1. cops are trained to handle these situations. we give up the right to vigilante justice in society. we don't allow you to put on a batman suit and chase down the bad guys each night. 2. what happens next week is irrelevant.
Legally, it was wrong to shoot them. Morally, people should avoid killing other people unless it's in self defense. However, Im not feeling pity for those who died.
just read the followup article on chron.com a dallas lawyer has interpreted the law to state that deadly force can only be used at night when defending a neighbors property. from my earlier posts, i disagree w/ this interpretation but i thin the lawyer has a better background than me . itll be interesting to see how a judge and jury interpret the law. the neighbor is a wreck right now. remorseful for his actions. didnt mean to kill the burglars. and he did give a verbal warning. he left town to get away from the media. police are investigating where the burglars were shot (front, back, side,...) and where the bodies landed...
He didn't mean to kill them? he told the 911 operator that was exactly what he was going to do. I'm glad that he's remorseful. I wish he hadn't done what he did as well.
Well, self-defense with your self lying on the ground bleeding, I suppose. Years ago, my dad told me a story about a guy who saw somebody looking in through his friend's window. The guy approached him, and said "can I help you?" He did this hoping that it would alert the would be burglar that someone was onto him and scare him off. The would be burglar whipped around and shot the guy to death with the pistol he had previously had concealed. The point is that if you are going to get involved at all in helping to stop these events to make your neighborhood safer...you need to be prepared to take that last step if need be.
Why would it be racist? Because he shot a couple of burglars? They might have not deserved death but they deserved to be punished severely. Breaking into someone's house is a lot more risky than pick pocketing. Not the ideal situation but these "victims" weren't innocent.
It is neither plain robbery nor armed robbery. It is burglary. I don't believe there is an aggravated burglary charge.
Actually, at the point he shot them they had finished the comission of the felony and were fleeing the scene of the crime. If he had climbed into the other guy's house and shot them in the act he would be much safer, I believe.
Not if they had property in their possession and were still on the property. The felony is the removal of the property, not taking it outside of the house to the yard. Although breaking and entering is another crime altogether.
The Texas Penal Code describes burlgary as entering a habitation or building. [rquoter] A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, the person enters a habitation, or a building (or any portion of a building) not then open to the public, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or an assault; or [/rquoter] So as I read it when they left the habitation, they were no longer commiting a burglary, and so were no longer comitting a felony, but fleeing. As far as I can tell, there is no seperate 'breaking and entering' charge that isn't covered by the burglary statute in Texas, but I could be wrong as I am not a lawyer.
Right the breaking and entering is the burglary. I would say packing the property to the car is certainly a felony (probably theft in your quote)
First, according to the 911 call these people didn't have a car, but as far as I can see there is no specific statute in that regard (placing stolen goods into a vehicle) nor does walking on the man's lawn qualify as criminal tresspass. If you think otherwise, this link will take you right to the Texas penal code index. As stated I am not a lawyer, but I can't find anything like what you describe. As I read it the theft is intrinsic to the burglary. Once the burglary ends, the act of theft has ended unless they commit another act.
I think its so marginal though. IF you are carrying property off of someones lawn your are commiting theft. Even if you want to leave at that point. If you steal a car and are pulled over I think you are still in the act of stealing it.
Or he could have done exactly what the 911 operator told him to. In this particular fact-scenario, the guy went over the line in my view.
