'Burglar' was really a victim fleeing robbers

ST. PETERSBURG — In the time it takes to read this, Shane and Jenny Coombs went from sound sleep to sheer terror.

First, a man jumped through their bedroom window about 2:40 a.m Friday, spraying the couple with broken glass.

Then came the hand-to-hand combat. Marine veteran Shane Coombs, 41, came out of bed swinging. He subdued the intruder until police arrived.

And then the intruder, Christopher Andrew Alexander, delivered the real surprise:

He wasn't a burglar. He was a victim.

"He said he was shot, he said he was robbed," said Jenny Coombs, 41. "He was apologizing as the police were walking him out. He said he was sorry."

Indeed, St. Petersburg police believe Alexander wasn't attacking the couple — he was escaping his own gun-toting attackers.

Police confirmed Alexander, 20, was shot in the lower left leg. He told police he was running for his life when he dove through the window.

Alexander was released from Bayfront Medical center on Friday and could not be reached for comment. State records show he was arrested in 2007 for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He pleaded no contest. He also faces a February trial on a charge of dealing in stolen property.

The Coombs said they were already on alert. Their neighborhood along the 3500 block of Third Avenue N has had trouble with a drug dealer, they said.

Alexander, of the 3600 block of Sixth Avenue N, told police he was walking to a grocery on Fifth Avenue S when two men pulled up in a silver sedan near Third and Burlington avenues.

They demanded money. He threw his cash down and asked them not to hurt him. Then they shot him in the leg, he told police. Alexander said he ran — his shoes were found a few streets down — and they kept shooting.

The Coombs said Alexander damaged their backyard gate and landscaping and stepped in a pond before leaping through their window, giving them a shock and leaving their bedroom a mess.

The armed robbery suspects are still at large and the investigation is continuing. But Alexander won't face charges, police said.