Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.
Police in Gastonia, North Carolina, say a man was shot last week while allegedly trying to kick his way into a disabled 75-year-old homeowner’s house. Instead of admitting what happened, investigators say he and his girlfriend drove to a nearby gas station and claimed he’d been wounded in a random drive-by shooting.
According to reports from WCNC and WBTV, that story unraveled quickly.
The homeowner, Donald Bolynn, told reporters he’d already been targeted once before. So when he heard someone trying to force their way into his Ware Avenue home again, he wasn’t taking any chances.
Surveillance video reportedly shows 57-year-old Cedric Ford repeatedly pounding on the front door before trying to pry open a window and shove in a window air-conditioning unit to gain entry. Bolynn said he saw Ford outside the window and fired a single shot through the glass.
“It looked like he was trying to come in, so I shot,” Bolynn told reporters.
The bullet struck Ford in the chest.
Instead of sticking around, police say Ford jumped back into a waiting vehicle driven by his girlfriend, Sanja Stallings. The pair headed to a nearby QuikTrip and called 911, claiming Ford had been hit during a drive-by shooting.
Investigators weren’t buying it.
Gastonia police say the supposed drive-by didn’t match the evidence. Using the city’s Real Time Crime Center, Flock license plate cameras, surveillance footage and one of the city’s 158 Flock gunshot detection sensors, detectives traced the gunfire back to Bolynn’s home. The technology reportedly narrowed the location of the gunshot to within about 100 feet of where the homeowner fired.
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Once detectives pieced everything together, the alleged cover story collapsed.
Ford was treated for his gunshot wound and, after being released from the hospital, was arrested. He’s now charged with attempted first-degree burglary and felony obstruction of justice for allegedly making up the drive-by story. Prosecutors are also reviewing whether additional charges may be appropriate.
Bolynn’s circumstances make the case even more remarkable.
The homeowner told reporters he lives alone and has dealt with multiple health problems, including recovering from a stroke. Despite those challenges, he said he keeps a firearm for protection.
“I’ve had my firearm for over a year,” Bolynn said. “I live by myself.”
At 75 years old, police say he successfully stopped an alleged burglary before the suspect ever made it inside.
The case is still under review by the Gaston County District Attorney’s Office, but it’s already shaping up as one of the more unusual defensive gun use stories of the year. Police say what began as an attempted burglary quickly turned into a fabricated drive-by shooting investigation. One that ultimately unraveled thanks to surveillance footage, gunshot detection technology, and old-fashioned detective work.
Self-defense doesn’t end when the threat goes down. That’s when the real battle begins. Lawyers. Prosecutors. Headlines. USCCA Members never fight that battle alone. Find out how.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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Nice picture of a hood-rat and his crack-smoking ‘wigger’ gutter whore. Sadly, he survived. Note to homeowner – next time do us tax payers a favor and empty the gun into his sorry ass.
trying to put a friendly smiley face on the orwellian flock surveillance system?
we see you!
Some D.A in other places will want to charge homeowner for shooting before robber got in house
It’s said a picture is worth a 1000 words and if that is true it would indeed take 2000, or more, words to describe those two losers, judging from the photographs in the article.
she looks like iggy pop!
i’m sure the pos’s will get a lawyer and turn the whole thing around and become the victims.
Flock cameras solve a lot of crimes, including ICE investigations….amazing why certain politicians don’t like them
They can prove Dindu’s, Did do, and somehow that’s just not fair. “Equity” and all that crap.
Flock cameras gather data. They are a surveillance tool. Everywhere you go is timestamped, your routines are recorded and analyzed. All this is collected without probable cause or a warrant.
Whether it’s the 2A or the 4A, intrusion is something we should push back on.
So do “black boxes” in cars, Apple watches, cell phones, security cameras in businesses, Ring doorbells….like anything in life, there’s good and bad aspects to the technology. You can’t stop progress, but you learn to live with it and monitor for abuses
Surveillance is out of hand. We should be pushing back instead of accepting and living with it.
It is one thing to voluntarily buy technology that tracks you and it is another to have the systems on every light pole and buildings watching and storing.
No expectation of privacy in public spaces.
Preying on the eldery is one of those things I find absolutely disgusting, same with children and the disabled. When one of these predators is shot I have no sympathy.
Something else stands out from this story is just how much surveillance there is. We have become 1984 and China.
Someone needs to stop Bolynn from talking about the shooting.