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CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) -- A fired worker broke into the home of his former boss and was struggling with him when the man's 17-year-old stepson stabbed him to death, investigators said.
Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower described the boy as a levelheaded kid "who, in my opinion, saved his family's lives."
The intruder was identified as C.J. Harris, 19, of Las Vegas. Names of the Cedar City-area family have not been released, and the sheriff said no charges are expected.
The ski-mask-wearing gunman, a contract laborer recently fired by the homeowner's construction company, removed a fan from an open window in the boy's bedroom about 3:25 a.m. Wednesday, climbed into the home and woke the boy and bound him with duct tape, Gower said.
"The suspect then moved to a bedroom, where a husband and wife are sleeping. At that point, he wakes them up at gunpoint and proceeds to bind them up," Gower said. "When the suspect is trying to bind the (man) in the home, that's when the (man) decides to resist and fight back."
As the man struggled with the intruder, the 17-year old freed himself from the duct tape and grabbed a 6-inch hunting knife from beneath his bed.
"He goes in to assist his stepfather," Gower said. "The juvenile delivers several blows to the suspect in the back. He (the assailant) is bleeding quite heavily, and the fight continues even after that."
After realizing he had lost his gun, the man tried to get out of the house but was so injured he could not get the deadbolt on the front door unlocked.
"The intruder was saying something like 'I want to go.' One of the victims opened the door and he was allowed to leave. He got about 150 feet from the home in the driveway and collapsed," Gower said.
When deputies arrived, the man had no heartbeat and was not breathing.
A 10-year-old girl was in her bedroom at the time, but did not see the attack.
The sheriff said evidence was found suggesting the home invasion was pre-planned.
"We don't know if it was retaliation or a robbery," Gower said. "We may never know."
Gower said the county attorney was not planning on prosecuting the boy.
"We feel pretty confident it was justified," Gower said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
