By MARY R. FORTUNE
Staff Writer

A burglar with a lengthy arrest record broke into the wrong home Tuesday morning and was shot and killed.

Chattanooga police report that Maurice Chevalier Dozier, 42, pried open a side window at 4715 B Pawnee Trail and hoisted himself onto the sill at about 1:30 a.m. As he clambered through the window, resident Dario Adams shot him once in the side with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The blast knocked Mr. Dozier out of the window. Paramedics found him in the yard minutes later. He died within a few hours at Erlanger Medical Center.

There will be no charges in connection with the shooting, detectives said.

Tennessee law is clear about the force residents can use to protect themselves in their homes, said Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox,

"The law presumes someone willing to break into your home while you're there is willing to hurt you or kill you," he said. 'And the use of deadly force is justified if and when you are in danger of serious bodily injury or death."

The deadly force cases are reviewed by the District Attorney's office, Mr. Cox said. The decision not to file charges lies with detectives and the prosecutor's office.

The modest, brick duplex where Mr. Dozier was shot Tuesday is one of several that line the short, shady street off Moore Road. The residents there have suffered from a rash of burglaries in recent months.

From February to July, there were a dozen burglaries on the street, according to Chattanooga Police Department statistics.

Mr. Adams' duplex was burglarized one month ago. His neighbors have been burglarized three times since February.

Landlord Mike Manz owns about 40 of the duplexes in a four-block area. His father built them in the 1960s. And his brother owns the one where Mr. Dozier was shot Tuesday morning.

About three of his properties are burglarized every week, Mr. Manz said. The thieves usually take televisions and VCRs -- things they can carry out quickly and easily turn into cash or trade for drugs.

Mr. Manz said he caught Mr. Dozier breaking into one of his duplexes a couple of years ago. The landlord said he held Mr. Dozier at gunpoint and ordered him to wait for the police, but Mr. Dozier ran.

"This used to be a quiet neighborhood," Mr. Manz said. "I used to live here myself. Not any more."

According to court records, Mr. Dozier had nine cases pending in Hamilton County Criminal Court when he died Tuesday. Several of the cases were for theft over $500.

The shooting marked the third time in four months a burglar has been killed while breaking into a home in the Chattanooga region. No charges were filed against the shooters in any of the cases.

On Thursday, a 68-year-old Marion County homeowner shot and killed William E. Campbell, 30, as they wrestled over the homeowner's gun. The shooting happened about 10:30 a.m. in the Mullins Cove community.

On March 24, Otis Curry, 18, was shot and killed after he broke into a Dodson Avenue home and tried to rob the resident.

The recent shootings are unusual, but they don't necessarily mean more people have guns, said Sgt. Brian Bergenback, a police spokesman.

"I don't think there are necessarily more people arming themselves," he said. "People are already armed in their homes, and they have been for a long, long time."