Good Guy with a Gun #310: Scott City, MO

“Someone’s home was broken into and had to use lethal force, but was justified in doing so,” the police chief said. | Original Incident: August 24, 2024

Sep 06, 2026

These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is essentially the same as the calendar version.

A Scott City homeowner faced a brazen intruder.

Just before 3 PM, he heard a man — later identified as Jason L. Vermillion — trying to force his way in through a back door.

As Vermillion kicked in the door, the homeowner confronted him and then shot him with a handgun. Then the homeowner called 911.

Officers arrived and began life-saving measures alongside other first responders, but Vermillion ultimately died at the hospital.

Scott City Police Chief Christopher M. Griggs issued a statement that said:

At this time, we are not seeking charges on the homeowner; with the efforts of the Officers as they thoroughly investigating [sic] the scene, the homeowner was acting in self-defense and was protecting himself and his property.

He made other comments, too, like “Someone’s home was broken into and had to use lethal force, but was justified in doing so,” and “Your home is your domain, it’s your property, you do whatever force you feel is necessary to stop the threat.”

Sources

For a story with so little detail behind it, this got an immense amount of coverage — but most of it repeats the same information. Though I’ll give you the sources I could find, I don’t know that it’s worth surfing into it all.