Homeowner justified in fatal September shooting in Dearborn

By NewsPress Now

No charges will be filed in the death of a man shot by a homeowner on Sept. 18 on private property in Dearborn, Missouri.

The shooting has been determined a justifiable use of force, officials said in a statement issued Friday. Joshua C. Hinderliter was shot by a female homeowner as he ran toward her into her home.

“After carefully reviewing the circumstances of this shooting, it is clear that this woman’s use of deadly force was justified,” said Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd. “A man rushed toward her and entered her home while she was there alone with her 4-year-old child. It is fortunate she was able to defend herself and her child, and they were not hurt in this terrifying incident.”

The shooting led to a lockdown of the North Platte School District.

The woman saw a shirtless man she did not know who was acting strangely on her property in the 15000 block of Masonic Drive at about 9 a.m. on Sept. 18, Zahnd said. She told authorities he tried to ride a pony then overturned its water tank and grabbed an electric gate, shocking himself. Hinderliter became upset, ripped off the gate and threw it, she said.

The woman called her husband, who called 911, and then she got a gun from inside the home. She heard Hinderliter shaking the home’s front door and the family dog yelping, causing her to believe he was attempting to kill the animal, she told police.

She opened the door and told the man she had a gun after he moved to the driveway, telling him to get off her property. In response, the man raised his arms above his head, spoke in gibberish, and rushed toward her, Zahnd said.

Fearing Hinderliter would hurt her or her child, the woman fired several shots at him, but he continued to move toward her. She went back inside her house and Hinderliter followed, so she fired several more shots at him. The woman and her child then went to a neighbor’s house.

Hinderliter’s body was found inside the home and toxicology results showed the presence of THC in his system. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.

“The law allows people to use lethal force to protect themselves or another person from death, serious physical injury or a forcible felony,” Zahnd said. “This woman reasonably believed a man she did not know who rushed toward her and into her home might hurt or kill her or her 4-year-old child. While Mr. Hinderliter’s death is unfortunate, this woman had every right to defend herself and her child.”