Man says intruder tried to charge him before he fired shot

9/1/2009

Clay Hausenfleck told 911 operators early Friday that he had shot a masked intruder in his Sylvania home, and he wasn't putting his gun down until police got there.

"Somebody broke in my back door. I shot him," Mr. Hausenfleck says in the 911 recording released yesterday by Sylvania police. "He tried to charge me. He's laying on the floor. I don't think he's alive."

The fatal shooting occurred just after 1 a.m. Friday at Mr. Hausenfleck's home at 6945 Williamsburg Drive.

During the investigation, Sylvania police found 200 marijuana plants in Mr. Hausenfleck's basement.

That led to felony charges of cultivating marijuana, aggravated trafficking in marijuana, and felony possession of marijuana.

Mr. Hausenfleck, 46, was arraigned on those charges yesterday in Sylvania Municipal Court. Bond was set at $80,000 and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 8.

Sylvania police Chief Gerald Sobb said they continue to investigate the complicated situation, including going through evidence seized through warrants and witness statements.

"Right now, there's nothing new," Chief Sobb said. "We just have a very exhaustive investigation going on."

The chief confirmed that it had been a break-in and said entry had been forced at a rear door of the house.

There doesn't appear to have been any relationship between Mr. Hausenfleck and Mr. Mason, the chief said.

Mr. Hausenfleck admitted to the 911 operator and to police that he shot Mr. Mason.

"Even though it seems pretty cut and dried, what happened, we have to investigate everything," Chief Sobb said.

The preliminary cause of death was two gunshot wounds to the back, according to the Lucas County Coroner's Office.

The Blade attempted yesterday to reach the family of Mr. Mason, but a woman who answered the phone at his parents' home said the family did not want to comment.

A family obituary said Mr. Mason had been working as a glass fabricator at Old Castle Glass, and that he recently was a maintenance worker at the Temple Shomer Emunim and the Jewish Community Center in Sylvania.

"Louis was a fun-loving young man with a beautiful smile," the obituary reads.

On the 911 recording of the incident, a woman is first on the phone giving the address of the house and saying that someone is dead in the house and that it was a intruder.

Then a man who later identifies himself as Mr. Hausenfleck gets on the line and says that he shot the intruder.

It appears that Mr. Hausenfleck had tried to call 911 just before, but there was nobody on the line. Sylvania police also released yesterday a 20-minute recording of dead air.

Mr. Hausenfleck can be heard breathing into the phone as he tells the 911 operator where his house is and where he is in that house.

He sounds concerned that the man he shot might not be the only person involved and tells the operator that the intruder is wearing a mask and mentions that something is on his couch, possibly a knife.

"He's not moving, no," Mr. Hausenfleck said. "I'm not taking the gun out of my hands until you guys are here."

He surrendered the handgun to police when they arrived.

Contact Meghan Gilbert at:

mgilbert@theblade.com

or 419-724-6134.