Encounter in Texas, news item

[mdkoh]

Found this while looking at news this morning. Was not sure where this fit in the forum so thought I would pos it here. If it belongs else where would a moderator feel free to move it.

Resident confronts a suspicious person casing cars in his neighborhood. It could have ended much worse than it did. Unfortunately perpetrator was not apprehended.

Security Camera Captures N. Texas Homeowner Attack « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

 

[B2Tall]

Call 911. Observe and be a good witness. Don't risk your life for a bit of personal property. I rarely lock my truck any more. There's nothing worth stealing inside and I'd rather the thief didn't break any part of my truck in an attempt to gain entry (as happened once before).

 

[The_Outlaw]

Found this while looking at news this morning. Was not sure where this fit in the forum so thought I would pos it here. If it belongs else where would a moderator feel free to move it.
Resident confronts a suspicious person casing cars in his neighborhood. It could have ended much worse than it did. Unfortunately perpetrator was not apprehended.
Security Camera Captures N. Texas Homeowner Attack « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Question for everyone here...
If the homeowner/victim would have been armed, would he have been justified in using deadly force in this situation if it was 'his vehicle' being broken into? (Castle Doctrine)?
I'm thinking that if he was attacked and 'cut' by the suspect the answer would be 'Yes'.
What say you all?

 

[B2Tall]

Question for everyone here...
If the homeowner/victim would have been armed, would he have been justified in using deadly force in this situation if it was 'his vehicle' being broken into? (Castle Doctrine)?
I'm thinking that if he was attacked and 'cut' by the suspect the answer would be 'Yes'.
What say you all?

In Florida the Castle Doctrine stops at your front door or vehicle door. It doesn't extend on to other parts of your property like the driveway. Breaking into a car isn't enough to justify deadly force although being charged by a knife-wielding thug certainly does. If that had happened here the homeowner would have been entirely justified so long as he didn't come out of his house with guns blazing.

 

[Tucker's Mom]

Here in MO we have a stand your ground law. It also extends to your vehicle or even in a hotel/motel, is consider and is part of the Castle Doctrine. I would have thought Texas CL would have been the same???

 

[mistergus75]

In Texas, deadly force can be used to protect your property, but only at night.

I have no idea why this condition is stipulated, but in this case, he would have been justified in using deadly force.

Further, Texas law provides immunity from civil lawsuits when deadly force is legally employed.

 

[B2Tall]

In Texas, deadly force can be used to protect your property, but only at night.

I have no idea why this condition is stipulated, but in this case, he would have been justified in using deadly force.

Further, Texas law provides immunity from civil lawsuits when deadly force is legally employed.

Here in Florida you can confront someone on your property while carrying a gun (recently upheld by the courts when an armed man chased 2 Florida Power & Light workers off his property), but you can't shoot them unless they meet some other criteria for self defense. The thug in the video met several of those requirements as soon as he armed himself and advanced on the homeowner.

Again, I'd sit tight and call the police. At most I'd call out through an open window....."I seeeee youuuuuuuu!". Of course I'd be armed while doing so and if the clown was so foolish to try to force his way into my home, well.....you can guess the rest.

 

[B2Tall]

This whole episode is a great lesson of what not to do when you see someone prowling around. The victim could easily have been killed all because he set himself up for a big fall. There was absolutely nothing going on that was worth risking his life by confronting the perps. The victim was a bit naive to say the least and probably had that suburban mindset that bad guys stay in bad areas and that nothing can happen to "me" in my cozy little cul-de-sac. If I was in that man's shoes, even with all my guns, I wouldn't have come out of my house unless I saw the perp assaulting a neighbor or something along those lines.

 

[Rich_S]

In Mass. you can't use deadly force to defend property. You can also never use deadly force if you are part of the escalation of violence. In this case it would be best to call 911 from inside the house. He opened himelf up to serious injury and the perps escaped. Total fail. Here's a similar scenario that took place locally:

Man Pleads Innocent to Assaulting Alleged Thief - Swampscott, MA Patch

 

[JD Beam]

In Texas, deadly force can be used to protect your property, but only at night.

I have no idea why this condition is stipulated, but in this case, he would have been justified in using deadly force.

Further, Texas law provides immunity from civil lawsuits when deadly force is legally employed.

Actually that USE to be the law, you had to give warning (the pump of a shotgun was deemed a warning in a court case) but not since 2007 when the Castle Doctrine passed down here.

80(R) SB 378 - Introduced version - Bill Text

It is a stand your ground, if someone enters your house you do not need to flee or warn them you can just shoot them. It also alleviates alot of the ability for the BG who you killed's family to sue you for killing him when he broke into your house. Look at the crime rate stats and you can see that a year after that was enacted home invasions dropped substantially.

JD