A New Hampshire man who fired his handgun into the ground to scare an alleged burglar he caught crawling out of a neighbor's window is now facing a felony charge -- and the same potential prison sentence as the man he stopped.

Dennis Fleming, 61, of Farmington, was arrested for reckless conduct after the Saturday incident at his 19th century farmhouse. The single grandfather had returned home to find that his home had been burglarized and spotted Joseph Hebert, 27, climbing out of a window at a neighbor's home. Fleming said he yelled "Freeze!" before firing his gun into the ground, then held Hebert at gunpoint until police arrived.


"I didn't think I could handle this guy physically, so I fired into the ground," Fleming told FoxNews.com. "He stopped. He knew I was serious. I was angry … and I was worried that this guy was going to come after me."

No one was injured in the incident, but when the police arrived, they made two arrests. Hebert was charged with two counts of burglary and drug possession. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Fleming, meanwhile, is scheduled to be arraigned March 20 on a charge of reckless conduct, which could potentially land him a sentence similar to the one Hebert faces.

"I didn't know it was illegal [to fire into the ground], but I had to make that guy realize I was serious," Fleming said. "I've got a clean record. I really don't want to be convicted."

County Attorney Tom Velardi told Foster's Daily Democrat he will review the case and determine if the charge against Fleming is appropriate under the state statutes regarding self-defense and defense of property.

Fleming, meanwhile, is hoping to catch a break.

"I have 14 grandchildren, I don't want to be a felon and go to jail," he said. "I'm kind of wound up about it."

Fleming's collection of seven rifles and a .38-caliber handgun were seized by police. But Fleming said he's not entirely defenseless: "I've got a Louisville Slugger here, but I would call the police," he said.

Calls seeking comment from Farmington Police Department Chief Scott Roberge were not immediately returned.

Penny Dean, a spokeswoman for the Gun Owners of New Hampshire, said her organization is "absolutely outraged" by Fleming's arrest.

"This homeowner fired at the ground, from all accounts, in a safe direction and held a burglar for police and did things correctly," Dean told FoxNews.com. "The fact that this man would be charged is an outrage. Burglars in New Hampshire must know it's open season, since homeowners cannot defend themselves, as evidenced by this case. This is charging the victim."

Rick Pelkey, Fleming's longtime neighbor, said he's now worried how the "straight-forward, working-class guy" will pay legal fees associated with the arrest.

"I think it's outrageous," Pelkey told FoxNews.com. "He did the community a service here. We ought to thank him for it."

Read more: New Hampshire Man Arrested For Firing Gun Into Ground While Catching Suspected Burglar | Fox News

This guy should have gotten a medal!

This guy defends his home without causing harm to anyone (even the invader) and is charged, has all of his defensive firearms taken and the government official is going to "look into" the appropriateness of the charge.

Its **** like this . . .

He should have hurled insults at the criminal then shot him in the chest when he came after him!

OMG a rare instance where everyone agrees this should go down in mingle history books of the political forums..... It's like the twilight zone up in here

Ummmmm, it's only four people so far!

Make that 5!

Oh $hit, we agree on another thing.

how was it defending his home if the guy was not even on his property?

I doubt with his previous non record and age that he will be convicted of anything,, but it was reckless


the 'proper' thing is to call the police and have a description of whom he saw leaving the neighbors, NOT to confront him with a weapon,,,,

..you would say that.

The part they left out was how long it took the cops to show up.
It was probably dark on top of it.

So, in court, it would have been his word versus..

..who? Oh right, a mug shot.

Meanwhile, this guy is sitting pretty after robbing that guys house and his neighbors.

..yup, justice is awesome.........ly flawed.

Hebert was charged with two counts of burglary and drug possession. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.


NOT QUITE ,, sitting pretty


I didnt read anything in the op that implied the man was in any immediate threat,, especially nothing that the burglar was armed or confronted him in any way,,,,,


but was LEAVING A NEIGHBORS house,,,,

we have police to arrest and detain, we dont need citizens running around trying to detain suspected criminals with weapons,, that would be wreckless

..yeah, that's because the GUY stopped him and waited for police.



..yes, because police do SUCH an AMAZING job at it.

*sigh*

A 9 month old baby gets shot in a drive-by.. No suspects.

A man fires six bullets into a man ON CAMERA at an ATM.
3 years later, still no arrests.

Jack the Ripper.

Marilyn Sheppard.

The entire Borden Family.

14 year old girl stabbed 6 times in front of the 7-11 with two cops across the street.

..still no convictions 5 years later.

..and what are most crimes they do catch people for?

Petty possession charges and drunk driving.

482/7,759 <--Crime arrest to convictions for LA Alone.
These are Felonies.

936/20,478 <--Crime arrest to convictions for LA alone.
These are Misdemeanors.

Now let's reduce this to a more related crime, say Burglary.

2,379 Burglaries were filed in the Lehigh Valley in 2011.
Out of these 2,379 Reported Burglaries; 185 People were arrested.

Out of those 185 Arrests:

1. 48 were released due to 'lack of evidence'.
2. 50 were released due to 'no witnesses' (doesn't mean their wasn't actually ANY witnesses, just no one could visibly 'identify' the burglar)

So, knock 98 off that list.

That means:

Out of 2,379 Burglaries; 87 people were arrested and convicted.

This is the exact same as saying:

If that man had let the burglar go:

There was a 83% chance, he would have gotten away with it.
Whether through the court system.
Or lack of evidence.
Or never actually being found.

..Mhmm.

Awesome idea to let him bolt off with the stuff..

and in spite of all that,,,,


I STILL do not want a society where any citizen with a gun can hold up and DETAIN someone they suspect of a crime

it sets a dangerous and WRECKLESS precedent

it may be a criminal they successfully detain, but it MAY BE one who is better at killing than they are and who decides to do that when confronted or it MAY BE someone who is not armed and who ends up being SHOT by a nervous citizen who decided to confront them and point a gun


its not a precedent I wish to be upheld or encouraged,,,

We agree. :)

But this guy was armed to the teeth for the apocalypse.

I'm pretty sure its safe to say..

..that wasn't the case here. :P

ok, the OP didnt include anything about weapons or arrest for possession though,,,

if he was armed, it was a really stupid thing to do, to confront him, unless the burglar actually CAME IN THE MANS direction,,,,,

No, I meant the guy who held the burglar captive..

He apparently had a massive arsenal in his crib.

Thus, he was a trained weapon guy, not a nervous citizen.

Tis what I meant.

I think the burglar was unarmed, maybe?

See?

I was talking about this, Harmony.

The 'hero', so to speak.

The Guy getting arrested for making a Citizen's Arrest?


That Police-Department ought to be given the "Horse's *** Of The Year Award",for arresting the Guy,and confiscating his Firearms!

(Un)Freedom to Bare Arms!

It's in the constitution dude. xD

If it was me in that situation, chances are that it wouldn't have been the ground that I shot at. If I caught the guy breaking into MY house, there's NO doubt that I woulda shot him!

Theoretically, the 'proper' thing to do would be to get a description of the guy and call the cops, but this is reality. At least in my town, the cops are pretty much useless. If you saw the burglary and KNEW who the guy was (and knew where he lived) the cops MIGHT do something after they show up an hour or two later. That is, IF they show up! Having just a description..... As if they're going to interrupt their game of solitaire to do their job.