by Bob Walsh
A retired firefighter who lives in San Pedro in southern California had a close encounter with a residential burglar recently that did not end well for the burglar.
The homeowner asserts that the bad guy attempted to enter his home thru the front door at about 8 p.m. but was unsuccessful. The bad guy then moved around to the side of the house and did enter thru a window. At that time the home owner confronted the bad guy who moved toward the homeowner rather than retreating. The firefighter fired. He shot well. The intruder died.
One of the few nice things about California penal law. The law PRESUMES that a person who has forcibly entered your home is there to do you harm and that use of force is an appropriate response. It is a rebuttable presumption, but since the intruder is now doing the dirt dance it will be a hard thing to rebut successfully. Sounds to me like the homeowner is in the clear.
There is some reason to believe this particular miscreant also burgled a neighbor's house and stole a car there.
2 comments:
Hopefully the firefighter was using a California approved weapon and magazine.
As for the presumption that a burglar who enters your home is there to harm you...the California legislature will certainly have to get to work on that.
Burglary is a hazardous profession. It doesn't really pay well because most stolen items are sold for pennies on the dollar to a pawn shop or local fence. Some burglars looking for gold and silver instead find flying lead.
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