Taos County Sheriff’s Office reports shooting following intrusion

Posted: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 9:24 am | Updated: 4:11 pm, Tue Jul 17, 2012.

(TaosNews.com) The Taos County Sheriff’s Office has clarified the circumstances surrounding a shooting that occurred early Saturday morning (July 14).

Undersheriff Ed Romero told The Taos News early Tuesday morning that no charges have yet been filed in the shooting, as the 19-year-old intruder — Robert Carpenter — is now recovering in St. Vincent Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit in Santa Fe.

“We will interview him later on,” Romero said.

Romero said that Carpenter knocked on the door an unidentified homeowner on Los Alamitos Road, getting the man in a headlock and robbing him of $150 cash and a jar of medical marijuana at gunpoint.

Romero said that the homeowner had a valid license to use medical marijuana.

Romero said that the homeowner was calling authorities about the intrusion when he heard Carpenter returning to the house.

“The intruder, though a doggie door, displayed a weapon,” Romero said. “At that point, the owner discharged a high-powered rifle through the steel door, striking the intruder six times in the lower extremities.”

Early reports were incorrect, Romero said, citing that Carpenter stole $150 worth of marijuana and that he’d been shot in the chest and torso area.