BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA — A burglary suspect fled after confronting an occupant armed with a gun. The story kicks off at 2:38 a.m. when Joseph Deroger, 27, barged into a residence and shoved his way past a female before encountering a male. He allegedly tackled the man and the two began fighting on the ground.
During the ensuing struggle, the gun owner pulled a .38 caliber revolver from his waistband and fired a single shot. The shot missed and Deroger tried to grab the gun. When that failed, he fled. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, police captured Deroger and charged him with aggravated burglary.
Deroger’s plan obviously fell flat on its face the second a gun was used against him. He had likely counted on his large demeanor and intimidating presence to do all the work for him. When faced with the very real threat of deadly force being used against him, he opted out.
This is another example of why it’s so important to be armed in the home. Many criminals rely on some element of surprise or intimidation to coerce their victims into accepting their fate. By use of a handgun, those elements stop being effective.
The guy in the house had little choice but to defend his life. Deroger obviously wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer. He also wasn’t about to get shot over his convictions. Here’s a case that likely revolved around physical intimidation as his main tactic. We think, after he serves his time, he should strongly consider getting out of the thug life. It’s not going to work for him.
Criminals like this, we’ve unfortunately reported on more than a few. In every single case, it would just make sense to find a different line of work. Not only did Deroger survive the encounter, he’ll live to learn from it. That’s what we hope for everyone that makes it back out. Otherwise, it’ll be some other gun owner on some other night in someone else’s home. The results will be far more catastrophic.
Punches to the face, bruised lips, swollen eyes, most men can recover from these things and move on. Gunshot wounds, though, aren’t the sort of thing that makes for a speedy recovery.
Play it smart, Deroger, get out of the game.
As for the occupant of the house who had the foresight to carry a gun in his waistband, we’re pretty sure he’s confident in that investment. Carry every single day — in the home and outside of it.