Tacoma - Good Guy - 1 / Bad Guys - 0

Likely something to do with being his property and has full rights to be there, the perpetrators do not have a legal right to be there and broke into the garage ie

RCW 9A.52.025
Residential burglary.

(1) A person is guilty of residential burglary if, with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein, the person enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling other than a vehicle.
(2) Residential burglary is a class B felony. In establishing sentencing guidelines and disposition standards, the sentencing guidelines commission and the juvenile disposition standards commission shall consider residential burglary as a more serious offense than second degree burglary.

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Once they came at him then

RCW 9A.52.020
Burglary in the first degree.

(1) A person is guilty of burglary in the first degree if, with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein, he or she enters or remains unlawfully in a building and if, in entering or while in the building or in immediate flight therefrom, the actor or another participant in the crime (a) is armed with a deadly weapon, or (b) assaults any person.
(2) Burglary in the first degree is a class A felony.

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Along with

RCW 9A.16.050
Homicide — By other person — When justifiable.
*** CHANGE IN 2011 *** (SEE 5045.SL) ***
Homicide is also justifiable when committed either:
(1) In the lawful defense of the slayer, or his or her husband, wife, parent, child, brother, or sister, or of any other person in his presence or company, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury to the slayer or to any such person, and there is imminent danger of such design being accomplished; or
(2) In the actual resistance of an attempt to commit a felony upon the slayer, in his presence, or upon or in a dwelling, or other place of abode, in which he is.

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If the state doesn't have a "duty to retreat" law then he was within his rights to investigate the noise on his property. Once they rushed him he could reasonably claim fear for life. The next question would also be "make my day" and castle laws.

amzbrady said:

Why not, if they are polite, then they are just doing their job and are there to help you. You should say as much as possible to them. They have the best recording equipment and and better trained to relay all the info you give them, all in your defense of course. They are your friend, so go ahead and utilize them, you tax dollars are paying them to be there and work for you. After all they are there to protect and serve...

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ROFLMAO. You should do the Comedy Club, you're a natural.

gogodawgs said:

+1 Agree! Do not talk to police, shut up, contact you attorney, shut up!

(will wait for bigdave and others to say it's ok to talk to police about a few things....)

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BigDave said:

Hmm is he in Jail ? Nope, News reporting law enforcement supports his position as it being Self Defense...

Yes something things need to be said and then shut up such as describe so many times before.
Others advocate to shut and not talk to police. Does this include not calling Police, Not telling them where the incident occurred, not telling them you were in fear for your life , not that you were defending yourself, do you let the perps call and report the incident? let them spin the story as you being the bad guy, let witnesses or evidence disappear into the night, yeah gogo you tell them, just as a person on this forum a while back with the incident where the young lady was being harmed he intervened and was charged until what, he showed a video. What is the difference here? the homeowner did not get arrested nor charged and stated just enough to lay that foundation, was he stupid, nope not in my book.

I wonder how many people talk to police after a self defense action versus not and what the outcome would be of those being charged, cited or convicted, my bet would be more talk to police then not.

Sure there are those who end up in jail and released later after proving they were not guilty but what is this percentage versus how many really did commit the crime and are sitting in jail, the odds are still better.

The ball is in your court GoGo

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You know I was just playing with ya.... you summed up for me (being lazy) what you should limit yourself saying to the police. Just as with your firearm, everyone should practice their phone call to 911 and their interaction with police following a 'good shoot.'

Thanks BigDave for playing! :banana:

gogodawgs said:

You know I was just playing with ya.... you summed up for me (being lazy) what you should limit yourself saying to the police. Just as with your firearm, everyone should practice their phone call to 911 and their interaction with police following a 'good shoot.'

Thanks BigDave for playing! :banana:

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I guess that is one way of wiggling out of a debate :monkey

BigDave said:

I guess that is one way of wiggling out of a debate :monkey

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Nope, we all have variable talents and skills. I know that this is one of the area's that you excel in and thought it would be better coming from you. You did a nice job of summarizing the reasons and scope of interaction with the police. What is most amusing, is that I could count on you to do so....yes I 'baited' you into the discussion. Again, your reasoning of the scope in this situation should be listened to, even though I will tell most (not all) to shut up and not talk to police. (insert joke here.....I will just tell you to shut up....j/k)

Gogo you are not as much fun anymore :lol:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/05/24/1677482/tacoma-homeowner-shoots-burglars.html

It appears that the burglars were inside the house according to this article.

WinchesterModel12 said:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/05/24/1677482/tacoma-homeowner-shoots-burglars.html

It appears that the burglars were inside the house according to this article.

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Interesting update to the story. However, since the intruders must have been in the house prior to the shooting in the detached garage, as a legal technicality that fact would have no bearing on the justification of the shooting.

Despite that, I tend to agree with the logic that says the homeowner's investigation of the noise in his detached garage was reasonable, and that what happened next was justifiable due to the escalation of the situation by the intruders.

