MELBOURNE, Florida — On Wednesday night, Melbourne police say that an armed home invasion robbery was thwarted by a homeowner who shot at the suspects.
Melbourne Police officers received a call at 11:41 p.m. of possibly four black males, some armed with firearms, forcefully entering the residence on Pepper Avenue in Melbourne, Florida. The first responding officer arrived on scene within less than two minutes of receiving the call.
While on scene, it was learned that the homeowner fired his handgun at the suspects and one of them may have been shot. Police recovered firearms at the scene. Additional responding officers began searching the area for the suspects, but it was an officer waiting at Holmes Regional Medical Center that would find them.
One suspect, 25-year-old Bobby Lee Culler, was dropped off at the hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the arm. Two other suspects were stopped in a vehicle as they drove away from the hospital. One of the men in the vehicle, 18-year-old Leonard Valentine, was arrested and charged with armed burglary and violation of probation. The driver of the stopped vehicle was released and Culler was arrested for having an active warrant.
If you have any information regarding this incident, police ask that you please call Crimeline: 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).
