Guy broke into my house. Court sent me a letter saying guy owes me restitution?

[redpitbull44]

Very long story short, earlier this year a guy broke into my house while I was home. I was armed, stopped him, didn't shoot him. Nobody was injured. He didn't steal anything. He got arrested for residential entry. I have not been involved in the case, other than the prosecutor calling me to confirm my new address. I asked him at that time if I needed a lawyer, and he said "No, we will handle it. The most we may need from you is to appear in court to testify if need be."

I got a court letter a while back saying he changed his plea. I got another letter today saying the court has ordered him to pay me restitution. They asked me to provide them with receipts to indicate what the restitution is. Says if I haven't got any receipts to contact them with the amount anyways. Says there may be a hearing to determine the exact amount of restitution he will have to pay. Also says according to Indiana State law he must make a "good faith effort" to pay the restitution.

First off, the only thing the dude stole from me was my peace of mind. How do you put a price on that?

Second, the dude is 23 years old, a drug addict, and has never held down a job in his life. I take this term "good faith effort" to mean if he gets a part time minimum wage job and pays me $5 a week they will consider that a "good faith effort". What is your take on this term "good faith effort"?

Third, I moved far enough away (although for work, not because of this incident) that I am not worried about the whole ordeal honestly. Like everyone, I wouldn't mind extra money if that's what the court decides, but at this point I am not seeking any "restitution". How should I proceed? Like I said, he didn't steal anything but my peace of mind. That's a tough thing to put a price on. Should I get a lawyer? I would think the cost of a lawyer could offset whatever restitution I may receive.

 

[wabash]

if he did not break anything, steal anything, or ruin anything,......... I would say no damage.

but you said he "broke" into your house, which suggests some damage.

 

[Noble Sniper]

Sir, all I can say is you are a far kinder human being than I am and he should thank you for not stamping him out like a cockroach

 

[lrahm]

Sir, all I can say is you are a far kinder human being than I am and he should thank you for not stamping him out like a cockroach

I agree 100%. I am wondering if he will serve time.

 

[yotebutcher90]

I'd say just please lock him up, had a deal close to this but I stopped the guy before he tried to jimmy my car door, people nowadays need to learn, well atleast my neighbors now know I'm crazy though

 

[redpitbull44]

Sir, all I can say is you are a far kinder human being than I am and he should thank you for not stamping him out like a cockroach

There is a very good reason I did not shoot him, and I would appreciate it if you would respect that. My 2 month old son was sleeping in an open topped cradle less than a foot away from where I confronted the guy. I was pulling the trigger, waiting for the shot to break, but gave a second's pause. The thoughts that ran through my head were basically "when I shoot him, the gunshot could make the baby go deaf for life. He could fall and land on the baby and kill him. His blood could get in the baby's mouth and if he's got any bloodborne disease he could infect my son." In that split second those thoughts ran through my head, he surrendered fully, negating the need for me to kill him.

 

[sepe]

I would have unleashed a shower of lead that would make all lead showers look like mere drizzles.

My guess if he is spending time in jail, it'll be very, very little. I'd probably just make up a figure and submit it, probably won't see it but that is on the court to make dude pay.

 

[Noble Sniper]

I wrote that respectfully I know what my first and only inclination would be and he should thank God above he is still able to suck oxygen

 

[Hammerhead]

Oh, I remember this case. The guy should be made to stand in the town square eight hours a day for a month ringing a bell and wearing a sandwich board that tells people what he did. In a perfect world, you'd also get five minutes alone in a room with him while his hands are tied behind his back. Just to be merciful, you'd wear boxing gloves.

He should be groveling at your feet for not ending his pathetic life. You had every right and reason to give him a case of high velocity lead poisoning.

Make up a number.

 

[JoshuaW]

I remember this. If he did no damage while entering, contact the prosecutor and explain that. There may be a standard amount or something. If not, or if you don't care, just say that you would feel most comfortable if he served actual time. Maybe you can submit a letter explaining how violated and unsafe it made you feel, you could even say how it factored into your choice to move.

Do something. If you don't, I doubt he will get the punishment that is needed. This was a really messed up situation, and you seemed pretty convinced that he was going to do some serious damage (with good reason, given everything he brought with)

 

[j706]

There is a very good reason I did not shoot him, and I would appreciate it if you would respect that. My 2 month old son was sleeping in an open topped cradle less than a foot away from where I confronted the guy. I was pulling the trigger, waiting for the shot to break, but gave a second's pause. The thoughts that ran through my head were basically "when I shoot him, the gunshot could make the baby go deaf for life. He could fall and land on the baby and kill him. His blood could get in the baby's mouth and if he's got any bloodborne disease he could infect my son." In that split second those thoughts ran through my head, he surrendered fully, negating the need for me to kill him.

You did the right thing. There will always be people saying you should have done something different. And for these guys that think if someone breaks in your house it is a automatic license to be able to kill them....well I have bad news for them. There is a good chance they ain't gonna like what happens.

As far as restitution, you most likely won't get anything out of the dirtbag. He doesn't have anything and probably never will.

By the way..good job. It sounds like you handled everything like a decent common sense person would.

 

[MtnBiker6510]

You did the right thing. There will always be people saying you should have done something different. And for these guys that think if someone breaks in your house it is a automatic license to be able to kill them....well I have bad news for them. There is a good chance they ain't gonna like what happens.

As far as restitution, you most likely won't get anything out of the dirtbag. He doesn't have anything and probably never will.

By the way..good job. It sounds like you handled everything like a decent common sense person would.

+1, very responsibly handled.