This case seems to illustrate how evil those "retreat" laws are in some states. I think the homeowner in this case would stand a good chance of being prosecuted if such a law were on the books here.

gogodawgs said:

Nope, we all have variable talents and skills. I know that this is one of the area's that you excel in and thought it would be better coming from you. You did a nice job of summarizing the reasons and scope of interaction with the police. What is most amusing, is that I could count on you to do so....yes I 'baited' you into the discussion. Again, your reasoning of the scope in this situation should be listened to, even though I will tell most (not all) to shut up and not talk to police. (insert joke here.....I will just tell you to shut up....j/k)

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BigDave said:

Gogo you are not as much fun anymore :lol:

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I agree on Gogo with this one I think much of the argument is semantics on personal level on what you are willing to reveal. I agree too that many times and hopefully it does end up good for you when you talk to the police. I personally will tell the vitals and wait for a lawyer.

gogodawgs said:

+1 Agree! Do not talk to police, shut up, contact you attorney, shut up!

(will wait for bigdave and others to say it's ok to talk to police about a few things....)

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BigDave said:

Hmm is he in Jail ? Nope, News reporting law enforcement supports his position as it being Self Defense...

Yes something things need to be said and then shut up such as describe so many times before.
Others advocate to shut and not talk to police. Does this include not calling Police, Not telling them where the incident occurred, not telling them you were in fear for your life , not that you were defending yourself, do you let the perps call and report the incident? let them spin the story as you being the bad guy, let witnesses or evidence disappear into the night, yeah gogo you tell them, just as a person on this forum a while back with the incident where the young lady was being harmed he intervened and was charged until what, he showed a video. What is the difference here? the homeowner did not get arrested nor charged and stated just enough to lay that foundation, was he stupid, nope not in my book.

I wonder how many people talk to police after a self defense action versus not and what the outcome would be of those being charged, cited or convicted, my bet would be more talk to police then not.

Sure there are those who end up in jail and released later after proving they were not guilty but what is this percentage versus how many really did commit the crime and are sitting in jail, the odds are still better.

The ball is in your court GoGo

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gogodawgs said:

You know I was just playing with ya.... you summed up for me (being lazy) what you should limit yourself saying to the police. Just as with your firearm, everyone should practice their phone call to 911 and their interaction with police following a 'good shoot.'

Thanks BigDave for playing! :banana:

Click to expand...

gogodawgs said:

Nope, we all have variable talents and skills. I know that this is one of the area's that you excel in and thought it would be better coming from you. You did a nice job of summarizing the reasons and scope of interaction with the police. What is most amusing, is that I could count on you to do so....yes I 'baited' you into the discussion. Again, your reasoning of the scope in this situation should be listened to, even though I will tell most (not all) to shut up and not talk to police. (insert joke here.....I will just tell you to shut up....j/k)

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BigDave said:

Gogo you are not as much fun anymore :lol:

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sudden valley gunner said:

I agree on Gogo with this one I think much of the argument is semantics on personal level on what you are willing to reveal. I agree too that many times and hopefully it does end up good for you when you talk to the police. I personally will tell the vitals and wait for a lawyer.

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So things are held in context here, SVG with your comment on Gogo post you are agreeing with me

BigDave said:

So things are held in context here, SVG with your comment on Gogo post you are agreeing with me

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On certain aspects of what you say yes. I don't want to get hung up on semantics, but I don't believe sitting there not even identifying yourself in that situation would be good for you. But wouldn't go past identifying myself and saying it was in self defense.

You are correct that the majority of things should go alright for the person acting in self defense. Yet I personally wouldn't want to end up on the end of a mislead prosecutor or polices view point that it was wrong. So I would keep the info to a minimum.

BigDave said:

Hmm is he in Jail ? Nope, News reporting law enforcement supports his position as it being Self Defense...

Yes something things need to be said and then shut up such as describe so many times before.
Others advocate to shut and not talk to police. Does this include not calling Police, Not telling them where the incident occurred, not telling them you were in fear for your life , not that you were defending yourself, do you let the perps call and report the incident? let them spin the story as you being the bad guy, let witnesses or evidence disappear into the night, yeah gogo you tell them, just as a person on this forum a while back with the incident where the young lady was being harmed he intervened and was charged until what, he showed a video. What is the difference here? the homeowner did not get arrested nor charged and stated just enough to lay that foundation, was he stupid, nope not in my book.

I wonder how many people talk to police after a self defense action versus not and what the outcome would be of those being charged, cited or convicted, my bet would be more talk to police then not.

Sure there are those who end up in jail and released later after proving they were not guilty but what is this percentage versus how many really did commit the crime and are sitting in jail, the odds are still better.

The ball is in your court GoGo

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I could not just let this sit there and not add that for the most part many people that advocate to shut up and talk to a lawyer does come into play, but not to a point of not saying anything.
We are all human and it is human nature in a time of conflict many will seek those who side with them to feel support for their actions.
During this time is dangerous as some will discuss issues and then to add or subtract points of interest to entice an acknowledgment of acceptance or support and officers are good at this, they will show no support and wait for them to try and convince them even more so. By doing this harm is done to your credibility will be challenged as something may have been changed in order or set a little differently all done to gain some support but then evidence comes around and tells a little different story, now all you have said is suspect, so yes do not blabber on, just the basic facts.

Along with this I have talked to our Local Prosecutor in Yakima in reference to a homeowner that shot at a fleeing robber in the county and no charges were filed.
I was wondering why, he was fleeing, they were trying to break into his home, they were no longer a threat and what set me back was, he did not get a report from Sheriff Office so there was no action to be taken. I am not saying this will happen where you are and be the same on another similar case but if the home owner had just shut up and not talked I feel that report would have went forward.