entering the rear of an occupied home in the 6700 block of Hickory Hammock Circle, Bradenton (River Club).”
Continuing, and describing what occurred in the self-defense incident, the sheriff’s office noted that the homeowner fired multiple rounds, killing one of the two intruders. “The homeowner fired multiple rounds, hitting one of the intruders, while the other fled the scene. The injured intruder was shot several times and initially reported to be in critical condition before being transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injuries this morning,” the press release noted.
It then went on to add that deputies with the office managed to catch the other suspect using a K9 unit, and thus terminated the potential threat to the community, saying, “Deputies tracked down the other suspect using K9 units and arrested him a few blocks away. The scene was secured shortly thereafter, and authorities confirmed that everyone involved was accounted for, posing no threat to the community. Detectives are still working to positively identify the suspects, and the investigation is ongoing.”
The first addendum to that original statement was released on the afternoon of the 27th, noting that one of the intruders, the living one caught by the K9 unit, was identified as an immigrant from Chile. It said, “The intruder arrested last night has been positively identified as 39-year-old Michel Soto-Mella from Chile. He is in the Manatee County charged with Armed Burglary. Additional charges are pending. The identity of the deceased suspect has not yet been confirmed.”
About an hour later, the identity of the other suspect was confirmed, with the sheriff’s office releasing another addendum in which it noted he was a migrant from Mexico. That press release said, “The deceased suspect has been identified as 27-year-old Jorge Nestevan Flores-Toledo from Mexico. He also goes by the name Anibal Miller-Valencia and has a date of birth of 2001. Detectives are currently investigating his background and are seeking to understand why he and his accomplice, Michel Soto-Mella, targeted a residence in River Club last night.”
Further, it noted that he was already arrested for burglary and was out on parole at the time of this incident, saying, “Anibal Miller-Valencia was arrested in Oak Brook, Illinois, in 2023, and served four months in jail for residential burglary before being released on parole in November of this year. He had an active warrant for parole violation and was considered armed and dangerous.”
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells, commenting on the matter to reporters, said, “He [the homeowner] knew something bad was about to happen, and he didn’t stall. He grabbed his firearm, told his wife to get into a safe spot. This is the state of Florida. If you want to break into someone’s home, you should expect to be shot.”
Watch him here:
BREAKING: The Sheriff of Manatee County, Florida, held a press conference praising the local man who shot and eliminated an illegal alien who broke into his home.
“I praise this husband for doing what he needed to do to protect his home and protect his family. If you’re gonna be… pic.twitter.com/0xBbN1HSMU
— George (@BehizyTweets) December 27, 2024
Featured image credit: Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
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