home defense quandry

[carlrodd]

recently, a number of individuals committed a grave act of vandalism on my parents' property, which also happens to be connected to mine. late in the evening, they entered our yard, spray painted in black all over my mother's car(the damage was extensive...3/4 of the car was defaced), and then proceeded to throw rocks through their dining room window. some of the symbols and words they sprayed on the car were threatening(generally, and directed to our neighbourhood), and some were clearly gang related. in addition, i find rocks being thrown through windows, especially at a home that clearly currently had people in it, to be terroristic and threatening.

you might call me foolish or rash or irresponsible, but if something like this was to happen again on my property, and i caught them in the act, i would shoot. if these people are willing to come onto my property again, and with malicious intent, as they have already done, they've sealed their fate.

still, please share thoughts.

p.s. to mods: please move this if it should be in a different place.

 

[hoghunting]

I don't know the laws in Delaware, but in Texas, you can use deadly force to protect one's property. It might not always be the best thing in a Grand Jury's eyes though.

 

[Fred Fuller]

You could buy a lot of fencing, gates and dogs for what a lawyer or three will cost you.

Just a thought fwiw...

lpl/nc

 

[V4Vendetta]

Delete your post. I'm not sure of the Delaware laws but basicly you have just admitted shooting someone for damaging a car. This topic that you have created might come back to haunt you.

 

[exar]

As frustrating as it is, you just can't shoot someone for defacing property. Although, a nice wooden Louisville slugger might be in order. If you can't catch 'em to deliver the @$$ whoopin', get a paintball gun and open the valve to allow maximum gas through then aim for their face.

 

[ShootingEnthusiatist]

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. The person(s) resposible should be held liable for their actions. I'm sure that you feel violated and would like to enact revenge on the perp(s).

However, I would offer that you call the police and report the situation to them. Maybe they could step-up patrol around the residence. IMHO this would be better than confronting the BG with guns a blazin'. If they can stop these people now, while they're seemingly non-violent, all the better.

Good luck.

 

[V4Vendetta]

I agree with getting the paintball gun & dogs. Dogs are great alarm systems. Would you rather have a ADT system that calls for help that might not get there while you are getting your face kicked in, or a dog that would alert you & fight beside you?

 

[carlrodd]

If they can stop these people now, while they're seemingly non-violent, all the better.

i guess my big problem is, i don't consider throwing rocks through the windows of a house that people(senior citizens) are currently inside of(as could not have been more evident), to be non-violent. if that's non-violent, what's next?

a police report was filed.

 

[hso]

I sure understand your feelings and I can understand wanting to respond this way, but you should heed the advice of the folks here and spend the money on materials to keep them out or minimize the damage.

Please do not get a

paintball gun and open the valve to allow maximum gas through then aim for their face.

, since you'll be in as much trouble blowing an eye out as killing one of them. It's a childish idiotic suggestion (although it sounds fun to the thoughtless and immature).

Cameras, monitoring system, barriers, lights. Make it so that they know that they won't be anonymous
.

 

[SomeKid]

I see no quandry at all, as this is a possible next time scenario.

Rocks were thrown through your window, and based past threats (document the threats that were painted), you felt this time they were going to come in and kill you.

Sue their estate (or their families since they are likely juveniles) for the damages caused.

 

[V4Vendetta]

"paintball gun and open the valve to allow maximum gas through then aim for their face."

"since you'll be in as much trouble blowing an eye out as killing one of them. It's a childish idiotic suggestion (although it sounds fun to the thoughtless and immature)."


Aim center mass then. Or if you can hit it, the knees.

 

[Freddymac]

I'm with V4 on this one.

Admitting that you would shoot someone (no matter how well deserved) on a public forum, just might come back to bit you in the A$$. Say that they come back, you catch them red handed, and decide just to detain them until the law arrives. Of course you have your trusty side arm with you, when one of them attacks you. You are now in a justified situation to defend your self, but if the DA is one of those spineless SOB’s that think that we do not have the right to defend our selves and our property, they will do everything to make you look bad. If the see your post, they could argue that “you went out there to KILL” or that your actions were premeditated out of revenge. Then they will go on to say that the poor child that you murdered came from a broken home, was socio-economically disadvantaged… wha… wha… wha.
All I’m saying is please think twice about what you say on a publicly recorded medium.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

 

[exar]

http://www.pepperball.com/faqs.asp

Actually, pepperballs fired from a paint marker are an excellent means of non-lethal defense.

