
Carey Crowder traded shots with a group of armed intruders at his Georgia apartment in 2016. The intruders ran off, and he was wounded. But Crowder faces charges over the incident. (Image source: WAGA-TV video screenshot)
Carey Crowder said he answered the door at his Carrollton, Georgia, apartment and a group of intruders forced their way in and told "me and and my family to get down on the ground," WAGA-TV reported.
With that, Crowder and his fiance Olivia — who's now his wife — ran for cover from dozens of shots, the station said.
Image source: WAGA-TV video screenshot
But Crowder also got his handgun, WAGA said, and started firing back at the home invaders.
The intruders ran off, the station said, and Crowder was wounded in his leg several times by gunfire.
Image source: WAGA-TV video screenshot
One might be inclined to assume the story ended there with a sigh of relief, but the victim's troubles were just beginning.
You see, Crowder had been in trouble with the law and isn't allowed to possess firearms, WAGA said. And when authorities arrived at the scene of the home invasion, they identified Crowder — who now faces a charge of gun possession by a felon, the station reported.
"I wasn't doing anything but protecting my family," Crowder told WAGA. "It ain't like I was walking around with a firearm."
Image source: WAGA-TV video screenshot
Crowder's attorney Samuel Rael told the station his client is employed, trying to turn his life around, and was a "hero" in this instance.
"He did sustain these injuries and protect his family," Rael added to WAGA, noting that the charge against Crowder is "wrong."
Image source: WAGA-TV video screenshot
Rael is trying to get the Carroll County district attorney to drop the gun possession charge, the station said.
The attorney on Tuesday told TheBlaze that Crowder was indicted last June for the October 2016 incident and spent three months in jail. Crowder's final hearing is June 20, Rael added to TheBlaze.
Legal expert Jackie Patterson told WAGA that a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision stemming from a home defense homicide said one can be found not guilty of murder after shooting at a home invader but still be found guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Image source: WAGA-TV video screenshot
Crowder's questions remain after living through the hail of bullets, as he asked WAGA, "What was I supposed to do?"