IN: Burglar sues home owner who shot him

[Flightmare]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/04 ... areButtons

[suthdj]

Moral of the story "don't shoot a fleeing man"

[FastCarry]

a few really.. dont be a thief, and dont leave your property to shoot a thief unless its night time and he has your property

[Soccerdad1995]

There are contradicting statements in the story about whether the BG admitted to the burglary.

That said, if the home owner really did what they claim (shooting into the air, running into an alley and shooting at a fleeing person), he is lucky to have only spent 60 days in jail. As far as civil liability, I find it hard to give the BG money for something that would have never happened if he had not decided to commit burglary in the first place (that's assuming he actually did commit burglary that night).

I have a home defense plan, but it does not involve ever shooting at someone who is outside my house / garage unless they are actively shooting at me. If a criminal is in my house, they are fair game, but once the perps have left my house, and my family is safe, I call that a win.

[lildave40]

I may not be a pro but here is my thoughts about the home owner. 1: Exiting a safe are to chase down a thief is a very bad idea. If you are safe then why put you or your families life in danger? 2: WHY WHY SHOOT UP IN THE AIR? What goes up must come down and is the most careless thing to do. There should never be a warning shot. If the guy was running away from you and is almost off your property why are you shooting at him? Was you or your families life in danger? I feel bad for the homeowner but he made alot of bad choices that he has to pay for now.

[ELB]

Random thoughts:

Warning shots: I read all the linked news articles (which are basically all reprints of each other) and the claim that the homeowner fired into the air is an allegation by the guy who wants to extract some money. So, I would, er, hold fire about whether a "warning shot" was fired. I guess you could count misses as warning shots, in a very broad sense. :)

The burglary: in Texas you don't necessarily have to steal something to be guilty of burglary - breaking in with the intent to commit any felony, or theft, or assault makes you guilty as well. I dunno if Indiana law is the same, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I was just MMOB and someone shot me: The repetitious articles seem to indicate the plaintiff is going for the pose of complete innocence, claiming that he did not enter the garage at all, just happened to be walking nearby when the homeowner heard the alarm in his garage and started shooting.

Since the plaintiff has already pled guilty to burglary, I see two problems with this: 1) it would seem easy to refute any claim of MMOB by introducing the guilty plea into the civil trial as evidence, and 2) maybe even more importantly, I would think that when you are entering a guilty plea, that you are essentially swearing to the court under oath that you did it (whatever "it" was). Now to go into another court and say "No, I didn't do that," again under oath, would seem to me to be illegal, and get your suit tossed. And maybe a prosecution for perjury. I would find it hard to believe his lawyer would go this route, so I have to think there is more to this, but....??

In any case, I would not like to be the homeowner.

[WTR]

I have a problem with him throwing lead in a neighborhood where he might hit an innocent.. Every thing I have is insured, other than loved ones. They get hunkered down, then bring it on.