It finally happened to me. . .

Nah, the knocking was probably just to make sure nobody was home. Pretty common ploy.
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This. Had you answered the door, I imagine the perp would have had one of two responses:

1) Disengage- offer to sell magazines or some other junk, expecting you to refuse and they'd leave.
2) Engage more violently- come up with some story to enter your home (hey, my car broke down, can I call my cousin?), whereupon he would draw his weapon and it would become a full blown home invasion, not just burglary.

Since the guy was armed, I'd expect he was thinking more option 2. Somebody looking to burglarize and arms himself for that is NOT likely to back down from a confrontation if they think they can come out on top.
 
NJ, the legal standard is normally just a bit tougher.

It's not what YOU believe, although that is part of the evidence taken into consideration.

The standard is what would a reasonable person have believed, if put into the same situation, and given your knowledge of the event.

So, you should be able to articulate why you believed what you did, and authenticate it with details. Documented training can help you, here. Otherwise, the rules of evidence may or may not allow your lawyer to draw out your specific knowledge. (For instance, you'd have to prove you knew about the Jared Reston incident prior to your SD event, if you wanted to tell the court about your knowledge of an instance where both the officer and the bad guy hit each other 7 times, with .45acp, before the gunfight ended.)

"But you shot him five times! Surely that shows intent to kill!"

"I was trained (in class X by instructor Y) to shoot until threatening behavior stopped. He had a weapon pointed at me, and did not drop the weapon or attempt to leave. I have read many cases where assailants continued their attack after having been hit multiple times, and believed he still posed a mortal threat to me and my family. When he fell, and ceased his attack, I stopped shooting."

That kind of thing.
 
It's a pleasure to read an actual situation where the homeowner did everything right.:) Had you stepped out, you may have provoked a shots fired incident and your legal footing would have been a bit less secure. It could also have been your unlucky day.

Maryland is an anti-gun state so you must pick your battles very carefully. Regarding his being armed: that's why it's so important to talk to a lawyer before you give a statement to the police.
 
Got a subpoenae in the mail to go to juvenile court against one of the juveniles. Will update results after the court date. My guess, being juvenile, he will get a second chance. Is a 18year old considered a juvenile? If not, must be one of the curb sitters.
 
It will be interesting to see if they slap the kids on the wrists or not given the gravity of the situation.

In some states, HAD you shot the guy with the gun the accomplices could have been charged with his murder.
 
You called 911 and got a machine?! How ridiculous is that?!!


"Thank you for calling 911. Your call is important to us. We will answer all the calls in the order received. If this is an emergency, please hang up and call... Oh, never mind. If this is an emergency, I guess you just die. Have a nice day!"

:rolleyes:
 
You handled that as you should have. Having a gun to defend yourself conjures up romantic visions of the past, but is really only a tool to keep you safe. You did just that and have not put yourself in any legal jepordy either. Now I know there are people that will say it's your castle and your right and on and on..., but all it takes is a liberal lawyer to make your life hell.
live on to fight another day:cool:
 
" It will be interesting to see if they slap the kids on the wrists or not given the gravity of the situation. "

Given it was pretty much someone pounding on a door, I see this being plead down to time served. I'm betting it will be the judge telling them " Don't so that again " and the BG following our guy home for round 2.

In another thread someone's cleaning crew fended off a car load of thugs looking to pick a fight, when the BGs lost, they returned a short time later with reinforcements. It isn't like these guys feel guilty for doing something wrong,it's more of them being mad our guy caused them problems.
 
Seems like you did everything right ... I started reading and yelled, "Call 9-1-1" and then got to the part where you did ... you are exactly right that staying in a safe environment is far better than confronting people whose intentions you do not know ... In addition to protecting yourself, your quick call obviously rid the streets (for who knows how long in this day and age) of three punks whose freedoms should be curtailed for a long time ... Can't imagine what goes through the minds of people who refuse to believe they could become a victim and deny the obvious value of being able to command a weapon which evens the odds ...
 
I mentioned to them about shooting an intruder in my house and they said I would have been justifed.
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The police are only one path for bringing charges, and they do not make the final decision either way.

A government attorney (District Attorney, Commonwealth's Attorney, etc.) s the most common decision maker.



Most states go by your intent.

If you BELIEVE your life is in danger then the shooting is justified.
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This is so oversimplified as to be dangerous.

What if you believed every person over 200 pounds was a danger to your life.
Would you be justified in shooting them?

How about every (member of any group)?

'Reasonable' and 'Reasonably believe' under the circumstances shows up in a lot of laws.

Some places do not even have ANY laws about lethal force.
Not a single one.

Virginia is one such example.

All Virginia lethal force law is case (common) law.

We have NO statute law that allows lethal force.

We do have a very solid case law though.
 
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