Updated: Man Shot in Home Invasion Attempt

Updated March 22 at 1:45 p.m. 

A man attempted to enter a home off Harbins Road in unincorporated Norcross Monday morning around 9:30 a.m. using a brick, resulting in a Gwinnett County Police Officer firing one shot that hit him in the back.  Police said the resulting injury was not life threatening and that he is in stable condition.

The suspect was identified at the hospital as 29-year-old Matt Sargent, a convicted felon who has been arrested 12 times in Gwinnett prior to this incident. 

Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department said officers responded to a call at 1016 Williamsburg Ln, one street down from the shooting incident, around 8 a.m. In that case, a white male entered the home through an open door and threatened a resident using a stick.

The robber made out with a laptop computer and a video camera, according to a Gwinnett PD release. Police later found a stolen vehicle near the Williamsburg Lane address. 

“We looked for him but couldn’t find him,” said Smith. He believes the man may have hid in the nearby woods, waiting for police cars to clear out before making a second attempt at a different home.  

Around 9:30 a.m., Smith said police received a call about another home invasion at 5566 Weatherford Rd., this time a person was reportedly using a brick to enter the home by knocking off the doorknob. 

When an officer got to the home, Sargent was backing out of a neighbor's driveway. He tried to flee but was grabbed by the officer. A struggle ensued, with Sargent breaking free once more then trying to repeatedly swing a rock at the officer's head, according to the police release.  The officer drew his weapon, firing once in Sargent's back. 

Police say that an ambulance arrived in minutes to take Sargent to the hospital. The officer was not injured but was put on paid administrative leave, a standard practice according to Smith. 

Police say they found the title to the stolen vehicle from the first incident in Sargent's pocket later. 

Neighbors in the town home complex Clover Rise, directly across Harbins Road from the incident, said they know of several home invasions in the area recently.

Sgt. T. Akers is a juvenile corrections officer who has lived in the Clover Rise complex for six years. She said that she knows of two recent home break-ins and feels less safe since there is a wooded area behind her home and across the street from Weatherford Road.

Neighbor John Pender has lived in the area for 10 to 12 years. He said burglars have “hit this neighborhood extensively."

“I know because they’ve tried to sell stuff back,” he said. Neither neighbor heard the gun shot.