You ever run the neighborhood when you were a kid? I've cut through people's yards late at night on my way to some other spot. Smart? Maybe not. However, it's not justification in and of itself for a shooting. Too many unanswered questions need to be answered before we make definitive statements. There was obviously something there for the police/DA to charge. Article said "conflicting evidence."

 

I used to do it all the time.

 

Of course, it was 45 years ago.

The last time I checked trespassing was not punishable by death. I am all for being able to protect yourself, but I am not in favor of taking another life if mine or my families is not threatened. If he confronted the individual and was attacked then it was justified, but if he ran out in a blaze of glory shooting then it is not. Like Clyde said, I used to cut through yards all the time when I was younger. And yes I used to jump fences also. We used to play manhunt in the city streets. Maybe it wasn't a brilliant idea, but I never had any fear of being shot at or killed. We never meant any harm to anyone either, but I guess times are different.

Ok so what if they owner had a dog, kid jumps the fence, dog attacks, and kills him. Owner at fault?

Because your parents would have (rightly) kicked your butt doesn't mean shooting the is justified.

 

Never said in any of my posts that it was. Said what the boy did was dumb and that his parents should be ashamed.

Ok so what if they owner had a dog, kid jumps the fence, dog attacks, and kills him. Owner at fault?

 

No. Owner is not at fault at all. The same goes for if the kid gets hurt jumping the fence. He should not be able to sue. That is the risk associated with trespassing. The dog doesn't know any better than to attack. People have the ability to rationalize and therefor should only use lethal force when threatened. JMO. I hate to see someone die especially when there wasn't a threat of harm to anyone. As much as I dislike thieves and vandals, property can be replaced and a stint in jail or detention is an acceptable form of punishment. I believe that as a homeowner you have the right to attempt to stop the person and the second a threat arises by all means use force, but people especially kids and teenagers do stupid things all the time.

No. Owner is not at fault at all. The same goes for if the kid gets hurt jumping the fence. He should not be able to sue. That is the risk associated with trespassing. The dog doesn't know any better than to attack. People have the ability to rationalize and therefor should only use lethal force when threatened. JMO. I hate to see someone die especially when there wasn't a threat of harm to anyone. As much as I dislike thieves and vandals, property can be replaced and a stint in jail or detention is an acceptable form of punishment. I believe that as a homeowner you have the right to attempt to stop the person and the second a threat arises by all means use force, but people especially kids and teenagers do stupid things all the time.

 

How do you know he wasn't threatened? Just because the kid was unarmed doesn't mean he didn't have bad intentions. The guy had his pregnant wife and young child to protect. There is no acceptable reason for anyone to scale a 6 ft fence at 2am.

From looking at the video, I don't think you can assume that the kid was just "cutting through." It's a courtyard with no exit like many places in New Orleans.

 

I don't understand how the casing being 30ft away is an issue with the police. I could be 10feet from a target and my shell casing might fly 10 to 15 feet then roll even further if on a driveway. Try collecting your brass after shooting, you'll find that it flies every where.

 

This! Brass flies all over the place. You'd think the detectives would take this into account. However New Orleans PD doesn't have the best reputation

This! Brass flies all over the place. You'd think the detectives would take this into account. However New Orleans PD doesn't have the best reputation

 

Yea, pretty sure any half way decent defense lawyer wouldn't have any problem finding several experts in the field of shell casing expenditures and how far they can travel. I'm thinking perhaps a former police or FBI gun instructor would probably hold up pretty well in court as an expert on the subject.

The shooting is unfortunate. Armed or not, the homeowner has no way of knowing what weapons the kid may have. He also has no way of knowing the kids intentions. The kid put himself in that position. Had he not purposely and knowingly jumped the fence, he still be alive.

The smarter thing to do would be stay in your house and call the cops. Not saying he wasn't justified in shooting the kid but I do know I don't have anything in my back yard worth killing someone over.

I used to do it all the time.

 

Of course, it was 45 years ago.

You could jump a 6 foot fence when you were 40?

The smarter thing to do would be stay in your house and call the cops. Not saying he wasn't justified in shooting the kid but I do know I don't have anything in my back yard worth killing someone over.

 

I guess I feel similarly, but I have to think that if there was some suspicious type character that time of the night "lingering" as it's been proposed, I would definitely be armed, and I'd be more concerned about the well being of my family. I don't know if I would have gone outside, but if that would have been my decision, and someone lunged at me, I'd have shot him.

 

Again, like Clyde said, many questions.

If someone comes inside my privacy fence, they'll be proned-out at gun point. If he runs, I'm chasing.

If someone's in my backyard at 2am, I am most likely sleeping through it. :lol: