Man Now Facing Murder Charges After Shooting Alleged Car Thief

This story is from Georgia. First paragraph follows:

Georgia’s “stand your ground law” could come into play after a man shot and killed a suspected car thief who was trying to take his car from a gas station. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Atlanta police are now securing murder warrants against 25-year-old Rasheem Scott, who allegedly opened fire against the car thieves.


Full story at:
Man Now Facing Murder Charges After Shooting Alleged Car Thief | LawNewz


Five shots fired - Resulting in Instant and Total Rehabilitation ...

Bekeart

Hope he has a good lawyer.

He'll need more than just a good lawyer!

You cannot use deadly force to protect property, not in any state in the USA, as far as I know!

The "Stand your Ground Law" will not apply here.

One word.......Carinsurance.



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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Stand your ground to protect your life. Don't think just a vehicle is worth it. I got a car and a truck.

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Just a shooter

That's two words.



Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

If I was gonna steal a car, it sure wouldn't be a clunker like that one.
The owner was probably putting just enough gas in it to get as far as the closest junk yard.

Some of the useful things I remember from my CCDW class was "When you can kill". It wasn't worded like that but that's what it was. Your life or safety had to be threatened. As far as property, we were told if someone is trying to burn down your house, you could bury them. If they are trying to burn your car, call the police. Unless the car is in your garage then you can bury them.

Classes I'm involved in advise that there is never a "when can you kill" point. You can use enough force to stop the threat against you. If you start with "kill" as an option, you are already wrong.

As to property, you can protect what can't be replaced, but if it turns out your insurance covered it, you were wrong.

I am sick and tired of the current trend with much of our society that expects me to be a willing victim. Yet as much as I dislike the aforementioned I’m not willing to take a life to keep my car. Kick their fooking rear end, ya bet.

I’ve worked to hard to have a few extra bucks, and I’m not willing to spend any of it on a decent criminal defense.

Not if ya say it real quick like


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Carnsurance?

Stuff can be replaced...I don't see shooting someone over stuff. And as mentioned above, I certainly don't want my life savings lining the pockets of a defense attorney in the inevitable civil suit merely for saving my car from a thief.

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No good deed goes unpunished.

One word, Murderer.

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Dum vivo cano

I don't see malice and aforethought in this situation...just stupidity. Hope the jury feels the same.

It sounds as if the shooter made statements to the press,police or prosecutor without an attorney.

Any talking/statement should have come from the attorney after conferring with the person that fire the shot(s)

Learn from the mistakes of others.

Loose Lips Sink Ships.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

All cars I buy will now come with a roof rack so I can have handles in case of a gas station car theft. My new motto is "Ride It Out".

Deadly force may not be used to prevent or deter a property crime with the exception of arson of an occupied dwelling.

Now, if you intervene to prevent a property crime and the perp brandishes a deadly weapon, it is no longer a property crime but an armed robbery falling under the laws applicable to deadly force.

Dang right. That's a **** shoot for everyone concerned.

True..............

but if you don't put the hammer down on all the "Low life", crime will just keep on happening..............................

They also need to know that it might not be worth the risk.

Get a job !!

I would like to be seated on that jury.

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Who are those guys?

+1 on 'that car?!?'. Most people would be glad to see it leaving - assuming it had comp coverage.

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But then, what do I know?

Aforethought is not gonna make a difference except in the degree of charges and sentencing.

What he did was murder.

As much as we want, we can't be judge, jury and executioner.

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Dum vivo cano

You certainly can in Texas if it is night time. Not so in day time. Strange maybe, but there it is.

A case of an incompetant person being allowed to carry.

I submit to the Forum that the economics of situations like this make the use of deadly force morally incorrect.

First, it's my hypothetical so let's assume that the car theft victim was in no physical danger whatsoever.

Second, let's assume that under the applicable criminal statutes the car theft victim was justified in using deadly force. This might be true in Georgia.

Third, let's even assume that the car theft victim is not liable under the law to pay civil damages to the thief who got shot.

Even so, the car theft victim is not morally justified in killing the thief to prevent the theft of the car. While the use of force, even deadly force, might be justified in preventing a substantial monetary loss, in this situation it is the shooting of the thief which causes an even greater monetary loss than the one the car theft victim may have been trying to prevent. This is because, even without insurance, the monetary loss from the stolen car is likely to be relatively small. Shooting the thief, however, subjects the car theft victim to a world of hurt in legal bills, criminal and civil, that will in all likelihood far exceed the monetary loss resulting from the theft of the car.

Thus, shooting the thief in this situation is immoral because it cannot be justified in terms of preventing physical harm or in preventing monetary loss.

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

Yup and it has happened here in Texas you can use deadly force at night to protect your property. God bless Texas.

One rationale for this might be that at night it can be presumed that the thief is prepared to use deadly force at the slightest provocation, or even with no provocation at all. During the day the thief is less likely to use deadly force because the thief knows it is more likely that they will get caught and convicted.

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

Also my new car does not have comprehensive insurance and any fool trying to steal it is going down. I am just too old to put up with that kind of BS. The authorities will just have to do what they have to do. I don't steal from others and I don't put my hands on others, and I don't tolerate that from others.

