The man who was fatally shot by a homeowner as he showered may have been “confused” after hitting several bars with friends — and possibly thought he had returned to his friend’s house just two doors down from the home he entered. The fatal shooting early Saturday in Belfair, Washington, may be a case of “wrong place, wrong time,” Mason County Prosecutor Michael Dorcy told KING5.
Dorcy said investigators have learned that Nathaniel Rosa, 31, visited some bars in Belfair on Friday with several friends, one of whom was about to be deployed to Afghanistan. Those friends reported that Rosa, an elementary school teacher, then went to one of their homes, just two doors down from the property owned by Bruce Fanning. At about 5 a.m. Saturday, Rosa left his friend’s home for some fresh air, and “according to those guys, he never came back,” Dorcy said.
The two homes, Dorcy said, are very similar in appearance, even down to the floor plan. Rosa may have mistakenly thought he had returned to his friend’s home when he was actually at Fanning’s door.
“It leads me to wonder if he thought, ‘Where is everybody?’ when he showed up at Fanning’s house,” Dorcy said.
Authorities are awaiting toxicology tests to determine if Rosa was intoxicated when he was shot. Fanning, 59, was arrested Saturday after calling police to say he shot Rosa three times through a shower curtain, believing he was an intruder. Fanning, who has not been formally charged, remains under investigation and is free after posting $250,000 bond, KING5 reports.
Fanning told police the man he spotted in his shower appeared drunk, later describing him as “verbally aggressive.” Fanning claims he was acting in self-defense when he shot Rosa after finding him in his secondary residence on his property. Fanning then returned to his primary residence to grab a gun and fired multiple rounds into the shower, killing Rosa, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators are considering why Fanning — whose home is adorned with a “Trespassers Will Be Shot” sign — didn’t call police when he returned to his primary home, out of apparent danger and away from Rosa.
Washington state law, according to the Kitsap Sun, does not require a person to retreat from a threatening situation, but does require that the threat to life or of severe injury be imminent and the level of force used during that defense be “reasonable.”
Fanning called police at about 7:56 a.m. Saturday to report he had fatally shot Rosa with a .45-caliber pistol after finding his window kicked in and a man using his shower, court documents obtained by the newspaper show.
Meanwhile, Northshore Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid described Rosa as a dedicated and compassionate educator who worked as a paraeducator at Woodmoor Elementary School in Bothell.
“I trust that the gift of his contagious smile and exuberant approach to learning will live on,” Reid wrote in a statement.
That sentiment was echoed on Facebook by Pamela Elizabeth Lyons, who described Rosa as the “most compassionate and caring person” she had ever met.
“You’re the only person I ever wanted to do forever with,” she wrote Sunday. “I love you more then I can ever describe. Can’t wait until I see you once again.”
Poster Comment:
Geez SWAT Teams….even elementary school teachers show they can break in the the wrong house.
