Grandpa Arrested for Holding Burglar at Gunpoint, page 3


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reply posted on 23-2-2012 @ 08:04 PM by ANNED
I don't see where grandpa did anything wrong.

In most states anyone has the right to make a citizen's arrest when they see a felony in progress.

In this case a thief claiming out a window would look like a felony to me.

In most cases when making a citizen's arrest you can use justifiable force.and it doers not have to be inside your home.

I did one once when i caught someone in my truck in my yard.

My gun was out of sight till he came out of the truck with a screwdriver(weapon?) in his hand.
I then pulled my gun and held him at gunpoint.

The nice thing about the state i live in and many others you don't need a concealed weapons permit to carry on your own property. you also have the right to make a citizen's arrest.

This give you the right and way to stop them if they become a immanent threat to your life when they can not leave because you have the way out blocked.

the good thing about the US is the cops can arrest you but the DA has to try you and find 12 member of a jury to convict you .

In this case i believe because of the publicy the DA had a good idea that there was no jury that would convict.(jury nullification)
Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine which allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically guilty, but who don't deserve punishment. It occurs in a trial when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the judge's instructions as to the law.
en.wikipedia.org...

edit on 23-2-2012 by ANNED because: 439563



reply posted on 23-2-2012 @ 10:40 PM by defcon5
The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.

I just got through posting about this in the Glendale Police shoot and Kill grandfather with granchild in arms thread.

But here you go:
Brandishing a Weapon
Assault and Aggravated Assault
Assault is defined as the intentional act of threatening to injure a person. Brandishing a weapon falls firmly under the definition of assault. If a firearm or other deadly weapon is used, the charge is elevated to aggravated assault, a felony in Texas. Even if you were acting in self-defense by brandishing a firearm, you could still be at risk of being convicted for aggravated assault.

Pulling a firearm on someone without firing it suggests that the gun was not necessary and that you did not fear for your life, because if you had you would have pulled the trigger. Fighting an aggravated assault charge with the self-defense doctrine can therefore be a difficult argument to make in court.

Also from above link:
The Burden of Proof for Self-Defense
In any criminal case, the prosecution's main goal is to show that a crime was committed. In this instance, the prosecution must simply show that a weapon was brandished, which qualifies as assault. Whenever a defendant chooses to argue self-defense in a case, the burden of proof falls on the defendant, not the prosecution.

This means that the defendant must prove that the need for self-defense justified the commission of assault. If the defendant cannot successfully argue that self-defense was necessary, s/he may be found guilty of assault or aggravated assault.

So if you pull it, you better be able to prove that you needed too, that you were in fear of imminent danger, and you better use it. If you don’t then you are warned that under law you can end up with worse charges then the person who you brandished the weapon at.

Oh, BTW…
The fact that the man was a Grandpa has ZERO bearing on the case, nor what he did. Its simply propaganda to pull at peoples heartstrings to sway public opinion on behalf the supporters of the defendant. I bet that Charles Manson is a “Grandpa” by now too.

As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.

edit on 2/23/2012 by defcon5 because: (no reason given)

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