Neighbors grab guns and defend Dunnellon woman during home invasion

DUNNELLON, Fla. — When the neighbor of a Marine veteran in Dunnellon came frantically knocking at his door Monday night, he said he jumped into action to protect her.

“She said he was, ‘trying to kill me, knocked in my door’” the neighbor told Channel 9. “I just let her in, grabbed my gun and came out.”

His neighbor was home alone around midnight Monday in the 18000 block of SW 31st Street.

“In the middle of the night, around midnight, there was this person banging and screaming on the door of this woman’s house,” Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lauren Lettelier said.

The victim’s neighbor said he was able to chase the man off.

“He was running up this thing here and I yelled at him and he called me a bunch of names, so I shot at him,” the neighbor said. “I shot above his head.”

Deputies were not able to find the man, later identified as Anthony Talley, but the next day he returned to the scene.

“He had lost his mind and he said that he just wanted to apologize to the homeowner,” the victim’s neighbor said. “That’s when the other neighbor confronted him.”

When deputies arrived this time, they found three residents holding Talley at gunpoint.

Officials said the man admitted trying to get into the victim’s home and believe drugs may have been involved in the situation.

Sheriff’s Office officials said the neighbors did a good job in this case, but recommended that in the future people call 911 and wait for deputies to respond to the scene.

Cox Media Group