Posted on 09/29/2019 1:00:42 PM PDT by Innovative
James Michael Meyer was charged with murder in the shooting at his home.
Authorities say a 72-year-old Dallas man fatally shot a suspected burglar behind his home and then went back to bed before finally calling police nearly two hours later.
The Dallas Morning News reports that James Michael Meyer has been charged with murder in the Thursday killing and was jailed on $150,000 bail as of Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
What’s most shocking is this is in Texas! Wtf is Texas becoming new York?
Don’t shoot at a suspect running away.
Depends on where you live. We had the DA on the local news emphatically state you can shoot any intruder in your home, even if that person has his back to you and is trying to leave.
Good shooting, Citizen. Civilization thanks you. As to going asleep...what was he supposed to do? Stay up and mourn the creep that was trying to kill him? Good riddance. Put me on the jury.
Bears repeating
you cannot in Colorado.
Could be.
But at 97 my father had the same problem but even so he could do all of the basics. He knew right from wrong, good investments from not good, proper behavior, etc.
Of course if the guy never knew the law, he could not retain it in short or long term memory so I will stick to my theory that it was the case of a guy with a gun with little or no knowledge of the law.
You see it every day on FR and shooting message boards: “If someone ___(fill in the blanks) and I catch him.....blah blah blah”
Wanna be Rambos who will eventually end up in deep doo doo.
Well... as they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
And even the dumbest gunowner should know Iraqi wedding style shooting is illegal and potentially dangerous to bystanders, even distant ones, so he’s going to get an expensive education.
FIRST RULE of a successful defense: never talk to the police. Give them a statement only after consultation with your lawyer, and only with your lawyer present. Best would be for your lawyer to make your statement for you.
The other night I heard what sounded like shots coming from our neighbors’ house. I was not sure what it was for sure, but he is the person that I would vote to be most likely to shoot his family. I nosed around for a bit, but didn’t see or hear anything to confirm my initial suspicians. So I went to bed. In the morning nothing seemed to have been amiss. So fortunately I didn’t call the police because I wouldn’t want that well armed hothead carrying a grudge. But if he and his family were dead I would have felt bad about not doing anything to help. It was a dilema.
Should this old guy have been nosing around after dark looking for a possibly wounded dangerous criminal? He could easily have been attacked and killed.
The guy had no lawful duty to call the cops; no lawful duty to not throw the brass in the trash; and certainly no duty to talk to the cops. The attorney his wife called told them not to talk to the cops. Even innocent people should not talk to the cops.
The prosecutor will never get a conviction, and may not even get an indictment. Remember, this is Texas.
It is completely believable. People often do incoherent and disorganized actions after a stressful event. A "need sleep now" response is very common. So is a "clean this mess up and make it go away" response.
It has been said, "You don't rise to an occasion, you fall to the level of your training". Most people have no experience and little or no training in how to deal with shooting incident. They will often take stupid or inappropriate actions afterward.
A predatory District Attorney can make a conviction from such mistakes and they will always try to do so. And regardless of the "law" that may apply in any State, most Government officials do not want an armed citizen using force under any circumstances, even in self-defense. They certainly not want to allow an incident that looks like forceful defense of property to go unpunished.
"The process is the punishment". This old geezer will be most likely bankrupted and out in the street even if he is acquitted.
It is too tiresome to list on every message board that has such a post to list all of the news stories of those who went to jail because they believed the crap they see on the message boards.
Read your state law.
Here is a start: https://www.pennlago.com/justified-pennsylvania-law-allow-use-force-self-defense/
Whereas the same specific situation is not covered, it is clear that if you dig enough you will find that PA self defense law is similar to almost every state in that you may not shoot a fleeing person in the back. I would say that there would be an exception if the bad guy was a terrorist bent on a mass killing and in the process.
If you live in Alaska, you might read this:
https://www.dattanlaw.com/alaska-law-defending-firearm-deadly-weapon/
Shooting fleeing criminals is a no no.
One final word from me: There are cops in prison today who shot fleeing criminals in the back. One in North Charleston, SC and the other in Charlotte, NC
And several store owners who chased robbers and shot them in the parking lot. The law in this state is clear. When the attacker gives up, you must not take any lethal action.
He followed the instructions in his hunter safety course and let the game bleed out and expire for no less than a half an hour before attempting to trqck it.
Yes.
You must say as little as possible. Stick to a limited script which you have been trained to use, and stop talking once you have run out the script.
Nobody from the Government is your friend after an incident. That includes EMT, Firemen, Nurses, and Doctors by the way. They can be subpoenaed to testify against you.
They really aren't kidding when they tell you "Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law".
Thing is the law is different in Texas...in Texas you can shoot someone from your window after dark for stealing a hubcap
No, that sounds like somebody who talked to a lawyer (not the tossing of the casings, but the refusing to talk to police without his attorney present).
Not to me.
If I end up shooting someone under any circumstance I am calling an attorney before I talk to anyone else.
I would be very cautious about answering questions from dispatcher or any other LEO before I spoke with an attorney.
Did he throw the shells in the trash before he knew he shot someone or after?
He may be guilty of murder but those things don’t prove it to me.
You don’t think a stranger coming at you with a pick axe is a threat? I sure do. Inside or outside it should be self defense.
Old man may be as near blind as I am. If I shoot withon ten to fifteen yards I can see if I hit. Beyond that distance there are no targets. If I shoot beyond ten or fifteen yards, anybody’s guess if I hit something in the hedgerow or field.
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