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Bottom line is, know what is legal, and know what you're willing to go to jail over. The two sometimes cross over more than what one might expect.

If you're willing to go to jail over a car, no matter how righteous your case, that's fine. You are assuming the risk of prosecution, just as the thief assumed the risk of airborne lead.

If you're not willing to defend your property, that's fine. It's your property, and your right to decide if it's worth possible prosecution over.

If you're not willing to defend yourself, that's also fine. Your life is your property, and it's your right to defend it or not.

I have no sympathy for the car thief. He assumed the risk when he took the car. Reasonable use of force or not, people DO defend property with violence, and he chose to commit theft any way. His life, his choice.

I have some sympathy for the car owner and shooter. He may be in a completely legally defensible situation, and still get railroaded with charges. I sympathize too, in that he decided his property was worth fighting for. That is his right, as is his right to face the consequences of the fight. If his actions were truly legal per Washington State laws, I wish him well in his defense.

That being said, I doubt I'd be willing to pull the trigger in this situation myself. I like my car. I really like my car. But it's not worth -that- much to me, regardless of legality of the use of force. And that is my right.