It is real simple. I am probably in for trouble, but this HS that you can steal and man's property and he has to stand by and watch is just HS. I mean I don't live in NYC or Kailforistan.

Horse thieves usually got hung legally.

Does not Florida include the protection of property in their law?

Sometimes justice isn't fair, legal, or moral.

Do stupid things and bad things happen.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

OK, here's a hypothetical...
What if the man's infant child was in the back seat of said car? Then would his actions be justified?
I think I know the answer, but curious to see what others think.

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Been up since before breakfast

That would be kidnapping and in Texas you are good to go to stop a kidnapping.

Now if the car thief was trying to run the victim down, then the thief can be shot. Legally.

Deadly force used to stop a property crime is never going to be a good shoot. Think of it this way, what property crime is punishable with the death penalty.

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Join the NRA today

The only time I made it as far as voir dire in jury selection it was a gun related case. Guy ran off his landlord brandishing a pistol.

The first thing both sides did was get a poll of how many of us were gun owners and were LEO or ex LEO. We didn't last long.

From what I read, not sure "Stand Your Ground" applies. No question he needs a good lawyer. The wisdom of going to a 24hr gas station or store always baffles me, and leaving the vehicle running to boot is asking for trouble. There are always no-good-nicks hanging around, waiting for somebody like this. Now, having said all that, someone tries to "jack" my Vette, I'll put one behind their ear, take my chances with the system.

Right, wrong or jest indifferent....An arrest warrant is a ways from an indictment.

An indictment is a right smart distance from a verdict.

I'd look for a plea-bargain to come out of all of this.

In some jurisdictions it could be plead down to a misdoniner assault charge.

Who knows.....Sometimes what is up, is down...


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

In the Great State of Texas you can also use lethal force to stop criminal mischief. In other words, if someone is t-p-ing (toilet papering) your house, or playing "ding-dong ditch" (ringing your doorbell and running away before you answer the door), you can use lethal force. I very carefully explained this to both of our children when they entered high school, and it made a big impression on them. After they told their friends, many of the kids made it a point to tell me they would never t-p or ding dong ditch my home.

Regards,

Dave

If you have to shoot someone for any reason SHUT THE **** UP!

The only words out of your mouth should be Lawyer-Lawyer-Lawyer Lawyer. No matter what-once the police are there and there is you, a gun and a dead guy you are NOT going to talk yourself out of anything and be allowed to drive off with a wave and a smile.
Trust me on this one.

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Forum consigliere

There are a number of states where car thieves, and fleeing felons, can be stopped using deadly force. Under the classic common law any felon could be stopped from making their escape by deadly force under the theory that a felon, by breaking the law, became outside the protection of the law. Hence the term outlaw.

Go for a jury trial. No one likes a thief.

Having been the victim of a car theft, I have a definite opinion on the crime. At the time, I was young, had a poor driving record (all speeding tickets), and could not afford comprehensive insurance. Like things were 100 years earlier, my wife and I depended on the car like a person would have depended on their horse. In that respect, I look upon the crime of car theft being the same as horse theft was at that time. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I feel the punishment should be the same.

Yes, I'm biased.

Stories in the news are often lacking all or any of the facts,mostly commentary,embellished and slanted in the political direction of the reporting agency.

Assume nothing is factual in what you have read other than something happened at that time and at that place.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

So true, I made my statements solely on the one link that was posted. There's always more to the story.

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Dum vivo cano

Based on the not very plentiful information that's been put out so far, this isn't going to be about whether you're allowed to use deadly force to defend property. This is going to be about the appropriate level of force. Because that is always a prime consideration.

If the shooter in this situation had pointed his gun at the thiefs and yelled at them to get out, and the thief had put the car in gear.... bingo, you have a completely different situation where you can make a credible case of being worried about them trying to run you over. But the thiefs could just as well gone "O s***!" and scrambled back out of the car.

But the shooter apparently never tried that. He went straight to execution. That is what will likely doom him in court.

Too many people assume that because their state law allows the use of deadly force in a certain situation, it is automatically legal in every such situation and they are covered. That's not how it works. And even in Texas, I suspect you might be in legal trouble if you stop the TP-ing of your house by blowing a kid's head off when a swift kick in the butt would have sufficed.

You can in Texas. Signed into law by then, Gov. Perry. Common sense still has to be used. This was signed into law about 2007.

Actually, in day, you can. Gov. Perry signed it into law in or about 07, unless its changed since?

Remember the video of the New Mexico cop shooting at a minivan full of kids as it sped away?

Well... he got fired. He was interviewed by ABC news (easily Googled). He now wants his job back cuz he says that he didn't know there were that many kids in the minivan and he was just shooting at the tires.

Maybe that's a good enough excuse for this guy... ya think?

Right now it can only be called a homicide.

A Grand Jury with determine if there's cause to go to trial.

If trial the jury will be instructed by the judge as to the difference in murder,manslaughter or others spelled out in the statutes/laws/penal code of that state and jurisdiction.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN