interesting not guilty verdict in SYG case Reno NV

[gunsmith]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/30/nevada-finds-man-not-guilty-in-killing-unarmed-trespasser/?intcmp=latestnews

To be honest, I thought he was going to be convicted and thought he handled it terribly.
I have been following it but not really closely .
afaik he had repeatedly called police about squatters, and the squatters were kind of nasty leaving excrement and vandalism - just the kind of people you would like to shoot.
So he somehow knew the squatters were there - he owned the building but its an eyesore empty and abandoned and he does not live there - he enters with a revolver in one hand and a semi in the other 
Any of us would not go in like some movie character - this guy was not a ccw - any of us if in the same situation would have a tactical flashlight I'm sure .
He enters the room the squatters are in ( they're in bed and claimed to be sleeping ) he fires his guns - iirc both of them at the same time
I'm sure its something he saw on TV
He claims he saw movement the survivor says otherwise -
While I think the guy is an idiot and guilty - I'm happy Nevada juries tend to be on the side of the shooter - if they were not squatting the house in the first place it would not have happened

[brimic]

 
Neither trespasser had a firearm, but Burgarello told police Devine's arm "came up like a gun."
 
Ristenpart said he might have mistaken a black flashlight found at the scene for a gun and had only a split second to respond. She said it was Devine and Wilson, not Burgarello, who "created the dangerous, threatening situation, trespassing, getting high on meth and being where they shouldn't be, where they had no right to be."

It's the exact same defense that works for cops every time. Come to think of it, cops dress up like special forces operators, bust in on private residences, and shoot people all the time, sometimes they even do it at the wrong address and get away with it.

At least this guy was dealing with problems on his own property.

[gunsmith]

It's the exact same defense that works for cops every time. Come to think of it, cops dress up like special forces operators, bust in on private residences, and shoot people all the time, sometimes they even do it at the wrong address and get away with it.

At least this guy was dealing with problems on his own property.

 

Yup! In this case I am of the opinion that the shooter was wrong, but the squatters were "wronger" and God was looking out for Burgaello.
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime/2014/05/27/police-arrest-sparks-man-alleged-murder-squatter/9637983/

[Ben]

While I think the homeowner do a whole lot of wrong stuff, these squatters are getting ridiculous.

A while back, I followed a news story URL to this site, where all the "travelers" connect and cover things like how to squat and take over property using apparently legal means. Even when caught on private property, they can apparently have set things up so that it can take months to evict them using legal means. So they simply wander from place to place getting "free rent" in this manner, leaving one place when their legal "buffer time" has run out and starting anew somewhere else.

https://www.squattheplanet.com/

Urban Squatting

Squatting is the act of taking over an abandoned building and re-purposing it for public or private use. Here we discuss various methods of squatting, the squatting culture, relate personal stories of past squats and dispense advice for those looking to squat a building themselves.

Of course "abandoned" doesn't have the same definition for them as it does for us.

[Boomhauer]

Looks like I called it right...that somebody was going to use shotgun diplomacy instead of getting the run around from the courts.

[gunsmith]

his building was rundown, unkempt-looked abandoned but it really wasn't - a smart squatter would know to search records for truly abandoned - also have mail sent to you and have your ID list it as your home ....
IDK about NV but an ex GF bought land in AZ by combing tax records for property that had been abandoned and could be had by paying off the delinquent taxes  

[MechAg94]

his building was rundown, unkempt-looked abandoned but it really wasn't - a smart squatter would know to search records for truly abandoned - also have mail sent to you and have your ID list it as your home ....
IDK about NV but an ex GF bought land in AZ by combing tax records for property that had been abandoned and could be had by paying off the delinquent taxes  

I have come across that for the Houston area, but I think it was a site for seized property that was for sale.

[MechAg94]

In a case like this, some people could have just forced them out of the house and locked the door.  This old guy did not have that ability I think.  Someone would have to stay there to keep them out also.

He walked into his house carrying two guns.  Saw two people who he claimed he thought were armed and shot them.  I am trying to figure out what is wrong with that.

Sounds like these people were just homeless druggies, not squatters.  

[gunsmith]

In a case like this, some people could have just forced them out of the house and locked the door.  This old guy did not have that ability I think.  Someone would have to stay there to keep them out also.

He walked into his house carrying two guns.  Saw two people who he claimed he thought were armed and shot them.  I am trying to figure out what is wrong with that.

