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Carolina Beach homeowner kills intruder in self defense

Police discovered the body of Charles Gokee in a yard on Charlotte Avenue in Carolina Beach. The body of a man apparently trying to defend his family, who confronted the wrong man.

"He got drunk, he got stupid and the man went after him," Carolina Beach Police Detective Harry Humphries says.  

This is how police describe the deadly case of mistaken identity. Gokee was out to find the man who was sexually harassing his daughter. He broke into a home -- the wrong home, in more ways than one. Inside was Dana Davis, who awoke to a stranger attacking him.

Davis, a former law enforcement officer, went for his gun. The two men struggled for the weapon. Two shots from the .357 magnum were fired into the ceiling. Gokee then ran. Davis went outside and saw him still in his yard. Gokee charged Davis threatening to kill him. Davis fired the fatal shot. A neighbor saw Gokee's body down the street.

"He was lying in the ground moving around," says Mario Proserpi, one of Davis' neighbors.  "He was still alive, and police were looking around him."

Kellie Mininno can't believe what happened in her quiet neighborhood.

"I don't know what I would have done if someone broke into my home with my family," she says. "It guess it was what he had to do in the heat of the moment."

In that moment police say a man defending his home, killed a man defending his family.

Gokee had a criminal record of breaking and entering.  No charges have been filed again Davis.

There are some of basic laws that govern when it is legal to shoot someone on your property in self defense.

First, the law says you don't have to hide, or back-off to avoid a confrontation. But you must have a reasonable belief the intruder intends to commit a crime. You can shoot first, if you believe your life is threatened.

Reported By Maggie Alexander