{"id":2802,"date":"2024-01-12T12:56:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T12:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=2802"},"modified":"2024-01-12T12:56:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T12:56:02","slug":"buckeye-az-homeowner-shoots-backyard-prowler-risks-a-lot-for-his-lawnmower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=2802","title":{"rendered":"Buckeye, AZ Homeowner Shoots Backyard Prowler; Risks a Lot For His Lawnmower"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\">\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting.jpg\" data-caption=\"Image via Facebook (Buckeye, AZ PD).\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-696x464.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-700x466.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting-560x373.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Buckeye-AZ-shooting.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" alt=\"\" title=\"Buckeye AZ shooting\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via Facebook (Buckeye, AZ PD).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yes, there is an old expression that a man\u2019s home is his castle. Then there\u2019s the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/guns-for-beginners-castle-doctrine-and-the-duty-to-retreat\/\">Castle Doctrine<\/a>\u201d that allows homeowners wide latitude to use force to defend themselves and their homes against intruders. Some who don\u2019t know better think they also have a blank check to use force, up to and including deadly force, against trespassers on the property outside their homes.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not usually the case. And even in a tiny handful of jurisdictions that allow the use of force against trespassers, especially after dark, it\u2019s seldom a wise or prudent thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>A few days ago, police in Buckeye, Arizona, investigated a shooting. A homeowner called police after shooting a trespasser in his back yard.\u00a0 The Buckeye PD posted this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BuckeyeAZPD\/posts\/pfbid0iZ7k3UHeKsJduq8yktTc9pyoncJtUZQGJ8Xdym3EU98qGqMDLXym6HwMFMvv8NTkl?__cft__[0]=AZW91a1FDHCdgXQVVVaVJLu-AjBXy3WoBMtfyCJLnS6cIlNfi3vHsHPMpMlZuK6t81Wp8s6mJ1wx_-K3CVKDzNBkKFT4ZFsE4juBw_dx_jBrM_CVEbevOCn5ZyZuMFKPl_WL-SRcT9uxWYq557sJqg6_gDPP3x7z480xSUMkZzug_Sd0SMQSKpYv9LH_xePexOM&amp;__tn__=%2CO*F\">on their Book of Face<\/a>:<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-paragraph-padding-2\">\n<div class=\"td-paragraph-padding-1\">\n<p><em>Just before 2:30 this morning, Buckeye police received a call of shots fired at a home near 237th Ave and Mohave St. When officers arrived, a man was seen walking out of the home with his hands up. Officers detained him. They searched the home where they found a man in the back yard bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to the hospital.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-paragraph-padding-1\">\n<p><em>Investigators gathered statements from those on scene. The homeowner told investigators he and his family were asleep when they heard the doorbell. He says he grabbed a handgun and looked out the front window but didn\u2019t see anyone there. Then, the homeowner says, he heard noise coming from the back of the house so he went to the back door, opened it and confronted an unknown man. The homeowner says the man ignored commands to leave and walked towards the homeowner. The homeowner fired a single shot, hitting the man in the chest.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The gunshot victim is a man in his early 20s. At last check, he was in critical condition. The homeowner is a man in his 30s. The investigation is ongoing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s break this down.\u00a0 Mr. Homeowner sees a guy in his early 20s in his back yard.\u00a0 Instead of calling the police to report a prowler and patiently watching the trespasser, the homeowner opens the back door, gun in hand, and confronts the unwelcome visitor.<\/p>\n<p>After ignoring commands to leave, the bad guy walks towards the homeowner. The story leaves out anything else that might have caused the homeowner alarm.\u00a0 Was the prowler meek and mild, or was he shouting threats and harsh words at the homeowner?\u00a0 Did he have any weapons?<\/p>\n<p>If mitigating circumstances like threatening behavior from the backyard trespasser existed, one would expect those would merit a mention in the news release.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How could the average person better handle this situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A wise and prudent man would call 911 and report a prowler.<\/p>\n<p>Admittedly, most of us among the sheepdog clan have a little bit of terrier in them. We don\u2019t want the bad guy to get away. We don\u2019t want the bad guy to take our stuff.\u00a0 But instead of engaging in a confrontation, why not just wait discretely for the police?