[chris]

A central Florida homeowner fatally shot a drunken stranger who forced his way inside before dawn, and the Polk County sheriff said the killing was a justified act of self-defense.

William Cornwell, a Navy veteran who worked as a security guard at Winter Haven Hospital, was asleep at his Winter Haven home about 4 a.m. on Sunday, May 27, 2012, when his wife woke him to say a man was pounding on the front door, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The man was swearing and demanding to be let in, deputies said. Cornwell retrieved a .380-caliber handgun and shouted through the door for him to leave.

The intruder forced his way inside, pulled off his shirt and yelled 'You wanna fight?' before charging, investigators said. Cornwell fired one round, striking him in the chest.

The man was identified as Christopher Brian Deese, 40, a lifetime Polk County resident. He had spent the night drinking with friends and had been dropped off in the neighborhood after a disturbance elsewhere, the sheriff's office said. Detectives reported finding no link between Deese and the family and no explanation for why he went to the house.

Cornwell's wife and the couple's two young children, ages 3 and 6, were inside during the confrontation, deputies said. The sheriff's office later released a recording of the 911 call.

Sheriff Grady Judd said Cornwell acted within the law. 'William Cornwell had every right to protect himself, his wife and his children from this irrational, out-of-control man who broke into their home,' Judd said. He cited Florida's Castle Doctrine, which permits a resident to use deadly force against someone who unlawfully enters a home when the resident fears death or great bodily harm.