Advertisement Homeowner will not face charges after shooting intruder in his home, deputies say Justin Smith, 27, shot Dec. 14 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Pickens County man who shot an intruder in his home will not face charges, according to Pickens County deputies. The 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office ruled the death a justifiable homicide, deputies said. Deputies said they were called Dec. 14 to a home on Prince Perry Road in Easley by a man who said he had shot a burglar in his home. The homeowner told deputies that when he returned home at about 8 a.m. he found that his home had been burglarized. The homeowner said the man, later identified as Justin Smith, 27, was in possession of his property, including several guns. The homeowner said he charged at Smith. After a brief struggle, the homeowner got one of the weapons away from Smith and fired several shots at him, deputies said. They said Smith was hit by several bullets in the house and fell onto a back deck when he tried to get away. They said Smith was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died. The homeowner was not injured and no one else was home at the time of the incident, deputies said. Deputies said Smith never lived with the homeowner and was never invited to the home. "The resident stated that he remembers meeting Smith several years ago through a third party, but that they are not relatives, friends or co-workers," a news release said. Deputies said evidence found at the scene corroborated with the homeowner’s version of the events. They said the back door to the home had been kicked in and numerous areas within the home had been searched and rummaged through. Deputies said investigators also found unrelated stolen items linking Smith to an earlier break-in that was reported to Easley police. The Solicitor’s Office said “the homeowner has statutory immunity from prosecution under the Protection of Persons and Property Act as set forth in the SC statutory and case law.”