How to handle idiots on your property?

[Jiggy300]

Trying to keep someone from leaving is extremely unwise, and in most cases, unlawful.

Especially if you have a gun drawn at your side.

 

[44 AMP]

Your Aunt's house. I assume her (not your) property, as well?? Unless YOU own it, you don't have legal rights there. Essentially you are in the wrong, doing anything other than reporting the strange (and assumedly unauthorized) vehicle and person.

If he was what he claimed (an appraiser) then somebody hired him, and he has a legal right to be there, at least as far as he knows. "Stand your ground defense" WOULD apply to HIM, not you/your wife.

Until you own the property, going armed and confronting a trespasser on what is not your property is a really poor idea.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Your Aunt's house. I assume her (not your) property, as well?? Unless YOU own it, you don't have legal rights there. Essentially you are in the wrong, doing anything other than reporting the strange (and assumedly unauthorized) vehicle and person.

This was answered in the opening post:

I live on a 88acre tract of land that is undivided. I own 1/4 interest in this.

The OP is an owner, so he has a right to investigate strangers on the property. Unfortunately, other parties are also owners, and presumably have a right to grant permission for people to enter the property. Courtesy and common sense would suggest that anyone granting such permission would inform the guy who actually lives on the property, but common sense and courtesy died a long time ago.

I experienced the same thing a number of years ago (but without the guns). All the living relatives on my mother's side of the family had built houses on property owned by the estate of my great-grandmother. I was living in one of the houses, which I was renting from an uncle. I came home one day to find a van parked in my driveway and a surveying crew standing around a transit set up on my back stoop. I threw them off the property. The next day, another uncle (who lived across the street) called and told me that he had given them permission to be on the property. He rather sheepishly acknowledged that "maybe" he should have told me before they showed up.

Yeah, Unk -- ya think?

Stuff happens. In my case, had the surveyors not left when asked, I would have called the cops.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Wow, y'all are that "very well trained" and handled the situation as you described and you are asking for our opinion?

First, get proper training. Being able to shoot well is only a fraction of what you need to learn. Missing from your training is proper tactics.
Second, the marksmanship demonstration was unnecessary and seemed to be rather immature from the stand point of being one-upmanship. Moreover, it wasn't contrary to his point. You wanted to prove him wrong, that your wife could not be shot because she is good with a gun.
Third, the surveyor was right. Your wife could have been shot. Trained people get shot all the time, even those that are good with guns.

 

[5whiskey]

Yeah an appraisal crew was there because OP is in the process of buying out the shares of two family members. It's only fair that they know what the property is worth.

Second, I understand the desire to see why an unfamiliar vehicle is snooping around property you have a control over. I grew up on a farm and we had to run folks off our property a few times. One group kept spotlighting deer on a property, and they would always drive off if they saw one of us coming. 3 or 4 times of this going on, I went with another laborer and had him approach the vehicle while the property owner and I blocked the path and called the game warden. WE DID NOT GET OUT WITH THEM WITH GUNS DISPLAYED! NOR DID WE HAVE ONE ON OUR SIDE. They didn't appreciate the fact that we blocked them in, and we expressed that we didn't appreciate them illegally hunting on the property. They had hunting rifles, and were a little agitated, but were happy to leave peacefully if they agreed to not come back.

The point is, I kind of understand not automatically calling 911 without investigating first. In rural areas response time can be up to an hour for a low priority call. Plus it seems like things were different 20 or 30 years ago. You could get in a confrontation without automatically fearing for your life and displaying a firearm, for instance.

 

[45_auto]

I try explaining to him that we are not a normal backwoods hillbilly family.

I can understand why you couldn't explain it to him.

I'm still not sure who deserves the title of "idiots on your property".

 

[Al Norris]

Hmmm...

I can't really see the civil rights or legal connection, other than simple trespass. In which case, as several have already stated, this was not handled in any correct manner.

So where should a thread like this be posted? General Discussion? There is some merit to posting in that forum, but with the final line of the OP being:

How would you have handled the situation?

That's what I would call, "a tell". This should have been posted in the Tactics and Training area.

This is not that area. Since no legal or civil rights issue exists in this thread, it is closed.