In Maryland, Man Shoots Intruder at 2am, Gets Charged With Murder

[BluesStringer]

I looked around in all the self-defense, concealed carry, LE encounter and legal-related sub-forums and didn't find this story anywhere. I also looked for more mainstream reporting than that which I am posting below, and likewise didn't find anything that addresses the strange (to say the least) rationale for prosecuting the home-defender (Matt Pinkerton) used by the Prosecutor in the Maryland State Attorney's Office in Glen Burnie. The source I chose appears to be the source for all the other blog-posts and blurbs I could find on the case, "BulletsFirst.net." Just a few excerpts in the spirit of "Fair Use Doctrine." Much more at the link below:

In Maryland, Man Shoots Intruder at 2am, Gets Charged With Murder​

Posted by bulletsfirst on Nov 8, 2013​

US Air Force Tech Sgt. Matt Pinkerton shot an intruder in his home on September 13th just before 2am.

That is not in question.

Yet somehow, in Maryland, where Castle Doctrine does not exist by statute but rather only by case law, Sgt. Pinkerton is being charged with 2nd degree murder....

....Matt, who had retrieved his Glock 17 when he first heard someone outside (not unreasonable when he wasn’t expecting anyone at 2 in the morning) still had it on him when Green busted in the front door and came at him. Matt fired once from 10 to 15 feet away and when Green continued toward him fired again....

....So what did Matt do wrong when a crazed man broke in his front door at 2am and was after his wife? To me, nothing. Yet according to the state of Maryland, Matt should have called 911 first and waited for the police....

....That isn’t some glib, pro gun caricature of the how when seconds count cops are minutes away. This is the reason he is being charged with murder. It doesn’t help that on top of the lack of a Castle Doctrine Statute the Assistant State’s Attorney, Glen Neubauer, is an rabid anti gunner himself....​

Quite a bit more at the link.

There are allegations that Mrs. Pinkerton and the dead man had some kind of affair while Matt, a Sgt. in the Air Force, was on assignment in Korea last year. Mrs. Pinkerton denies that and says that they were only friends, and that Green, the dead man, wouldn't take no for an answer when she realized his intentions and tried to dissolve the friendship. I am unclear on whether Mrs. Pinkerton says she tried the dissolution under her own volition while her husband was still out of country, or if he came home and was part of the decision-making process. Whatever, the facts of the break-in and advance towards Matt Pinkerton immediately thereafter are not in dispute. The only probable cause the State Attorney used in the charging documents is that Pinkerton "could have" called 911 instead of first opening fire.

Gun owners often say it’s better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

Matt Pinkerton is going to test that theory, apparently.

Whaddya all think?

Blues

 

[Ghost Rider]

When you have someone trying to break through your front door a 2 am, the last thing on your mind right then is calling the police. The time it takes you to call the police the person could be through your front door attacking you. In my opinion the home owner did the right thing.

The problem is now the state of Maryland is going to do everything they can to convict him for nothing more than protecting him self.

Personally I think its bulls**t.

 

[nontechguy]

I think the final outcome will depend on what the wife says.

 

[r1derbike]

I lived in Maryland in the early '90s. Nothing has changed, evidently. When mass stupidity is spewed from the Hill enough, many citizens' minds are damaged and they take their Kool-Aid with a few less ice cubes, so the cup may dispense more between refills.

Living in that state is a turned page in my life, torn from the book, wadded, then tossed in the first bin that was closest.

 

[Bhoffman]

....Matt, who had retrieved his Glock 17 when he first heard someone outside (not unreasonable when he wasn’t expecting anyone at 2 in the morning) still had it on him when Green busted in the front door and came at him.

Instead of getting his Glock 1st, he should have called or had his wife call 911.

Had he done that he would have had a strong defense. I called 911 but the police didn't get there fast enough.

He should have known that Maryland doesn't have a Castle Doctrine Law.

 

[cluznar]

I don't care who the guy is, if he breaks thru the door at 2:00 AM he is in trouble. How does the homeowner know if the guy has a gun or knife?
If the guy has an argument with the wife he should call her during the day. You just don't break thru a door at 2:00 AM and expect someone to hug you for doing it. The home owner should not have been convicted of anything. This whole case is ridiculous.

 

[JCliff]

Absence the appearance of some as yet unreported sordid detail, if the facts and timing and sequence of events are actually as reported, I think, even in Maryland, that it will be difficult to convict him in a jury trial. That doesn't spare him the expense and ordeal of defending himself in court, or the injustice (if the facts are as represented) of a State's Attorney's Office wielding the cudgel of the power of the state just because they can...quite possibly for no other reason than to further a statist political agenda, and put a resume feather in an Ass't attorney's cap.
.
It has been said frequently on this forum before, but probably bears repeating: If you shoot someone, even in complete and righteous self-defense and totally within the confines of the law, expect to have your life turned upside-down. That's true everywhere in this country, just more likely in some places than others. I'm not commenting on the justice of that, only that that is the way it is.