 

[Biker]

After being sued in a civil court twice over violent encounters, I'm very cautious about what I publically say or even intimate. There was stuff brought up from years previous. I easily won both suits, but was amazed at how easily a bottom-feeding lawyer can spin a simple statement. Just a thought...

Biker

 

[carlrodd]

thanks for all the advice. i guess since this is a public forum, and i don't want to be misunderstood, i should state the following for all future readers: i'm not itching to shoot anyone. i simply feel very strongly that my 70 year-old father, and 64 year-old mother should not have to feel threatened in their own house, on their own property. this behaviour was violent and destructive. my concern is, where does it stop? it wasn't like someone batted our mailbox, or let the air out of a tire. thousands of dollars of damage were done to a car, rocks were thrown through the windows of a well lit house, and threatening words were painted. that's setting the bar pretty high.

i also forgot to mention that the word 'loc' was painted as well. loc is a word gangs, specifically the crips(or wannabe gangs) use to describe committing a crime in front of other gang members in order to be initiated. i suspect this s**t will continue. we've had an increasing number of tagging incidents and violent crimes in our little area recently. the officer i spoke to didn't seem to think this was very important.

 

[Biker]

Carlrodd...

I understand your anger and frustration. The problem can be dealt with. I would highly recommend that you score up a copy of "In The Gravest Extreme" by Mas Ayoob. The knowledge I gained from that book a couple of decades ago saw me through a few legal encounters. We don't have to bend over for these bastiges. We can win on the street and in the courtroom. I had no problem on the street, but had a lot to learn about the courtroom - that book was a huge help.
Luck, Friend...

Biker

 

[carlrodd]

thanks biker, i will check it out.

 

[rustymaggot]

video tape

i hate gangs and i understand your frustrations, but just shooting them makes you the bad guy. video tape the guys next time and turn that into the police. then sue their parents for damages.

 

[ShootingEnthusiatist]

Thanks for the clarifications carlrodd.

Those 'seemingly non-violent' acts appear to be compounding and becoming more serious. Have you spoken with your neighbors? Thought about forming a watch program? Do you have a camcorder that you could setup to record their actions? Just trying to offer pro-active solutions to your dilemna.

I've had similar problems and realize that I would have only compounded the situation by confronting the individuals while armed. Mind you, if their dumb enough to enter an occupied dwelling here in FL, I can exercise my right to defend myself and the lives of my family. Anyway, here's the resolution of a problem I experienced a few years ago.

I rented a condo (with an ex) in a nice neighborhood. One night her car was broken into and some minor things were stolen. I went around and inspected windows. Put locks on them. Setup a webcam to record the action for awhile. Called the police more than once when they were drinking (underage) in the parking spots. I spoke with neighbors about the situation, and collectively we refused to sit back and watch them destroy the tranquility of our neighborhood. The homeowner, a single mother, realized the trouble her foster kids were causing but did little to fix the situation. That was until the association threatened to force her out. Problem got solved as peacefully as possible.

Good luck with your situation and I hope you and your parents can soon live in peace.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Based on your first post, I'd believe that in some jurisdictions this could be logged as a "hate crime" if symbols or ethic attacks were involved. That usually ramps up the official response because the media eats that stuff with a big spoon.

 

[carlrodd]

shooting enthusiast, i spoke to a couple of my neighbours(we live in a small neighbourhood with only about 12 houses, but it butts up on some bad areas). we've agreed to give up a few hours of one night a week to quietly watch some of the trouble spots in the neighbourhood. that should cover a few nights out of the week for starters.

 

[ShootingEnthusiatist]

It's a start!

I just remember the frustration at the whole situation. It's sad that you have to spend your time 'policing' the neighborhood. On the other hand, that's better than letting the trouble makers continue their aggressive behavior, and possibly harming somebody in the process.

 

[Sry0fcr]

Move to Texas, more than likely you wouldn't be charged with anything.

 

[carlrodd]

Move to Texas, more than likely you wouldn't be charged with anything.

there's the other part of the quandry.....when have you had enough? i would like to think of this as my first experience with putting my money where my mouth is when it comes to tough talk about standing up for myself, my family, gun rights, constitutional principals etc. thanks for the offer, assuming you're from texas, but i intend to be a person who is never pushed from his home, either literally or figuratively, by anyone.

 

[V4Vendetta]

Besides, Texas is really hot all the time I hear.