A Hamilton Township homeowner was justified in the March shooting that killed an intruder, an investigation found.
Kevin Schmalz, 30, of Mays Landing, was naked and advancing on the victim when he was shot March 2, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
Police were called to the Hamilton Green Apartments at about 7:20 a.m. for the report of a burglary in progress.
The homeowner, whose name is not being made public, told the 911 dispatcher that he had an intruder at gunpoint and that the suspect was standing at the bottom of his stairs undressing. The caller said he already had fired a warning shot, but the man refused to leave.
As Schmalz then came up the steps, the homeowner shot once more, striking Schmalz in the upper chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Schmalz had been involved in a crash and was trying to walk back to his brother's residence, which was near the same housing complex, according to the investigation. Schmalz fell into the creek, which was confirmed by his discarded clothing being wet when police arrived.
The temperature at the time was below 20 degrees.
The investigation could not determine whether Schmalz became disoriented from the crash, or if he already was disoriented.
Several reports at the time indicated that he previously had issued, and had been involved in other trespassing/burglary attempts.
While New Jersey does not have a so-called "Stand Your Ground" law, a person is not obligated to retreat from their dwelling when the person reasonably believes that deadly force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting themselves or others in the dwelling against the use of unlawful force by the intruder on the present occasion. That is not true if the homeowner is the initial aggressor.
It is considered justified if a reasonable belief exists when the person was in their own dwelling at the time of the offense and the encounter between the person and the intruder was sudden and unexpected, compelling the person to act instantly and, the person reasonably believed that the intruder would inflict personal injury upon the person or others in the dwelling or, the person demanded that the intruder withdraw, and the intruder refused to do so, the Prosecutor's Office explained.
Schmalz graduated from Pinelands Regional High School in Little Egg Harbor and Ocean County College in Toms River, according to his obituary. He also attended Stockton University 's geology program.
He worked at Atlantic City Electric as a geographic information specialist, the obituary stated.