New Yorker gets in trouble for defending family

[mom'sfolly]

Personally, I'm glad the guy is not my neighbor. He showed very poor judgment...getting into a shouting match with multiple people, then leaving and returning armed, then firing his gun in a neighborhood.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
I'd like to make a few points here based on your statements....

#1 - Nobody said it was an automatic weapon. An assault rifle/carbine doesn't have to be fully automatic. Also, my lever action 30/30 won't work out well for a group more than 6 folks... pointless as a home defense weapon.
#2 - Really? Most of the LEO's who teach them seem to know what they are talking about. I even attended a class and while talking to a fellow classmate found out I was sitting with the county ADA
#3 - I know this is illegal but it ties in with number 4. Honestly, you steal my stuff in my home, I am going to kill you. That's the long and short of it. Want to steal 5 bucks from me? Your life isn't worth the insult you just threw down.
#4 - It isn't accepted? Please cite some examples. It is VERY easy by all accounts for folks to claim that when they woke up, somebody kicked in their door, they were scared for their safety, it was dark, and well, BOOM... I mean I was half asleep occifer

#5 - This I agree. I do think the whole story was biased and stank. Something else was going on, but I wasn't there, so I can't judge. Lesson from this? It is better to shoot to kill rather than warn/wound.
#6 - I would love to see any sources cited on this comment. This is total biased blather IMO. Of course somebody who's committing a felony on my property will learn 1st hand what the castle doctrines mean in Michigan. A shot to the leg? Please... Even the cops get sued for things like that. If you are going to shoot, keep pulling the trigger till they quit twitching.

Most folks don't have an honest understanding of their local laws. Perhaps my view on my 6 comments are way out of wack compared to others because I know what is legal/illegal in the State of Michigan.. I also live just outside of the Murder Capital of the USA...

Somebody stealing my silverware to buy another rock? Think the DA or the ADA is gonna give me a hard time for "protecting" my property? Nope.

'out

 

[welsummerchicks]

If you're protecting property by shooting at someone, yes, actually most likely, most situations, they will give you a hard time.

Michigan:
http://detnews.com/article/20100810...l-shooting-told-burglar--he-was-going-to-die-

Tennesee:

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-cleveland/tn-man-charged-with-assault-for-shooting-burglar

"Sullivan County District Attorney Greeley Wells, who is handling the case, notes that under Tennessee law, deadly force may only be used in self-defense. He did note that police officers are only permitted to shoot at fleeing suspects if "they have reasonable grounds to believe that a violent felony has been committed and that it would be dangerous to let that person escape" and that this exemption "would probably also apply to civilians" and that there are many other factors to consider.

“The bottom line is that self-defense is a very complicated area of the law, and you can make some broad, general statements about it, but most self-defense cases are very fact-specific," he said. "And the only way to determine whether or not there is justification is for the jury to make that determination.”
"

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
Don't know much bout Tn Law.. but you opened the door on the Michigan guy so here ya go..........

first things first... Croff chased guys off property then shot them. Totally different.. If he was on his own property it wouldn't be an issue... secondly.. Charges were changed from second degree murder to manslaughter... which resulted in a hung jury on august 17th with a vote of 6-6.. So far judge hasn't recuse'd himself. We'll see. Croff is still free and clear at this point.. so I am unsure how this story relates to anything here.. or what point you were trying to make.

Apples and oranges.

Remember, google is a two edged sword.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quoting a DA is not the best idea anyway. They are paid to get convictions. That's like me suing you an you an you asking my lawyer for advice. Your probably going to get the spin that hes being paid to throw.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I have never found DA's to be as dishonest as you imply.

What's my point? To answer the question, my point is that it is not a good idea for people to make assumptions that they will get away clean from shooting an intruder. As the quote above said self defense is a very, very complex area and it is a very, very bad idea for people to make assumptions about it. And there have been quite a few people who have gotten charged with manslaughter or more severe charges for shooting someone on their OWN property. Like I said, a very, very bad idea to assume one is free to shoot an intruder without some very serious repercussions.

I wonder if anyone thinks 'oh manslaughter, well, no big deal'. Try to get a job after something like that. There are a lot of people out of work. The employer can just as easily hire someone without a manslaughter conviction.

 

[colowyo0809]

Partially because of all the reasons ya'll state, and for reasons of my own, I prefer a more, shall we say, personal approach.
I refuse to use firearms, its not enough responsibility. Instead, I tend to keep a knife around me at most all times. I am more than prepared to use it if I am attacked or threatened. It's the same reason why I am raising livestock, and refuse to enlist. Wars are such pitiful excuses of wimpiness and bulliness it isn't not even funny. If you are going to threaten someone, or attack someone, or kill someone, have the decency and honor to look them in the eye when you do it. Have the guts to take that edged weapon and drive it into the person you are attacking, or leave them alone. For the same reason, if you cannot even watch your food being taken from the field and dressed down, even once, don't eat it.

Just my own opinion. Feel free to continue debating wether it was ok for him to decide to stop the violence before it started or not

p.s. btw, i find it a bit alarming that so many people have access to this incident on such an intimate level that ya'll know what was going on in his head and the heads of each other person there, and are sharing this information with us. please feel free to use your powers of mind reading to stay out of my head thank you!

Matthew Ryan

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I didn't say they were dishonest. I sad its there job to skew the information to what ever it takes to get a conviction. Just like its the job of the defendants lawyer to skew everything the says to what ever it takes to get his client acquitted. The DA is just a lawyer for the state. His opinions are no more valid or accurate than the defendants lawyers. There both just spouting off "spin."


Besides I don think people have it in there heads that they wont have to "tell it to a jury." You may not but you expect to. An everyone knows that the nature of a jury means that there is no way of knowing if you will see jail time or not. It has nothing to do with the law. It is all about the opinions of 12 people. I'm not going to worry about all that. I'm just going to worry about doing my best to defend my family. If 12 people say I need to go to jail for that then so be it. I would much rather be in jail knowing I did everything in my power to defend my family then to be out an know I didn't.

I don't take the idea of having to shoot someone lightly. Ive spent over 13 years of my life trying to save lives. But I've also carried a .38 openly for most of my adult life. An I have had to used it to defend friends an family more than once. Luckily I have never had to shoot anyone because flashing a gun is enough to stop 99% of human attackers in there tracks. The one time I had to draw an fire it was to kill a pit bull that was ripping the face off of a young(around7) girl at a local swilling hole.

 

[Q9]

Why do people keep assuming that it's AUTOMATIC?! The gun is legal, and unless you get a seriously hard-to-get permit for Class III weapons, you ain't gonna get away with having one. AK-47s aren't uncommon at NC gun shows, but even here in the South they're all semi-auto. There are semi-auto versions of nearly every assault rifle on the market, usually called the "civilian" version. Because that's what CIVILIANS are restricted to.

Also, since when is four shots to the ground "spraying an area?" I must be missing something.