Knightdale woman who shot intruder acted in self defense, DA rules

The woman who shot a man suspected of stealing 10 bras from a Walmart and then seeking refuge from police in her office building will not be charged criminally for the Sept. 18 shooting. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman made the announcement Monday afternoon.

Connie Wells, 54, shot Deondrea Branch at her CPA firm at 7048 Knightdale Blvd., according to law enforcement reports.

Branch had run into the office building, which was near the Walmart where police had attempted to detain him. He used six blows to break open the door to the office suite, according to Freeman’s report.

Wells, who had been in one of the suite offices working, attempted to call emergency dispatchers at the time but could not get her phone to work. She then retrieved her revolver. After calling out to the intruder to stop approaching her and feeling cornered and afraid for her life, Wells told police she fired the gun once.

Branch was struck in the neck and taken to WakeMed hospital.

Branch, a Clayton resident and the father of a 2-year-old and 4-year-old, has been learning to walk again, according to his family.

Under a North Carolina law adopted in 2011, an individual who uses force against someone who has unlawfully broken into his or her workplace has a presumption of fear of death or serious bodily injury.

“Based on the thorough and professional investigation conducted by the Knightdale Police Department, it has been determined that Mr. Branch was engaging in the offense of breaking and entering, and that Mrs. Wells reasonably believed her life to be in danger and therefore was justified in using force in self-defense,” Freeman’s report states. “Therefore this matter has been closed with no criminal charges for the use of that force.”

Damon Chetson, a Raleigh attorney representing Wells, welcomed the district attorney’s decision, but also noted the “traumatic outcome” for Branch and Wells.

“It is a tragedy any time anyone is seriously injured,” Chetson said in a statement. “However, Deondrea Branch committed a crime when he broke into her closed and locked office, kicking down a 150-pound solid core door in the process. The laws of this state permit a person to exercise deadly force to respond to the imminent threat Ms. Wells faced that evening of being killed or seriously injured. Ms. Wells used force only after exhausting other options.”

“She will never feel entirely safe in her office again,” Chetson added.

This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Knightdale woman who shot intruder acted in self defense, DA rules."