Stealing my generator...providing food and heat for my family ?

[Lobo]

.

 

[SMiller]

Hate to tell you but if it is that bad there will be no cops...

 

[GuyRelford]

This is exactly the kind of scenario that we discuss in my Indiana Gun Law class! I'm sure that some of my past graduates can nail this question!

 

[Jack Ryan]

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Wow, Jack... two posts now, #15 and #29, you've shown us all your better side, while providing absolutely nothing helpful...perhaps it's just the postwhore in you that can't be controlled.

Speaking hypothetically, thanks. This thread is so useful.

 

[JoshuaW]

Personally, I didnt think you could shoot unless it was a forcible felony.

However, whether you can shoot or not may not be the issue. You have distance on them, and they are busy trying to steal the generator. Fire a couple shots into the ground, if they run off, great! You win! If they reach for a weapon, well, now you know. You still have your firearm in play and can likely hit at least one of them before they both have weapons in play.

Also, if they have something that can be construed as a weapon, you might have something going for you. Bolt cutters can do some serious damage.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Personally, I didnt think you could shoot unless it was a forcible felony.

However, whether you can shoot or not may not be the issue. You have distance on them, and they are busy trying to steal the generator. Fire a couple shots into the ground, if they run off, great! You win! If they reach for a weapon, well, now you know. You still have your firearm in play and can likely hit at least one of them before they both have weapons in play.

Also, if they have something that can be construed as a weapon, you might have something going for you. Bolt cutters can do some serious damage.

All you have to do is claim they were charging and you THOUGHT you saw a weapon. I witnessed a shooting that I would call bad and when all was said and done at the scene, the shooter loaded, holstered and went home. It went down like this:
Guy walks up to apt and knocks on door. Husband answers door irritated that his cheating wifes thug BF is there. Thug BF says, sorry must be the wrong house, turns and walks halfway across parking lot. As thug BF is walking away, husband and wife exchange words, husband in nothing more than boxer shorts runs across parking lot. Thug BF turns and shoots husband in the chest from a fair distance of around 60-75 feet, stops, sits on curb and waits for police. Police arrive, thug BF claims "he was charging me and I thought he might have had a weapon, I was afraid for my life...". Thug BF goes home and no charges are filed against him. A few weeks later husband comes home from the hospital and is evicted from his apartment. Police stage "community meeting" in the complex common area. When I spoke out to tell the truth about what happened opposing the police version I am forcibly removed from the meeting and later evicted from my apartment. This was in 1998 in Greenwood, Westminster apartments, and was the THIRD shooting I witnessed there that summer. I wasn't bothered by getting out of that lease. Oh yeah, as they were removing me from the "community meeting" I informed the police that I would no longer call 911 when I witnessed this sort of thing but would shoot back instead


It's not about what you see or feel or think. It IS about what you SAY you saw, felt or thought. Again I am not going to condone dishonesty, I'm just sayin'. And when it is your word against a dead mans.....who's voice carries further?

 

[dwh79]

If mad husband comes charging at me after he found out I was having some activities with his wife I would probably be in fear for my life.

 

[jeremy]

Actually I think you would find that Stealing Someones Generator, Fuel, Firewood, etc... At this time of year with this type of Weather Conditions could very well doom that Person or Family to death. I think you would find most LEOs and DA would probably treat this as a good shoot. I think it would be extremely easy for even a hack Attorney to defend you in this if you found a DA that wanted to charge you...

Really does not take long for a Body to freeze to death...

 

[lane440]

Simple , bang bang #1 , bang bang #2 . My story will trump thiers , more than likely they will be speachless . Inevitablely it comes down too..... how much they value thier own lives

 

[pinshooter45]

If someone is trying to steal your generator, and you are out there telling them to get the F*** away from your property. And they agressively come after you, They are now a threat to you from the posts citing Indiana Code there is no question you are justified. But I think I'd still like the Gun Law class anyway. When is the next one, and how much does it cost to attend?

 

[figley]

I don't want my genny stolen, and part of the reason I didn't panic buy one this weekend was that I didn't know the best way to deal with the issue addressed in this thread. I don't want to have to deal with the coroner in my back yard either.

A point that was raised in a thread about the Shockoe Bottom incident I read on another board can be applied here. There was much consternation dealing with the reality of a brandishing charge if one were to un-holster, but not fire. There is a fraction of a second the BG has to change his mind, which may change your course of action.

I find it excessively difficult to believe that any lowlife is going to put his life on the line to steal a generator. There's got to be a non-gun owner somewhere nearby who has a much nicer generator.

Surely no jackwagon is going to call 911, to claim that a crazy homeowner just aimed a shotgun at him. But then again, people call to report a weed deal gone bad, so who knows?

Should I, in this situation, call 911 pre-emptively, to report having to draw down in order to prevent the theft of my generator?

for further edification, this instructional video doesn't deal with the specific situation, but all of ingo should take it into consideration: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IbPE8l1Qqg]YouTube - Your Other Guns[/ame]

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I don't want my genny stolen, and part of the reason I didn't panic buy one this weekend was that I didn't know the best way to deal with the issue addressed in this thread. I don't want to have to deal with the coroner in my back yard either.

