90-year-old shot in face during burglary is SUED by burglar because World War Two veteran fired back

Former deputy sheriff and war veteran Jay Leone shot 31-year-old alleged burglar Samuel Cutrufelli three times with one of the five handguns he kept in his bathroom

Meth addict Cutrufelli is now suing 91-year-old Leone for financial distress accusing him of causing him financial distress, the loss of his home and the break-down of his marriage



A 90-year-old body-building, World War Two veteran who was shot in the face during a home invasion is being sued by the alleged burglar for firing back.

Former Greenbrae deputy sheriff Jay Leone is accused of 'negligently shooting' 31-year-old Samuel Cutrufelli three times and causing him 'great bodily injury' as the older man defended his own home.



Filing his claim yesterday in California, Cutrufelli, who is currently being tried for two counts of attempted murder against Leone , said that the injuries caused led to his financial ruin, the loss of his his home and the eventual dissolution of his marriage.

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Samuel Cutrufelli (left) is suing Jay Leone (right) for negligently shooting him during an alleged home invasion carried out by Mr. Cutrufelli

Prosecution attorneys have said that during the incident at the beginning of the year, meth addict Cutrufelli entered Leone's home and placed a gun to his head before tying the older man up and rummaging through his house for valuables.

The incident occurred at about 10.45 a.m. on January 3rd at Leone's Via La Cumbre home and was interrupted only when the 90-year-old convinced Cutrufelli that he needed to use the bathroom with a graphically obvious display.

Using the ruse that he was an old man with no bowel control, Leone told police that he in fact wanted access to one of the five handguns that he kept in his bathroom.

Jay Leone is seen here in hospital in January after being shot in the face during an alleged home invasion by Samuel Cutrufelli

Emerging from the bathroom armed, Leone was allegedly shot first by Cutrufelli above the jaw.

Leone then returned fire, emptying the handgun of bullets, striking Cutrufelli three times in the abdomen.

'I said, 'F—- you, you son of a b**ch, now it's my turn,' testified Leone at the beginning of the trial earlier this month.

Father-of-two Cutrufelli is then alleged to have wrestled the gun from Leone, placed the gun to the veteran's head and pulled the trigger - but no bullets remained in the gun.

'After trying to kill him once, he tried to kill him again,' prosecutor Dorothy Chou Proudfoot said in her opening statement reported The Marin Independent Journal .

Leone informed the court that he had intentionally fired off all the bullets in his gun because he knew that he would lose control of the weapon.

Jay Leone describes himself as a body-builder on his Facebook page and is a veteran of World War Two

'He took the gun and put it to my head - click! And that was the end of that. He ran away.' said Leone.

Cutrufelli was picked up by police a short distance from Leone's residence in his car, bleeding profusely and told officer's he had shot himself by mistake.

Leone, reached at home Tuesday, told The Oakland Tribune he was unaware of the lawsuit.

'He's the one who busted my door in,' he said. 'I'll just counter-sue him then. That's what I'll need to do.'

The bullet that struck Leone missed all vital organs and arteries and the body-building sheriff was unaware that he had been struck.

Mr. Leone discovered he is being sued yesterday and replied that he would counter-sue Mr. Cutrufelli for shooting him in the face and attempting to rob his home

'The .45 hit me right in the face here and went through the back of my head,' said Leone.

'I didn't feel a thing.'

The defence attorney Sanford Troy has attempted to convince the jury this month that Cutrufelli was not in the house to kill Leone.

Describing his client as a drug using methamphetamine user, Troy said the confrontation was a 'drug deal gone bad' and that Cutrufelli was actually trying to escape the scene when the heavily armed Leone shot at him.

The lawyer did not directly link Leone with the alleged drug deal, but at the same time did not offer a full explanation of what the drug deal was meant to be.