Sounds like these people were just homeless druggies, not squatters.  

hah
good point, homeless druggies can be worse than squatters - at least real squatters can read and don't leave excrement in the living room...
imo the old guy has seen one to many action flicks and thought it was reality.
I see quite a bit of that in Reno - people owning guns that have no clue at all what the law is

[gunsmith]

He walked into his house carrying two guns.  Saw two people who he claimed he thought were armed and shot them.  I am trying to figure out what is wrong with that.

poor strategy and tactics
A: he was told they were there, saw the car owned by one of them-he could be reasonable sure they were there.
calling the cops would have been a much better idea. 
B: unless its absolutely point blank its a bad idea to be in a gun fight shooting two guns at once - maybe even point blank its a poor idea -  the last time I tried it I ended up missing a lot more that a two handed grip on a pistol - gun control means use two hands.
C: A bright tactical flashlight would both blind the skells and illuminate your target as well as let you know if they are armed ..
D: Cops are trained to clear rooms, this guy thought he knew how by watching it done on CSI/Law and Order TV reruns - sure he didn't get convicted but I'm sure he has not had the cake walk he would have had if he let the professionals go in and shoot them.
he has been dragged through a major court case - I can't imagine he enjoyed it

[De Selby]

Ending up before a jury isn't a good self defense plan.

[MechAg94]

Ending up before a jury isn't a good self defense plan.

Can't always be avoided, but that is true.   

[gunsmith]

Ending up before a jury isn't a good self defense plan.

Hell has frozen over!!! I'm agreeing with De Selby

[HankB]

Correct verdict in a case that never should have gone to trial.

[gunsmith]

Correct verdict in a case that never should have gone to trial.

Well, yes and no.
Should we as moral, upstanding, intelligent warriors/gun owners necessarily take the life of any miscreant or trespasser, just because we may have the law on our side?
There was a case a year or two back in which a very, very attractive blonde college girl was shot after being too drunk to know which house she lived in - she forced her way into her neighbors house because it was one of those places where every house is a carbon copy of the other .... If she did that at my place I have a bright flashlight near the gun and the peltior electronic ear muffs - I would not have shot her - I would have helped her, let her crash on the couch or something and told her when she came out of her blackout she should go to an AA meeting with me .... after she does the dishes and buys me coffee as penance for waking me up.

There was another case a few yrs back - I owe cassandras daddy a nickel because I lost the bet - the guy was a store owner and some robbers came in guns blazing and lost the gun fight - he shot back wounded one - he chased the others out and came back to see an unconscious one on the floor and plugged him again - in that case I was on the store owners side because they came in shooting and initiated a gunfight - all is fair in love and war and such - but he went to prison for it ...

This case was unique in NV we have SYG lite our legislatures are not the brightest and rely on juries to have common sense to try and figure out the weird laws they write .... It seemed like our man here was guilty of violating NV SYG law, because while he owned the property he didn't live there and it was empty .... northern nevada juries however are likely to say "hell its his property, freaking druggies, to dang bad for them, I'm voting not guilty"

I agree with the jury - even though I think he is guilty of violating the law -

[MechAg94]

I have seen articles more than a few times of drunk people getting shot and killed banging on and/or breaking into the wrong house.  One or two were shot through the door.  Most of these cases did not involve women doing the banging.  I doubt we would see an article on a drunk person who was only arrested.  Makes me wonder how often that happens. 

[vaskidmark]

I have seen articles more than a few times of drunk people getting shot and killed banging on and/or breaking into the wrong house.  One or two were shot through the door.  Most of these cases did not involve women doing the banging.  I doubt we would see an article on a drunk person who was only arrested.  Makes me wonder how often that happens. 

Just based on personal experiences (till I moved to a better place) it happens quite frequently.  Both males looking for their bestest friend ever, except they can't remember his name or what he looks like (most amusing guy was solo and too obviously drunk to be a home invasion set-up, but I was prepared and wary anyway), or females looking for that low-life philandering so-and-so.  One of the later was going door to door in a U-shaped court of 75 townhouses.  Gave her credit for persistence and after a while actually sat in front of my door watching the show she was putting on.

The reason we don't see articles about it is because some drunk going away after being told Alice doesn't live here anymore, even if it takes the cops to make him stay away, are not picked up by the out-of-town press (and often barely make it into the local weekly "Police Calls" summary).

stay safe.

[KD5NRH]

Just based on personal experiences (till I moved to a better place) it happens quite frequently.  Both males looking for their bestest friend ever, except they can't remember his name or what he looks like (most amusing guy was solo and too obviously drunk to be a home invasion set-up, but I was prepared and wary anyway), or females looking for that low-life philandering so-and-so.

I had a place like that for a while.  Answering the door naked with a battleaxe cut down on it a lot.  As in from a couple times a week to less than one a month.  There must be some sort of "don't even try it" list they all subscribe to.