A point that was raised in a thread about the Shockoe Bottom incident I read on another board can be applied here. There was much consternation dealing with the reality of a brandishing charge if one were to un-holster, but not fire. There is a fraction of a second the BG has to change his mind, which may change your course of action.

I find it excessively difficult to believe that any lowlife is going to put his life on the line to steal a generator. There's got to be a non-gun owner somewhere nearby who has a much nicer generator.

Surely no jackwagon is going to call 911, to claim that a crazy homeowner just aimed a shotgun at him. But then again, people call to report a weed deal gone bad, so who knows?

Should I, in this situation, call 911 pre-emptively, to report having to draw down in order to prevent the theft of my generator?

for further edification, this instructional video doesn't deal with the specific situation, but all of ingo should take it into consideration: YouTube - Your Other Guns

911 is a joke and I will never use them for anything more than body disposal.

 

[gearjammer21]

As long as you have, and can prove you had "Reasonable Belief" that harm is imminent - freezing from cold - and that this force is necessary to prevent or terminate the others person's unlawful entry of or attack on the person's dwelling, curtilage, or occupied motor vehicle.
If someone steals my lawn tractor, an butt full of buck shot works, but if I was a farmer and my tracter is how I put food on the table, I take my .40 cal S&W and its two to the chest.
If you have time to think "should I" then you probably shouldn't.

 

[Sticky]

I would defend it, if I didn't reasonably believe that the police could arrive in time to prevent the theft. Considering the stated conditions.

Here's a link to a definition of curtilage, now I'm really confused...

EDIT: IN has Castle Doctrine statutes and, according to this site, stand-your-ground statutes. I'm not sure if stand-your-ground statutes are a consideration in this scenario.

 

[finity]

You can't use deadly force to protect your property from being stolen or damaged. Period.

You can only use deadly force to protect you & your family from an imminent threat of serious bodily harm or forcible felony (both of which are specifically defined by law). Period.

If you can show why you reasonably felt that you were in fear of imminent threat of bodily harm from someone stealing your generator, then you should be OK.

If I was that cop or prosecutor or on that jury I would have no problem believing that you were in the situation presented.

If during a SHTF scenario, someone tried to steal my family's food supply, shelter etc. that I was relying on for our survival I wouldn't hesitate to use deadly force. If you are in the middle of a severe winter storm with dangerously cold temperatures & there is no power, therefore no heat, I would consider someone stealing my power source as a direct & immediate threat to my family's safety rising to the level of serious bodily harm.

Obviously there is a fine line to tread here but in the situation provided by the OP I wouldn't have a problem pulling the trigger if they didn't stop stealing the generator when I told them to. As that implies, I would think that it would be reasonable to warn them first & not just open up on them but again that will be situation dependent - how many, visible weapons, etc.

You just need to be able to articulate why you felt your actions were reasonable.

 

[youngda9]

I find it excessively difficult to believe that any lowlife is going to put his life on the line to steal a generator.

I think there are scores of examples of criminals risking their lives for much lesser items...intelligence isn't a pre-requisite for the job.

If someone steals my lawn tractor, an butt full of buck shot works, but if I was a farmer and my tracter is how I put food on the table, I take my .40 cal S&W and its two to the chest.
If you have time to think "should I" then you probably shouldn't.

WOW...enjoy your time in the POKEE...their's a reason they call it that, ya know

 

[tv1217]

It depends where you live. If you live in town it's iffy. If you live out in the sticks and you have snow coming down like it is right now in NWI, who's gonna know.

 

[DWS]

It depends where you live. If you live in town it's iffy. If you live out in the sticks and you have snow coming down like it is right now in NWI, who's gonna know.

Nobody until spring.....

 

[moischmoe]

I believe curtilage needs to be a fenced in area (possibly requiring a privacy fence), that is close to the house, and is used by the owner as an outdoor extension of their house. A patio would be a good example. It's like another room of your house, except it's outside. It's a place were you can sit, cook, eat, or relax, just like you would do inside your house.

Just my . I'm not a lawyer, nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn.

I would defend it, if I didn't reasonably believe that the police could arrive in time to prevent the theft. Considering the stated conditions.

Here's a link to a definition of curtilage, now I'm really confused...

EDIT: IN has Castle Doctrine statutes and, according to this site, stand-your-ground statutes. I'm not sure if stand-your-ground statutes are a consideration in this scenario.

I believe you are justified in using deadly force to terminate unlawful entry of your curtilage.
Indiana Code 35-41-3 Look at subsection (b)

 

[Keith_Indy]

I'd still call 911 to get your version of events on the record.

I'd have my wife call as I went out. I'd be visibly armed. I'd tell them to get off my property NOW.

What they do at that point determines your next move.