Armed 87-year-old saves woman: Cops

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - Sheriff's deputies said a gunshot victim wasn't really a victim after all.

In fact, they said he's quite the opposite. According to investigators, the man who pulled the trigger was an 87-year-old hero.  

Investigators believe the gunshot victim was in the process of chasing down and attacking a woman when the shooting happened.

The incident happened Sunday at a property in north Roswell in the 6100 block of Old Clovis Highway. A woman was doing laundry when she claims her neighbor, Larrell Stell, 49, took off his shirt and started talking.

"She reports being accosted by a male resident there," said Lt. Britt Snyder of the Chaves County Sheriff's Department.  "He made sexual advances towards her, and she rebuffed that.  He got upset and pushed her down,"

The woman, 24 and pregnant, said she took her 3-year-old daughter and ran to her landlord's house next door. She told deputies Stell barged his way inside, pushed her down and punched her face repeatedly.
    
The landlord told detectives he tried to break up the fight, but eventually grabbed his handgun and shot Stell in the torso. At that point, the landlord said Stell came after him, so he shot the man again.

"From the information that we've been given, we think it sounds fortunate that the landlord was armed in this case," said Snyder. "He certainly would have been no match for a man that's 40 years younger than him."

According to the report, the woman told deputies that after the suspect was shot, he continued to pace around the property for nearly an hour. She said Stell even turned off her electricity before driving himself to the hospital.

Police were called to the hospital, but said Stell was uncooperative, and wouldn't tell them what happened. The Chaves County Sheriff's Department learned the story from the two alleged victims.
    
In this case, Snyder said the landlord may have prevented more violence.

"Having taken action with a handgun may have prevented a possible murder, maybe the murder of both of them," Snyder said.  "We don't know."

Snyder said Stell is still being treated for two gunshot wounds at a Lubbock, Texas, hospital. He's expected to face criminal charges once he's out of the hospital.
    
At this point, Snyder said it appears the landlord will not be facing charges. He identified himself as a former sheriff's deputy and declined a request for an interview from KRQE News 13.

Police said Stell had an ankle monitor on when this happened. Court records show he was on probation for a previous battery conviction.