TimSr:
Sheriff Hunter's words in the last paragraph sum up my point:
Actually, they do not sum up the point you have been making at all. First, the sheriff does recommend against it. And all he said was that people sometimes do it. Didn't say it was right.
But in this case it did turn out okay.
The man grabbed a gun and pursued. Most of us recommend against it, but he did it.
Leasure said they raced out of his driveway. He grabbed his shotgun, called 911 and raced after them.
So far, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Best of all, Leasure did not get shot. We have seen instances in which things turned out for the worse. Do not delude yourself into thinking people cannot get shot "in [YOUR] world of Wayne County, Ohio".
Then things got a little hotter:
"They reached a location on Ruff Road and the two suspects stopped and got out to unhook the trailer,” Hunter said. “The owner also stopped and there was a verbal altercation and the suspects threatened the victim.”
“They pulled into this lady’s yard and I saw another guy get out and duck behind the trailer,” Leasure said. “He had something shiny. I thought it might be a gun.
Testimony on those points would, of course, be very important.
"I leveled my gun and told them no one was going anywhere.”
But that did not work. One would certainly hope that Leasure knew full well that he could not lawfully use deadly force to enforce his command.
But something else happened:
Leasure said the one he thought had a gun darted behind a tree.
Still in the realm, conceivably, of a self defense situation.
But then:
“I shot the front tire and I tapped two in the rear on the driver’s side,” Leasure said.
What was the immediate need for that? That would have become the important question.
Leasure pursued the truck up County Road 70 to Creston, where a Creston officer was waiting and apprehended the suspects without incident.
“They just pulled up, got out and threw up their hands,” Leasure said.
Brandon Friedlein, 21, of Barberton and Justin Adler, 23, of Smithville, were arrested. They were released with charges pending review by the prosecutor.
(Emphasis added.)
Everyone is very fortunate that no shooting occurred. That Leasure had pursued the thieves with a gun could have made any defense of justification quite difficult indeed.
Now, whether Leasure's actions were lawful has not been determined:
While it is up to the prosecutor whether the victim will be charged for his shotgun wielding, he was released at the scene.
Nothing has been released yet. The charging authority will weigh, or has weighed, the costs of prosecution, the likelihood of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and how the objectives of justice would best be met. They do not have to decide now, and no decision would be binding anyway. The have until the statute of limitations runs out.
The outcome as it stands is much more attributable to good luck than to good thinking.