something about not messing with an old man cause he'll kill you comes to mind...
Posted on 08/26/2011 2:27:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
2 'victims' were arrested for the break-in
He was told not to take the law into his own hands but did so anyway. And now he is in jail, facing felonious assault and malicious destruction of property charges.
The 64-year-old man from Paw Paw evicted his tenants on Aug. 21 from the property in the 39000 block of Sandy Ridge Circle in Almena Township. Van Buren County sheriff's deputies were called to assist in escorting the tenants off the property. The property owner then changed the locks.
Then around 6:25 p.m. on Thursday, neighbors saw a man break into the shed, and then heard him and a woman break into the unoccupied home. The neighbors called the homeowner and 911.
The homeowner arrived at the scene and choked one of the suspects, police said in a news release. He then threw a brick at the suspects' car, which sustained damage to the rear bumper and a shattered windshield.
The homeowner also picked up a two-by-four threatening to kill the suspects, and threw the piece of wood at the woman. She suffered injuries to her neck and an arm.
The break-in suspects then fled onto the road and stopped to call police.
Deputies arrived and arrested the 37-year-old male suspect from Paw Paw for breaking and entering, and a Kalamazoo County Friend of the Court child support warrant. The 27-year-old woman from Paw Paw was arrested for breaking and entering.
They told police they received permission from a previous tenant to take what they wanted from the property.
The property owner complained he wasn't happy with police service in his past calls for assistance, so that's why he defended his property himself.
Sounds like it was JUSTIFIABLE Self-defense to me! FREE HIM NOW!
Yep. Good call.
Entirely understandable defense of property, and quite ethical.
Unfortunately, the law these days has nothing at ALL to do either with understandable or ethical, and so the guy’s in trouble.
You would be amazed at the “rights” a rental tenant has.
It is amazing how long they can put off an eviction.
I had a friend who owned a house and the tenants wouldn’t pay the electric bill, so he had the electric shut off. The judge made him get it hooked back up, This was 4 months after they stopped paying rent.
something about not messing with an old man cause he'll kill you comes to mind...
These thieves weren’t even the tenants who were evicted...
This didn’t happen in England, right??
His defense is simple. He had no way of knowing that they were anything other than thieves. Much depends on his actions.
At 6:25pm, unless it was very cloudy, there was still likely enough light to see.
“Breaking in” to a shed and a house can mean several things. If they were smashing their way in, the situation is a lot more urgent than if they are using some less destructive means. Did the owner demand they halt and identify himself?
All the story says is that he “choked” one of the suspects. This is an odd form of attack, to say the least. Followed by throwing a brick at their car. Then picking up a 2x4 and threatening to kill them with it.
This sounds very odd indeed.
PS - who’s law is it anyway? Who does it belong to? Will the person or group that owns the law please step forward.
I took an extra job to make Xmas money, and I was struck from behind by a customer who attempted to rob me of the bank bag for making change...I won the struggle for the bag and beat down my assailant.
I was charged with felonious assault. Judges reasons: 1. The would be thief did not succeed in tearing the bag out of my hands, so no robbery took place. 2. My assailant was injured and I wasn’t, which showed I was in physical control and the would be thief could not prevent my escape if I had tried to do so. Translation: if you are able to defend yourself you have a duty not to.
No jail time, paid fines and $5k of medical fees for my assailant and it is on my record for life, no expungement. Last I heard, the person who tried to rob me had a record of domestic assault and burglary, and now is in prison for a bad check scheme.
The law enforcement industry needs both criminals and victims, and if you refuse to be a victim, you will do as a criminal.
What state did this happen in? Just wondering if it is a blue or red state.
I would say Michigan...and I’m older and they wouldn’t have made it.
Red unfortunately.
Thanks nickcarraway.
This should have been a mysterious disappearence case, but maybe that’s just me.
I don’t want to give all details to the world wide web, but a very red state and a pale male lib judge.
Wise words.
Put me on the jury.
The story doesn’t say the landlord is in custody. Did I miss something? Or does the headline not match the story?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.