 

[BC1]

Sounds like the guy wanted the Mrs. He got the business-end instead. Can anyone say "jury nullification?" Put me on that jury.

 

[vernsimpson]

If everyone called the police every time they heard or thought they heard someone outside their house we would need more police to answer these calls. Also instead of the police being 15-20 minutes away it would be hours.

We really do not know all the facts if there was an affair involved or not. If there was an affair, we do not know if Matt knew of it. But even if Matt did know of an affair, he did not know if Mr Green had intent to harm or kill him.

My wife has supposedly heard a noise in the night many times at our house. I have not called 911. I have gotten up with my handgun and went through the house room by room to check it out. So far there has never been anything or anyone in the house or outside the house. If I had called 911 each time the LEOs would finally put all my calls in the crank corner and then if I EVER really needed them they would not show up!

Maybe a lot of us should move to MD so we could get on this jury!! I would love to be on that jury!!! :yes4:

 

[wolf_fire]

I looked around in all the self-defense, concealed carry, LE encounter and legal-related sub-forums and didn't find this story anywhere.

Our friendly, newsworthy, conspiracy guru, Opsspec beat you to the punch. Then again, he posted it in "Off Topic".

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/off-...le-doctrine-air-force-sgt-charged-murder.html

 

[wolf_fire]

I looked around in all the self-defense, concealed carry, LE encounter and legal-related sub-forums and didn't find this story anywhere.

Our friendly, newsworthy, conspiracy guru, Opsspec beat you to the punch.

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/off-...le-doctrine-air-force-sgt-charged-murder.html

I also found this article that was posted today by the Washington Times:
Man charged with 2nd degree murder asked "Why didn't you call police?" | Washington Times Communities

 

[BC1]

I also found this article that was posted today by the Washington Times:
Man charged with 2nd degree murder asked "Why didn't you call police?" | Washington Times Communities

Good article. Call the police? Obscene to even suggest it... and they know better. There's no time, hands are shaking, vision is tunneled, auditory processing shuts down, brain reverts to primitive survival. I wish this poor guy well.

 

[BluesStringer]

Our friendly, newsworthy, conspiracy guru, Opsspec beat you to the punch. Then again, he posted it in "Off Topic".

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/off-...le-doctrine-air-force-sgt-charged-murder.html

Yeah, I saw that, which is why I listed the sub-forums I listed. I hardly ever crack open his threads, and "Off-Topic" hardly made sense to me anyway, so I re-posted where folks might actually be interested in an on-topic discussion. :yes4:

I also found this article that was posted today by the Washington Times:
Man charged with 2nd degree murder asked "Why didn't you call police?" | Washington Times Communities

Agree with BC, good article. Thanks.

Blues

 

[buckey01]

Maryland is a very anti gun state. However, even if there was a "castle doctrine" there would be a serious suspicion that this wasn't a justifiable shooting. The police would suspect that perhaps he used this as an excuse to shoot his wife's suspected lover. He may very well be justified but the cops are bound to investigate. Investigators are trained to be suspicious and an arrest allow him to he held during that investigation.

 

[Rhino]

....Matt, who had retrieved his Glock 17 when he first heard someone outside (not unreasonable when he wasn’t expecting anyone at 2 in the morning) still had it on him when Green busted in the front door and came at him.

Instead of getting his Glock 1st, he should have called or had his wife call 911.

Had he done that he would have had a strong defense. I called 911 but the police didn't get there fast enough.

He should have known that Maryland doesn't have a Castle Doctrine Law.

If we called 911 every time we heard a noise outside, we'd probably be able to claim a deputy as a dependent on our taxes. His not calling 911 means nothing. And if some guy busts down your door in the middle of the night and charges at you, do you really think you're going to be debating castle doctrine in your head?

 

[Seamsealer]

It doesn't matter what he used, gun, knife, hammer, bat, fists etc. You don't break into someones home at 2 am and expect a cup of coffee. I live in Mass, no love lost here for gun owners. Good luck to this guy.

 

[Tom87GN]

Wow - what's next?

These type of ignorant laws and the lawyers who uphold them are the problem. How do they even sleep at night?!!?

If someone breaks down my front door at 2 AM I'm not going to ask him/her to wait a second while I call the cops. I'm going to put a few hollow points in him/her and save me and my family from what was about to happen.

If I find out afterwards that the dude was having an affair with my wife, then he probably should have waited until I wasn't home to get some more.

Reasonable fear of one's life justifies the use of deadly force to stop the threat, right?


And I totally subscribe to the saying "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6."