Intruder in our house - what would you have done?

[Hwkeye]

Plus, with the no retreat law, you have the right to protect yourself/family.

[VAXDGUY]

Originally Posted by Hwkeye

I dont know what its like in Virginia, but here in kentucky, if sombody is in your house, you have probable reason to believe that they are there to harm you. Technically you can fire right there... but not being cruel and unusual, you can order them to the ground, that is what the whole law of "not having to retreat" is all about.

Uhh, the person was in the house FIRST, so you may not make that assumption.

[Hwkeye]

Where exactly do you see that in the law?? He came in without permission, and if he did that, he broke in, that is the assumption the law grants you to make, it doesnt say anything about if you are there after the aggressor...

If I come in and an aggressor is in my house, what if my wife came home from work early and she is ther... you have no burden of that sort with that law, it protects you from civil liability.

[deepdiver]

Even if the trespessing and B&E were not felonies, given that there were valuable items in the house it would be reasonable to expect that he either had or was in the process of committing a felony. If he saw me, I too would draw my weapon, get him on the ground and call 911. Unfortunately (depending on your point of view) under current Missouri law, if he jumped up and started to flee the property, you would be in voilation of the law to shoot him at that point or use any other deadly force to stop him. There is a "castle bill" currently pending that 1) codifies that there is no obligation to retreat and 2) bars any lawsuit from the BG if your shooting is deemed justified by LE. These are the legal reasons I would backout if possible and call 911.

[ElJimmyStrappo]

Originally Posted by VAXDGUY

Sorry, but your first and only duty is to try and get him to leave, which you haven't tried. Absent that, with a good lawyer after your "felony arrest" (unless you really are a cop which it doesn't sound like), he could end up owning your house. Last time I looked, simple trespass is a misdemeanor; your response to that would be disproportionate, and would open YOU up to all sorts of legal action. Citizen's arrests are lawful for FELONIES, not for misdemeanors. You'd be lucky if you weren't charged with assault, battery and kidnapping (not allowing him to leave). And that's not even considering the next step:
What if he wouldn't keep his hands in the small of his back? Pistol whip him? Shoot him? Either way, you're in big heapum trouble. The minute you draw on him, you've changed the rules of the game and someone's going to own your @$$..

Actually, I am in the Academy right now. Yeah I am not a cop, yet. Are you an officer? If so, I am confident that you have more training than I and know more about your states laws than I do.

The suspect that we are talking about was in a building, and from what we know stole a number of items, therefore he is guilty of burglary. Tell me if I am wrong, but burglary is a felony. Therefore, I would take every step necessary to protect myself, family, property and get the perp taken care of.

I dont see any reason why you would try to get him to leave, you have no idea what kind of weapons he has on him or what he has done in the house or done to the house. For all you know, he could have murdered someone upstairs and was on his way out. Would you want him to leave without the police being involved?

[Hwkeye]

DEEPDIVER-

I aggree with you... and you would have to be stupid to run after him if he does flee... If he did do that, I would not shoot, but you have ALL the right in the world to draw down on him.

[Hwkeye]

KRS 503.055 (AKA "Make My Day Law")

b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.

[Hwkeye]

In addition:

(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.

It never says entered an occupied 'dwelling", the occupied thing only counts for your car... you cant come up on sombody breaking in your car and pop them.... Agian, this is only Kentucky.

[Hwkeye]

Just like the other day... I was comming in my home after doing some running around. As I walk in the door, I hear a CRASH in the back room. I knew my wife was at work, cause I just talked to her. Nobody else should have been in the house... So, I drew my sidearm and proceded to sweep the house... turns out somthing fell off the shelf.

[ROFL XD]

Along those same lines, one time a few months ago I was doing some work in my room when I heard a loud BANG from our hallway. I knew my roommate wasn't home at the time, and when I went to go investigate, I smelled smoke in the hallway and heard movement in the living room. I quickly shut and locked my bedroom door, unlocked the safe and grabbed my gun, and swept the entire apt. After doing so, I discovered what appeared to be firecracker remains in the hallway and called a friend/neighbor, asked if they knew anything about this, and heard laughter. They had broken in with a credit card (deadbolt wasn't locked) and thrown a lit firecracker into my hallway... they said they were about to do it again but realized I had a gun. I was like, "you guys are idiots, I really did have it drawn so be glad you didn't come back and NEVER do that again!" I now tend to keep the safe unlocked when I'm in my room too.