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AVIS -- After a nearly yearlong investigation, Clinton County District Attorney David A. Strouse has ruled the fatal shooting last year in Pine Creek Township was a case of self defense.
"This is a clear example of the Pennsylvania Castle Doctrine," he said Friday in announcing Philip Almendarez Sr. will not be charged with killing Cody James Englert, 30.
"If a person breaks into someone's home, the law presumes that person intends to do the homeowner harm," the district attorney said.
"The circumstances surrounding Mr. Englert's death are obviously more complicated than that, but, in the end, Mr. Almendarez was protecting himself and his family inside his own home. He acted within the law in the use of deadly force," Strouse said, giving the following synopsis of the investigation that followed the Sept. 13, 2017, shooting:
"Almendarez was asleep about 1:50 a.m. inside his Fourth Street home in Pine Creek Township when he was awakened by loud banging noises at this front door.
"He retrieved a .45-caliber handgun as he heard what sounded like someone kicking in the front door.
"The intruder, later identified as Englert, entered the bedroom and punched Almendarez in the face. Almendarez fired three shots, all of them striking Englert.
"Almendarez immediately asked another individual in the residence, Tara Litz, to call 911. When police arrived on scene at 1:56 a.m., Almendarez had exited the residence, unloaded and voluntarily relinquished his firearm.
"Englert was pronounced dead at the scene by Clinton County Coroner Zach Hanna. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the face and chest.
"The investigation revealed Englert and Litz, who was present during the shooting, had recently ended a long-term relationship. They had shared a nearby residence. When Englert learned of Litz's relationship with Almendarez, he had previously approached Almendarez and threatened him to stay away from Litz.