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GREENSBORO — An 80-year-old man who shot an intruder inside his apartment will not face criminal charges.

The Guilford County District Attorney’s Office will not charge Charles Haithcock , who fatally shot Michael Lamont Medley Jr. on Oct. 14 .

Haithcock was inside his apartment on 1125 Walnut St. before dawn that morning when Medley, 19, broke in through a window carrying a weapon. Haithcock shot Medley with a handgun while Medley was inside the residence. Medley later died at Moses Cone Hospital.

““The law says that Mr. Haithcock had the right to use deadly force against an intruder that’s in his home when he believes that his own life is in risk, which that belief is pretty reasonable,” said Assistant District Attorney Howard Neumann .

Even if Haithcock hadn’t seen a weapon in the suspect’s hand, Neumann said, Haithcock could have used deadly force if he believed that the intruder was about to commit a felony. In this case, Medley was suspected of attempting to commit burglary.

Neumann gathered from evidence that Haithcock was in his bedroom when Medley removed an air conditioning unit from a window and broke into the home. Haithcock heard a noise inside the home near his bedroom. Armed with a .25-caliber handgun, he opened the bedroom door and saw a man holding a weapon. Neumann said Medley had a BB gun.

The elderly man tried to slam the door to his bedroom as the intruder tried to open it. Haithcock blindly fired three times through the door. Medley was shot twice in the torso and once in the head, Neumann said.

Then Haithcock closed and locked his door. After not hearing anything for a short time, he left his bedroom and found Medley’s body lying near his front door.

Police found a four-door Lexus sedan with its engine running at Fourth and Walnut streets after the shooting.

Neumann concluded that Medley had borrowed the car from a friend. Neumann said the car had no bearing on deciding if Haithcock had the right to use deadly force.

The apartment sits one street over from the police department’s eastern division substation at 1106 Maple St.

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com