An Indiana burglar, David Bailey, 31, has filed a law suit against the homeowner whose house he broke into. Bailey broke in to the Dunkirk, Indiana garage of David McLaughlin, 33, and when he was caught by McLaughlin, he began to make a run for it. As Bailey was running away, McLaughlin shot him and winged him in the arm as he was headed into an alley. All of this happened back in April of 2014.
Since then, Bailey has decided to sue McLaughlin. Back in 2014, Bailey pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to home detention with an electronic anklet for three years. Bailey’s lawyers filed the lawsuit against McLaughlin last week. After the incident, Judge Max Ludy of the Jay County (Indiana) Superior Court declared that McLaughlin was guilty of criminal recklessness when he shot and wounded Bailey. McLaughlin was sentenced to 60 days in prison and four months of home confinement and detention.
Now, says the lawsuit, Bailey claims he wasn’t anywhere near the McLaughlin house and could not possibly have been guilty of breaking and entering at McLaughlin’s garage. He claims he was never any where near McLaughlin’s home and certainly never broke into his garage with theft on his mind. Dunkirk, Indiana is about 65 miles from Indianapolis.
Bailey claims he was never anywhere near the garage yet contends that he was shot by McLaughlin. Last year, in 2015, Bailey was arrested and pleaded guilty to another burglary charge. The lawsuit contends that McLaughlin shot at Bailey three times after the burglar alarm went off at his house and while chasing him into an alley. The suit claims that one shot came close to his head while another hit Bailey in the back of the arm damaging an artery.
The lawsuit demands financial compensation for Bailey for his injuries and distress. However, no court has agreed to set any hearings in the case as of yet.
PHOTO SOURCE: USA Today