\u00a0 How about possibly recording the prowler\u2019s actions for prosecutors to later use against him or her if police make an arrest?<\/p>\n<p>Opening the back door creates an opportunity for things to go poorly by exposing the homeowner to danger, up to and including getting shot and killed. After all, what if the prowler pulls a gun? Suddenly you\u2019ve found yourself in a gun battle which you might not win.\u00a0 Is it worth risking a colostomy bag or other debilitating injury from a gunshot wound to confront a criminal in your back yard?\u00a0 The wise and prudent man says that\u2019s a hard no. Let the cops do that. They get paid the big bucks to do that and have training, tactics and body armor to protect them.<\/p>\n<p>Or, such as this case, the homeowner fires at an apparently otherwise unarmed backyard prowler.\u00a0 The Supreme Court has weighed in that you shouldn\u2019t use deadly force over property crimes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/volokh\/2020\/06\/02\/are-people-allowed-to-use-deadly-force-to-defend-property\/\">From noted legal expert Eugene Volokh<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>[1.] In all states,\u00a0<strong>you can use deadly force to defend yourself against death, serious bodily injury\u00a0<\/strong>(which can include broken bones and perhaps even lost teeth), rape, or kidnapping, so long as (a) your fear is reasonable and (b) the danger is imminent (requirements that also apply to the doctrines I discuss below). For instance, you should be able to use deadly force against someone who is trying to burn down your home, since that threatens you with death or serious bodily harm. You should be able to do the same against someone who is trying to burn down your business, though with possible limitations involving the duty to retreat in the minority of states that recognize such a duty.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>But in nearly all states,\u00a0<strong>you can\u2019t generally use deadly force merely to defend your property<\/strong>. (Texas appears to be an exception, allowing use of deadly force when there\u2019s no other way to protect or recapture property even in situations involving simple theft or criminal mischief, though only at night, \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/SOTWDocs\/PE\/htm\/PE.9.htm\">Tex. Penal Code \u00a7 9.42<\/a>; see, e.g.,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar_case?case=3161145627178569736\">McFadden v. State (Tex. Ct. App. 2018)<\/a>.) That\u2019s where we get the conventional formulation that you can\u2019t use deadly force just to defend property.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>[2.] This conventional formulation, though, omits an important limitation: In basically all states,\u00a0<strong>you can use nondeadly force to defend your property\u2014<\/strong>and if the thief or vandal responds by threatening you with death or great bodily harm,\u00a0<strong>you can then protect yourself with deadly force<\/strong>. So in practice, you can use deadly force to protect property after all, if you\u2019re willing to use nondeadly force first and expose yourself to increased risk.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Even if it was merely a property crime that escalated into a self-defense claim after a trespasser produces a weapon, the fact remains that the homeowner escalated it into a deadly force encounter.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, some states like Illinois have old law on the books that allows good citizens to use deadly force to prevent forcible felonies.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilga.gov\/legislation\/ilcs\/fulltext.asp?DocName=072000050K2-8\">Forcible felonies<\/a> in the Land of Lincoln include burglaries.\u00a0 Even if that\u2019s on the books, how will it look to a jury panel composed of a cross-section of the community (including those who don\u2019t like guns or the idea of self-defense) that you shot young Mongo over stealing your Craftsman lawnmower from the backyard shed or your Bose sound system from your car?<\/p>\n<p>The moral of the Buckeye, Arizona, case: Call the cops and let them sort out the prowler call.\u00a0 Don\u2019t risk your own health and safety, and that of your family to confront an a-hole in your back yard. Don\u2019t risk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/defensive-gun-use-surviving-the-post-incident-aftermath\/\">all of the bad things that follow the use of deadly force<\/a> over things in your backyard shed.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not worth it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/buckeye-az-homeowner-shoots-backyard-prowler-risks-a-lot-for-his-lawnmower\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image via Facebook (Buckeye, AZ PD). Yes, there is an old expression that a man\u2019s home is his castle. Then there\u2019s the \u201cCastle Doctrine\u201d that allows homeowners wide latitude to use force to defend themselves and their homes against intruders. Some who don\u2019t know better think they also have a blank check to use force, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}