Woman shoots intruder
By John Joyce
Published in News on August 7, 2014 1:46 PM
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Christopher Todd Brogden
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Members of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office work at the scene of a shooting involving a county resident and an alleged would-be robber.
A Wayne County woman will not be charged after shooting an intruder early this morning outside a residence along Providence Church Road.
Investigators with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said she acted in self-defense.
Paige Ham, 28, an employee of Wayne Community College, fired at least three rounds from a .380 caliber Glock pistol, Maj. Tom Effler said at the scene.
"She did everything right as far as I'm concerned," he said.
He described Mrs. Ham as being a "very tiny young lady who was in fear for her life as this man was running at her."
The incident took place at 4:19 a.m.
According to the report, Mrs. Ham and another female were awakened inside the home by a noise coming from outside their residence at 582 Providence Church Road.
The two women looked out the window and could see the lock had been cut from an outside shed.
The shed was open.
Mrs. Ham went to investigate while the other female, whose name is being withheld, readied her phone to dial 911.
As Mrs. Ham approached the shed, a white male later identified as Christopher Todd Brogden, 28, allegedly charged at her.
Mrs. Ham fired her weapon striking Brogden once in the chest.
The other woman called police.
"He turned and ran a few steps before he fell. He crawled back this way a bit," Effler said, gesturing toward the house.
He said Brogden continued to curse at Mrs. Ham while she waited for help to arrive.
She stayed in the yard with Brogden until deputies arrived. She put her hands up, dropped the weapon and identified herself, he said.
Brogden is in stable condition at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, according to the sheriff's office.
Investigators continued to process the scene well into the morning. A grid was erected to search for evidence.
One detective, Rick Farfour, removed his shoes and carefully walked the area attempting to locate any spent shells by stepping on them.
Effler said that a few live rounds were recovered, but no spent casings.
"Metal detectors work, but you have to be right over the darn things to find them," he said.
The sheriff's office does not expect any charges to be filed against Mrs. Ham, but Brogden might be charged later.
"Right now, we're still investigating," Effler said.