Welcome to Aftermath, a portion of our First Line email newsletter where Attorney Anthony L. DeWitt walks you through a real-life self-defense incident and shares his key takeaways.
Curtains and DNA Save California Man
California native Jason Young was at home in his mobile home. An angry Clay Lozano tried to enter to get to his ex-girlfriend, who was visiting Young. Young used a .410 shotgun to shoot Lozano and prevent his entry. Lozano died in the driveway. Police charged Young with murder concluding the shooting happened outside. While charges were brought, police tested blood stains on the curtains from inside the home and found Lozano’s DNA. The District Attorney dropped the charges.
In Review
While much is not known about the sequence of events, here is our analysis:
Legal: Nothing complicates an investigation like the possibility of a love triangle. Young was lucky police tested the curtains. It appears the shooting to deter violent entry was justified after all.
Tactical: Most people have main entry doors that can be easily breached with a few swift kicks. The best tactic to deter any home invader is a substantial door with solid deadbolt locks.
Training: A .410 shotgun is probably not the best firearm for home protection, but it seems to have done the job here.
Does your state have Castle Doctrine or stand-your-ground laws? What do you use for home defense?
Reading something like this reaffirms, to me, my decision to have a doorbell camera that records 24/7. Seems like footage from that would be pretty useful.
My state has both the so called castle and stand your ground
What do I use for home defense? Likely either my EDC pistol or a 5.56 carbine. Or a 1lb size Sabre OC spray
On Stand Your Ground. The judge on the case I sat on the jury said to us in the jury room after the trial. In Utah you have no duty to retreat but sometimes it’s probably the best thing to do.
We have castle doctrine. We are putting in a security system with cameras. Home protection is 1 of 3. 9mm w hollow point. 45 w hollow point or 38 w hollow point
I keep a Mossberg 500 410 pump handy. It is loaded with 9 pellet #4 buck and the rounds in the sleeve are 4 pellet 000 buck. With the right loads the 410 is very capable of defending your home. You don’t always need a cannon.
Oregon is neither Castle or Stand Your Ground, you have to reasonably fear for your life or the lives of your loved ones. I practice with a Tactical flashlight and a Glock 21 filled with 230 grain hollow points.
Castle Doctrine & Stand Your Ground is law in my State. they passed not to long ago. Both of these laws are good. Glad †hey passed. We use our everyday carry to protect our home. We have a deadbolts on doors, and we have security lights. We live out from the city a short distance.The area we live is quiet, nice and low key. But keep this in mind, no place is safe anymore, can’t keep trouble from coming to your door. So we do the best we can to stay safe.
Yes, we have the castle doctrine. I have an S&W 9mm handgun and an M1Carbine if needed. I also have an alarm system to alert me if any door or window is opened.
I believe the story about racking a shotgun is just an urban legend. Do you know how many times an officer has had a firearm pointed at a perp and the perp tried to take the firearm away? When a felon charges into your home he is intent on intimidating you and taking charge. He is not going to let the racking of a shotgun stop him. He will attempt to take the shotgun away from you and use it on you. In fact he may even tell you he is going to do that. With his practiced eye he is going to be able to tell if he can verbally overpower you or if you will shy away from him as he makes a gab for your gun. How many times have you actually fired your shotgun? Have you ever fired a whole box of shells in one session? Have you patterned your shotgun? You do know what it means to pattern a shotgun, don’t you? I don’t know where you read that racking a shotgun is a sufficient deterrent, but I suggest that the next time your read such a piece of misguided drivel you actually check into the background of the person uttering that nonsense and see how many times that has worked for him. Ask any patrol cop in a major city how many times a month some perp offers to insert the officer’s sidearm in a body orifice of the officer. If he is on active patrol duty in South LA, probably several times a week. If he is patrolling in Brentwood, CA, probably never. Most perps commit their crimes while high on alcohol or drugs or both. Those substances interfere with the thought process. Drunk people do dumb things. Sometimes it gets them killed.
