Bizarre nighttime intruder. (Exercising the Right).

Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on July 5th, Dale Clinton Beatty, 22, emerged naked from his residence in East Naples, Florida, and began causing a ruckus in the driveway of neighbor Gerald House, 55.

House's wife Jill and their 20-year-old son Justin were awakened by the noise and went to investigate. They asked Beatty to leave and, when he refused, returned home to call 911. Beatty followed and pushed his way into the residence.

Gerald House, 55, is a former Marine. Armed with a handgun, he confronted Beatty (a second-degree karate black belt) and ordered the intruder to leave. Beatty balked, and House repeated the demand several times as his neighbor became increasingly agitated and menacing. According to Collier County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Sheri Mausen, "there was some kind of confrontation" during which House fired a single shot that struck Beatty in the chest. The wounded man was rushed by Medflight to a hospital in Fort Myers, where he was later pronounced dead.

The sheriff's office did not charge Gerald House in the shooting since, according to Mausen, investigators believed that he had acted in self-defense. State prosecutors told reporters, however, that they would take a closer look at the evidence to confirm if House was indeed justified in using deadly force. Under Florida law, persons are allowed to protect themselves from imminent danger or great bodily harm, but according to Assistant State Attorney Mike Provost, "If you can run away, you are obligated to run away." On the other hand, Provost explained, that obligation does not apply to persons under siege in their homes.