The Aftermath: Peeping Tom Meets Armed Resident

Self-Defense True Stories
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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.

A Houston vagrant who had been squatting in an empty apartment unit peeped in another unit’s bathroom window, alarming the woman inside. When he broke the glass with a hammer, the woman’s son-in-law dashed outside with a firearm. Seeing the intruder was also armed with a butcher knife, the son-in-law fired, hitting the peeping tom in the leg. Other relatives in the apartment called the police. The intruder was taken in handcuffs to the responding ambulance. The defender was also arrested, and police told him he’d be charged with aggravated assault.

What would you have done differently? If you had to act in defense of another, would you be confident in explaining your actions to law enforcement afterward?

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Call police from inside. If the creep advances through the window then other options present themselves.

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A: stay inside

B: aim for the head / not stop firing until the threat is eliminated.

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Head shots are underrated. :wink:

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Did the fact it happened in Houston affect the outcome for the defender?

Butcher knife + hammer = fear of great bodily harm or death.

Unless, as always the case, we don’t have all the pertinent information until we receive the USCCA email.

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Exactly!

His life was not in immediate danger until HE put himself into it.

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Not with a .45ACP, they’re not!

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I mean, realistically a head shot with a .22LR gets the job done.

.45 gets it done with authoriti! in southpark cartman voice

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IMG_5348

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The outcome didn’t have anything to do with being in Houston. He should have stay his a** inside and called the 9-1-1, unless he didn’t know the number.

This IS Houston we are talking about.

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Self defense is in many places is rebuttable presumption. It is a legal assumption that something is true based on certain facts, but it can be challenged and proven false with evidence to the contrary.

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His mother-in-law was apparently inside so her life was in danger. He shouldn’t have been arrested at all. Can’t forget defense of others, and his wife will be grateful too.

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I understand that, but he or she should have called 911 first.

If the BG enters the house then they are in immediate imminent danger.

Going outside and confronting the BG, he is now an aggressor

Hth

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It’s hard for me to see how he would be the aggressor either way. His mother-in-law can call 911 while he goes outside. I think they are facing imminent danger as soon as the man is at their window. If not, they are when he breaks it with a hammer. Then the guy also sees the knife after seeing the man from the other side. At worst he got more information by going outside.

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I can see what you are saying.

Let’s ask @MikeBKY for some insight.

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Thanks for tagging me @Karacal! This presents a very possible reality and the results are likely to be very different depending on where it occurred based on the law in that jurisdiction and the views taken by those who are enforcing those laws. I have the relevant parts of the applicable Kentucky statute listed below.

For instance in Kentucky, if something happens in Louisville versus happening in Grayson County, they will be treated very differently.

Based on Kentucky law, the vagrant outside who just broke the window is “presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.” Under that presumption, I am justified in using defensive force against the assailant. And, based on the person being armed with a deadly weapon, the kitchen knife, and other dangerous instruments, i.e. the hammer, I would be justified in using force, including deadly force, based on the knife which is a deadly weapon.

I think the bigger question becomes should I use deadly force? If I went out and the person runs, let them run. If they advance on me, then yes, force will be used based on that threat.

As in many scenarios, we do not know what might happen. If you do nothing except call the police, the vagrant could escalate things. He busted a bathroom window, do you wait for him to try to climb in or for him to try getting in a door?

Keep in mind that there are many shades of gray and very few things are black and white.

KRS 503.055 Use of defensive force regarding dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle – Exceptions.

(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:

(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcibly entering or had unlawfully and forcibly entered a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and

(b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.

(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.

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Thank you for your insight @MikeBKY I always appreciate your expertise

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Offer him a cuppa, perhaps? In a matter of seconds, a lot of things could happen. Do I have the luxury of time?

I saw a video last night simulating an attack within 21 feet and it felt like a blink of an eye.

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From the inside I would base my decision on my read of the criminals behavior. If I felt in danger and/or he was coming fast. I would shoot before he got inside and clear of the window. If I wasn’t getting the dangerous criminal vibe so much, he wasn’t coming fast, and hanging outside. I would suspect something else was at play. I would delay my response and try to frighten him off with shouting and threats about being armed before shooting

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First I would not have went outside to engage the intruder, I’m hitting 911 on my phone 1st. Second I would have secured my family in a safe place until police arrived but only if the intruder didn’t come in my home

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