Suspected burglar shot dead by homeowner was not pregnant, coroner says

A burglary suspect who police say was shot dead while attempting to flee a Long Beach home this week was not pregnant, coroner’s officials said Friday.

The home’s owner, who identified himself as Tom Greer in an interview with KNBC-TV Channel 4, said he shot Andrea Miller, 28, even after she begged him not to open fire, claiming she was pregnant. She was shot twice in the back. Her suspected accomplice, 26-year-old Gus Adams, got away but was later arrested.

Greer, who claims the couple attacked him in his home, has said he acted in self-defense, although Long Beach police have said they are still investigating the circumstances of the shooting.

In his taped interview with KNBC-TV, Greer said the woman shouted, “Don’t shoot me! I’m pregnant ---I’m going to have a baby.”

“I shot her anyway,” Greer said. “The lady didn’t run as fast as the man so I shot her in the back twice --she’s dead … but he got away.”

An official cause of death has not been released, and Long Beach police said at a news conference Thursday that they will present their report on the incident to the district attorney’s office, which will decide if the shooting was justified.

In the meantime, Adams has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder and robbery.

In California a person can be charged with their accomplice’s death if it occurs during the commission of a crime. Adams is being held on more than $1-million bail.

Police say Adams and Miller attacked Greer after he walked in on them burglarizing his home in the 3900 block of Country Club Drive in the upscale Bixby Knolls neighborhood.

But when Greer produced a .22-caliber handgun, they fled. Greer told KNBC he chased the pair and shot Miller twice in the back in an alley, then pulled her body back onto his lot.

Police confirmed that the intruders beat Greer with their fists, body slammed him to the ground and tried to break into his safe.

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