Woman Charged for Firing at Suspected Shoplifters

Her lawyer insists she was being a 'good Samaritan'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 13, 2015 5:40 PM CDT
Woman Charged for Firing at Suspected Shoplifters
This Aug. 14, 2012 file photo shows a Home Depot store in Nashville, Tenn.   (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

A suburban Detroit woman licensed to carry a concealed weapon was charged after authorities say she shot and flattened an SUV's tire to stop two suspected shoplifters fleeing a Home Depot parking lot. Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, 46, of Clarkston, was arraigned Tuesday for reckless discharge of a weapon in the Oct. 6 incident that took place in Auburn Hills, northwest of Detroit. A Home Depot employee was trying to stop a 52-year-old man who was pushing a cart of merchandise that hadn't been paid for from the store. The man got into a SUV driven by another man, who began to pull out of the lot. "The female customer ... fired shots at the suspect vehicle as it fled, flattening a tire on the vehicle," police said Tuesday in a release. Even so, the suspected shoplifters got away. Two people were arrested a few days later and have been charged with retail fraud.

Authorities have said the woman who allegedly fired the shot wasn't being threatened by the shoplifters. The attempt to stop the SUV was "misguided," Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said. "If this is proven, I find it very disturbing that someone would take out their gun in a busy parking lot and shoot at the tires of a passing car," she added. "Once fired, the bullet could have easily ricocheted or fragmented and injured or killed someone else." Duva-Rodriguez's attorney, Steve Schwartz, said she has a concealed pistol license and was just trying to do the right thing, calling her "somebody who is always willing and actually wanting to help others" and the incident her "attempt to be a good Samaritan." She faces 90 days behind bars and a possible fine. (More weird crimes stories.)

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