 

[Slapstick]

Very long story short, earlier this year a guy broke into my house while I was home. I was armed, stopped him, didn't shoot him. Nobody was injured. He didn't steal anything. He got arrested for residential entry. I have not been involved in the case, other than the prosecutor calling me to confirm my new address. I asked him at that time if I needed a lawyer, and he said "No, we will handle it. The most we may need from you is to appear in court to testify if need be."

I got a court letter a while back saying he changed his plea. I got another letter today saying the court has ordered him to pay me restitution. They asked me to provide them with receipts to indicate what the restitution is. Says if I haven't got any receipts to contact them with the amount anyways. Says there may be a hearing to determine the exact amount of restitution he will have to pay. Also says according to Indiana State law he must make a "good faith effort" to pay the restitution.

First off, the only thing the dude stole from me was my peace of mind. How do you put a price on that?

Second, the dude is 23 years old, a drug addict, and has never held down a job in his life. I take this term "good faith effort" to mean if he gets a part time minimum wage job and pays me $5 a week they will consider that a "good faith effort". What is your take on this term "good faith effort"?

Third, I moved far enough away (although for work, not because of this incident) that I am not worried about the whole ordeal honestly. Like everyone, I wouldn't mind extra money if that's what the court decides, but at this point I am not seeking any "restitution". How should I proceed? Like I said, he didn't steal anything but my peace of mind. That's a tough thing to put a price on. Should I get a lawyer? I would think the cost of a lawyer could offset whatever restitution I may receive.

In criminal case the only damages you can seek through the criminal proceeding in for actual damages not emotional distress. So, if there were no damages then there is no monetary restitution owed. The worth of your "peace of mind" is for a civil court.

No you do not need a lawyer, Indiana law says that in cases like this the prosecutor must ask you if any restitution is owed, that's why you got the letter.

What you can do is make a sentencing recommendation to the Court. That's your right as the victim. The Judge will take it either as an aggravator or a mitigator when sentencing the person. You can ask the prosecutor of the case how you would go about it, they love it when victims speak out, it's makes their job easier. Basically most people put it as letter to the Court stating how they felt and what they think is appropriate punishment, ie prison time, terms to include in the persons probation like drug counseling etc..

Depending on the Court, they may require a pre-sentence report on the person to be prepared by the probation department and filed prior to sentencing. On D felonies where the plea doesn't call for Department of Correction time it's not required. If the Court orders one then you will also be getting a letter from the probation department asking about restitution and your recommendation towards sentencing.

One last thing, you are are about the "good faith" effort. It's depressing but that's how it works and it's one of the harder probation violations to prove.

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

Truth is this:
1) You absolutely did the right thing in not shooting. Any day you don't have to shoot is better than a day you do.

2) The rest of us weren't there, so we can't say what we'd have done.

3) As has been said above, restitution requires something tangible to have been taken - nothing was. It sucks, but it's the truth.

4) Lastly, you seem to have pulled through it just fine - YOU are probably better off not dragging yourself through it all again.

In light of the above, I'd be tempted to write a note to the court explaining that no property damage was done (assuming that's the case). While it's true that he took your peace of mind with his action, the fact remains that you have gotten it back. Is it worth giving it up again, just to inflict some vengeance at this point?

POS this guy may be, but punishing him is for the courts to do - in spite of what we may think of the job they do of it sometimes.

 

[cobber]

Usually victims get a notice from the prosecutor when the case is filed, and then have a certain amount of time to file a claim for restitution. In this case the prosecutor probably asked for restitution if any, and the court is leaving open the issue for you to file a claim.

You should submit any actual damages, no matter how trivial. Non-payment could lead to a probation violation down the road, and depending on the judge, could have bad consequences for the perp. At the very worst, unpaid restitution can be reduced to a civil judgment at the termination of probation and you could use it like any other judicial award of civil damages.

Obviously this is more important if you have large-scale damages, but nevertheless, go ahead and claim anything. It's like a small claim without the filing fee.

By the way, as a victim you were technically entitled to be notified of all court dates and attend hearings if you so wished...

 

[Yup!]

Im sure your lawyer doesn't work for free - those fees are damages. (if you get one) and I can't believe you didn't already.

just my .02

 

[revsaxon]

Like you said, he isnt going to pay so the number is kinda meaningless.

I say ask for a cool billion.

 

[trnsplntfrmohio]

Do the moral thing let it go and hope the justice system can rehabillitate him, maybe instead of taking money from him ask the courts to put him in a drug rehab program and get his ged or some technical training

 

[hoosierdoc]

Isn't this the guy you walked to the front porch and waited for cops? If so, I thought he had BG after him and headed to prison for other reasons. Maybe I'm wrong.

Killing the guy would have upset your life way more than a break in. Well done.

 

[cobber]

Do the moral thing let it go and hope the justice system can rehabillitate him, maybe instead of taking money from him ask the courts to put him in a drug rehab program and get his ged or some technical training

I wouldn't infer from the OP that the perp broke into his house b/c he was a drug addict or insufficiently educated. Plenty of repeat offenders got their GED's in DOC or jail, and have gone through some sort of court-ordered drug treatment.

As far as "taking money from him", the court was ordering restitution, which means the perp gives back the money/damages he inflicted on the victim. Since it would be ill-gotten gains by the perp at best, how would that be "taking money from [the perp]"?

"Do the moral thing" means the victim is made as whole as possible, and the perpetrator suffers the consequences of his intentional act. Once he has changed his criminal thinking, then society can welcome him back. Until then he needs to stay out of other folks' houses.

Residential entry is all fun and games until someone gets hurt.