It's a famous case in Texas where a guy got off for killing two burglars running down the street after they had just rob his neighbor house.
You should really learn the laws in Texas if you're going to live there.
Texas grand jury won't indict man for protecting his neighbor's property.
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“What happens if I discover that the criminal already has my property and runs away when he sees me approach with a firearm? What can I legally do to recover my property?” When it comes to using deadly force to recover your stolen property, Texas juries will have a three-step process to decide if you were legally justified.
- Step 1: The jury must find that you were justified under Texas Penal Code section 9.41 to use force to stop a trespasser or an interference with your property.
- Step 2: The jury must decide whether you had a reasonable belief that deadly force was immediately necessary to prevent a perpetrator from fleeing immediately after committing a burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime.
- Step 3: The jury must find that when you used deadly force to protect property, you reasonably believed it could not have been protected or recovered by other means; or using something less than deadly force would expose you to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
If the jury finds you were reasonable in your actions under all three of these steps, they should find your use of deadly force legally justified. Be very careful though. It may be a daunting task to convince 12 jurors that you acted reasonably in shooting someone to recover property alone, particularly where the criminal no longer posed a threat to you or your family.
Also, keep in mind this three-step analysis occurs after you’ve been arrested and charged with a crime for defending your property, during a trial, and nothing is ever guaranteed when you put a verdict in the hands of a jury.
This guide provides information on Texas and federal gun laws including: background checks, open carry, concealed carry, handgun licenses, restrictions for felons, and local regulation of firearms and shooting ranges.
guides.sll.texas.gov
Son I’ve lived here all my life and been packing that cold steel regularly since a teen. Running and finding a rare instance where someone got lucky and got off doesn’t change the facts. Do you have $30-50,000 to fight a case where you’ve killed someone if you get charged? No, you don’t and don’t waste the keystrokes lying. So you’re not gonna have the good lawyer which means your PD is gonna have a helluva time convincing a jury on those 3 questions. Especially if it’s not two illegal immigrants you end up killing.
I understand the laws where I live. And I understand that within certain situations Texas will let you lethally defend yourself and your property and still make it home for dinner that same night, pistol in hand. What I thankfully also know is that 99% of the time shooting someone in the back when they’re running away isn’t one of them. You can take your chances if you want, but it’s probably better that you had kept your mouth shut.