[Pittsburgh] Homeowner shoots [armed] teen robber, ends up in jail

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | September 2, 2007

[Master Shake]

Jury nullification time....

[dfwgator]

Charge the homeowner a $10 fine, and let him mail it in.

[Lancey Howard]

“fleeing”

Yep. Key word in this article. He’s in trouble.

Nah, not if he's got a brain. "I heard the robber yell that he would be back later to kill my family!"

[taxed2death]

....true. But there’s that whole “escalation of violence” thing that gets in the way. Now I’m sure FReepers will be coming out of the woodwork on this thread spouting off against this...but the law is the law (except when you’re Gonzales).

[Jeffrey_D.]

No but there is in Kansas. A cop told me years ago if I shoot someone breaking in to be sure and drag them inside before calling the cops.

[El Sordo]

And follow it up with “Dammit! He turned around at the last second.”

[taxed2death]

Tru-dat. But this dummy shot someone in the back while he was running away.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

"Grabbing a 12-gauge shotgun, he fired at the fleeing teens."

It's not self-defense if they're running away.

Of course, the reason they were running away was because he trumped their BB-guns with a shotgun and raised them a dozen pellets of buckshot.

[Paleo Conservative]

Dummy. If they are in fact fleeing, they pose no threat of grave bodily harm or death.

He'd be perfectly justified shooting them in Texas

[coloradan]

Armed robbery is a violent felony. Are police allowed to use deadly force to stop fleeing violent felons?

[taxed2death]

I believe so.....keyword being “police”. It would be nice if a LEO chimed in to put a finer point on it.

[taxed2death]

...probably on Mars too.

;)

One must be very familiar with the laws in the state / planet where they reside. In this case, in this state.... he’s a dummy.

/s

[FormerLib]

Since the shooter wasn’t a police officer and there’s nothing to suggest that the burglars, as opposed to robbers, were armed, that’s a moot point.

[FormerLib]

Correction: the baseball bats probably do qualify as armed but the fact that they were fleeing indicates that lack of a threat.

I think the homeowner is in hot water.

[coloradan]

Since I am opposed to caste systems, one set of rules for us and another set of rules for the ruling elites, I am of the opinion that if it’s legal for a cop to shoot someone, it should also be legal for a civilian to do the same under the same circumstances.

[Mad Dawg]

Police said two masked teens armed with BB guns and baseball bats were in the process of robbing the home of Eraldo Iannitelli shortly before 6 a.m. when he returned home.

I'd respectfully submit that when Mr. Iannitelli entered his residence and saw guns and bats it was constructively a robbery.

[Badeye]

‘Grabbing a 12-gauge shotgun, he fired at the fleeing teens. ‘

If they were fleeing, by definition he wasn’t in ‘fear of death or serious injury’ and as such he’s going to jail, and will most likely lose his home and everything else in the inevitable civil litigation.

Not saying its ‘right’ just noting thats the legal precedent and applicable laws in the year 2007 in America.

[Doc Savage]

Say what? Say what? People out to march on the police station and take it over BY force!

[Badeye]

Yep.

[LIConFem]

Yeah, the “in the back” part will get ya in trouble every time.