Posted on 08/08/2009 5:03:01 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
Smith walked in through the unlocked door and was unbuckling his pants and taking off his shoes when Cramer's wife, Christy, found the man, Stoll said. Smith then laid down on the couch and went to sleep, she said.
Christy Cramer went into the master bedroom with her daughter and locked the door. The pair then left the house through a back door in the bedroom, Stoll said.
Christy Cramer picked her husband up at the nearby bar and took him home. All three entered the home but could not get into the bedroom where guns were located because the door was locked from the inside, so Christy Cramer and the young girl went to the car and called police, Stoll said.
Meanwhile, Cramer went around the outside of the house to the back door, grabbed a gun and re-entered the living room, Stoll said. Cramer woke a sleeping Smith with the butt of his gun and a verbal argument ensued, she said. At some point, Smith reached toward Cramer, Stoll said.
“We don't know if he was reaching at the gun or at his shoes, which were over there too,” she said.
Cramer said he believed Smith was reaching for the gun and shot the man in the chest, Stoll said. Smith never left the couch, she said.
“He was totally and completely on the couch,” Stoll said. “His feet were up. He was only able to get up on an elbow.”
Cramer had said early on that he was acting in self-defense when he shot Smith. Stoll said the law does not allow people to use deadly force, even in their own homes, unless the intruder is committing a felony. The state believed Smith's only crime was trespassing, which is not a felony, Stoll said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nrtoday.com ...
I fail to see how they could find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Had a stranger walked into my house while my wife and kids were there, I’d be on edge. I imagine this guy was. And once the intruder made a move, it could easily be taken as agressive. Either he had a weak attorney, or the state had a really good one.
Christy Cramer picked her husband up at the nearby bar and took him home. All three entered the home but could not get into the bedroom where guns were located because the door was locked from the inside, so Christy Cramer and the young girl went to the car and called police, Stoll said.
The woman and daughter escape the house, safe and sound, just to go to the bar to pick up her husband and return to the house instead of calling the cops. Not too smart. There's more to the story than meets the eye. The Cramers were looking for blood.
Kicking in your door with guns in hand would allow you to shoot them though...it is reasonable to fear for your life in that scenario.
Yep, they were all out of the house and safe already.
Cops say things like that, but cops would get away with it. Besides, I think if they’re armed and *awake* and have broken your door down it’s a different story.
Or the gunowner did everything wrong. Probably the most damning piece of evidence the state had was the victim’s feet still laying on the couch.
On edge of not, it’s to be expected that someone defending their property has to do everything right. The gun is to save your life but your actions have to save you from financial ruin. The class for a Texas CCW license is a minimum of eight hours long. That’s eight hours or more of learning the Texas criminal code.
There was an article in an IDPA magazine where the sponsors rigged up a stage where not a single shot was to be fired. It was a blind stage where the competitors had no idea what to expect and the range safety officers created the stage with nothing but hostage targets.
Part of the problem is they left the house so no one was in danger. At that point you call police and let them shoot the guy. No sense re-entering the house and putting yourself at risk..
A cop tells you he would tamper with evidence and he would spend the rest of his career trying to throw you in jail if he suspected you of doing the same.
Good point.
if two thugs kick in your door with guns in their hands and are just standing there,
Breaking and entering is a felony!
The homeowner was wrong 10 percent no if an’s or but’s about it.
The wife and child had removed themselves from danger when they left this house, so there was no threat to them.
She should have called the police and waited for them.
GUILTY AS HECK.
“Had a stranger walked into my house while my wife and kids were there, I’d be on edge.”
Except the family LEFT the house and called the cops. NO ONE was in any danger.
You don’t re-enter your home with a gun and shoot someone sleeping on your couch and walk away free.
The homeowner should have done the SMART thing—grab a kitchen knife, put it in the guy’s hand and claim self-defense. Law abiding citizens are at the mercy of their leftist masters in states like Oregon. It’s time those citizens learned how to defend themselves from the REAL criminals—their elected officials.
I agree. Anyone inside my house is out to do harm to me and mine. There’s a huge difference between a stranger, drunk or not, on your front lawn and one on your living room couch. You don’t know if he’s just waiting with a gun hidden under the cushion to blow you and your family away.
Too bad he wasn’t in Texas!
According to the article, the defendant’s attorney was confident he could get an acquittal if the case went to a jury, but the defendant insisted on pleading guilty to a reduced charge.
Guilty. You, the homeowner, retreat from danger, only the cops can advance with deadly force.
In NC he would have gotten a tougher sentence.
To cover the DUMB thing? Tampering with evidence is even a DUMBER thing.
Then you grab your gun, call for reinforcements and wait behind hard cover.
If the wife had any brains, she should have left the house with the daughter, called the police from her cellphone and let her old man finish his drink at the bar.
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