FYI if you're willing to defend yourself

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AZjeff

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My daughter is a Clerk of the Court here in Arizona. Recently she clerked a case where a homeowner shot an intruder in his home. The intruder did not have a weapon and there was no provable threat of serious bodily harm or death. The homeowner is going to prison for 6 years. He thought he was within his rights to shoot the intruder solely because he was inside his house. Arizona is a 2A friendly state.

My only point of posting this is to encourage you to know the laws of your state and your rights, don't guess, KNOW.

The intruder lived, now comes the civil suit.

And to keep this thread within forum rules, I'm liking Liquid Wrench Dry RV Lubricant for more and more applications in firearms.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
My only point of posting this is to encourage you to know the laws of your state and your rights, don't guess, KNOW.


+1
 
Is there a lot of disagreement in the 2A community over these cases? I imagine some would say "If he is in my house I can shoot him threat or not" and others would say "If he isn't a threat, then using leathal force is not okay." Which point of view is more prevalent?
 
In Nevada you can use your gun to save a life (your own or someone else). That's about it. You have to fear for your or someone else's safety (great bodily harm).
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Arizona is a castle doctrine state... The rest more to this story than you were told.
Yep. I just did a search and nothing came up either.
 
According to what I read in Arizona the commission of the felons burglary is grounds for deadly force with complete protection from civil lawsuit, but I'm not a lawyer.
 
Here's the catch-22.. Someone breaks into your house at night (when it's dark), how do you know if he has a weapon? Even if you can see his hands are empty, how do you he doesn't have one in his coat or pants pocket.. Are you supposed to wait until you have a gun staring in your face, before it's ok to shoot yours?? By then it's probably too late.
 
We need the entire story to figure this out. We have almost no info on this. The first question i have; was the homeowner allowed to own guns?( I.E. not a prior felon or mental patient.)
 
Originally Posted By: redbone3
In Nevada you can use your gun to save a life (your own or someone else). That's about it. You have to fear for your or someone else's safety (great bodily harm).


It's the same way here in NJ.
 
I always have some tea and small talk with people who break into my home. I casually bring up the topic of guns to see if they're packing before I shoot them.
 
This is how ridiculous internet rumors get spread.

AZJeff, did you bother to verify this information before sharing it as fact?
 
My tactical firearms instructor (a reserve policeman that ran a shooting range) always said it was better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. One thing I do know, regardless of state, is that if you are involved in any shooting and aren't both a criminal defense and civil defense lawyer, you better hire a lawyer and have him or her answer any questions the police have. You never know what might trip you up criminally, or be used against you in a civil trial.
 
There is no news story, never said there was. Again, my daughter was Clerk of the Court the day of the homeowner's sentencing. There's nothing for anyone here to figure out. Apparently the details of the case were reviewed by the judge and he gave the sentence. My daughter is very careful about following the rules about what she can talk about. The homeowner thought he could shoot someone solely because they were in his house with no weapon apparent and no indication of imminent deadly threat. She called to make sure I understand the law about the use of deadly force. I appreciated her concern and thought I'd pass it along.

Know your laws. In Arizona:

In general, the following conditions must apply if the Castle Doctrine is to be used in claiming justifiable homicide:

The intruder must be attempting to or have made unlawful and forcible entry into an occupied home, business or vehicle.
The occupants must have a reasonable belief that the intruder is entering with the intention of committing a felony crime such as burglary.
The occupants must have a reasonable belief that they are in danger of serious injury or death at the hands of the intruder.
The occupants must be innocent of any provocation and cannot have instigated the intrusion or initiated the event by a threat of deadly force.


Make all the snarky comments you want, the guy went to prison. I hoped this thread wouldn't go this way.
 
Criminal cases are public record, so you could verify the details of this story before spreading it.

Why know when you can guess though, right?
 
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