Home defense with an AK-47 in FL

[Gewehr98]

Dunno if they're being reported more often or what...

Whats the deal with all the home invasions in central Fl? Every time you turn around it's happened again.

There were some in the Melbourne FL area not too long ago, and even one in Satellite Beach. Methinks it has something to do with Snowbird Season, when they're down here with their money for the winter, nice, juicy targets for the criminal element.

When I was in California, there were some particularly nasty home invasion robberies in Rancho Cordova, preying on the Cambodian and Vietnamese community there.

A couple started in Citrus Heights along Greenback Lane, but ended rather quickly, thanks to the sound and appearance of a 12-gauge 870 being racked. But I'm saving that one for my published memoirs later.

 

[Chaz]

Could be. I live in Daytona and most of the invasions seem to take place in Orlando and Cocoa/Titusville. I guess I'm getting older because I can remember a time when this would happen maybe twice a year. Now I try to be as dilligent as possible at all times. It drove my wife crazy for a while but now she understand why I want her to lock the doors whenever we are home. I even bought her a pistol and am training her to use it. She wants to CCW when she get more profecient. Also got her to shoot the AK. Man, What a woman!!

 

[Byron Quick]

I doubt the perp will find the means necessary to sue for all the items mentioned previously. Florida lawyers have a common failing with Georgia lawyers...they like to get money for their efforts. It won't happen with that kind of junk in Florida or Georgia.

But one thing WILL happen: that hobbling piece of slime will get both of his knees rebuilt at the expense of Florida's taxpayers. Bull. You try breaking into my house and I am applying lethal force as provided in the Georgia Code. I don't think the taxpayers are liable for funeral expenses. And even if they are, cremation is much cheaper than two knee replacement surgeries.

I'm glad the guy protected his family but he did it at a cost to all law abiding Floridians. I'm not wounding criminals by choice...if I hit them in the knees, I missed.

 

[ballistic gelatin]

The article says he fired through the sliding glass door = not good. The perp is supposed to be inside your dwelling before you punch him c/m. Of course getting to hear him cry 'til the cops get there has got to be somewhat satisfying.

 

[ScottsGT]

Yea, but BOTH knees? How's that going to work for the "New Meat On the Block" in prison. His knees are going to be sore for a long time. Not to mention other parts of his anatomy!

 

[TallPine]

The article says he fired through the sliding glass door = not good. The perp is supposed to be inside your dwelling before you punch him

Yeah, sure - just wait for him to finish breaking in.

Might as well be polite and open the door for him, and then challenge him (the "man in black") to a sword fight.

 

[Shalako]

I have always been told you are supposed to empty the magazine when using lethal force. Something about a court of law, being in fear of your life, and shooting to stop the threat.

"So I want to hear 28 more shots outta that AK mister!"

Good luck fixing that with plastic surgery.

 

[zxc]

man thats a crazy situation. To think the homeowner under the situation has more than a few seconds to assess the threat. Yet the perps forcing the issue here. maybe racking the shottie first as espoused by many.
memo to home invaders: never flick off the armed homeowner.

 

[Standing Wolf]

It's going to be hard for that criminal to kneel.

 

[MAKOwner]

What kind of complete and total idiot continues to break into a home when confronted with a armed homeowner when you aren't even in the house yet (ie homeowner has plenty of time to think, prepare, load, whatever and then shoot your ***)? ESPECIALLY if it's AK? That guy must have been a total freakin coked out loon or something. That or maybe he thought it was fake???

I would not have fired until he actually got the door open though. And I can honestly say they would not have been non-lethal shots unless I really messed up.

 

[LiquidTension]

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, he should have waited until he could have taken out BOTH of them. Dead men tell no lies, and a little chlorine in the gene pool never killed any- oh wait, yeah I guess it did

 

[publius]

The article says he fired through the sliding glass door = not good. The perp is supposed to be inside your dwelling before you punch him c/m.

No, that's not true in FL. According to Florida Firearms Law, Use & Ownership by Jon Gutmacher,

The law basically states that deadly force shall be used only if you reasonably believe that such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony, or prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to yourself or another....Also, you have an absolute duty to retreat if you are not inside your home, or business, or on the curtilage of your dwelling, and you can retreat or escape with reasonable safety.

pages 152-153)

This guy was in his home, witnessing the forcible felony, and the would-be intruder flipped him off? It doesn't get much clearer than that. Deadly force was OK outside the door.

edit: forgot to mention that not only was he witnessing a forcible felony already, he also could reasonably expect that great harm was about to come to him or his family.

 

[ballistic gelatin]

publius,thank you for clarifying my misunderstanding of the actual law. I have been exposed to the old "shoot them and drag them inside" theory for so many years, I have begun to accept it as truth. I suppose I should do more to stay up to date with the ever changing laws and ordinances.

 

[Steel]

but getting kneecapped is gonna put a definite crimp in his prison basketball game.

LOL

 

[tyme]

(shalako) I have always been told you are supposed to empty the magazine when using lethal force. Something about a court of law, being in fear of your life, and shooting to stop the threat.

That's interesting. I always assumed that TV was correct and that shooting someone an excessive (e.g. more than a few solid hits) number of times is a no-no and likely to earn you a trip to the big house, or at least force your lawyer to work overtime convincing a jury that the guy deserved a little more lead than the defendant's relatives would like them to believe.

I know all the stuff about not knowing if the attacker's still a threat, and I can imagine a situation where I would feel compelled to empty a magazine at an intruder if I felt I had to use deadly force and for some reason I wasn't satisfied that the threat had been removed. But what on Earth is a God-fearing jury supposed to think when they see weeping relatives get on the stand and recount the horror of seeing their beloved husband/wife/son/daughter with 10 COM shots? "Justice" and "self defense" are two things that most likely do not run through a juror's mind in that situation.

All those pesky disability act provisions apply to prisons, right? Don't they have wheelchair basketball or something?

 

[RustyHammer]

... yeah, but he was REALLY aiming for his shoulders!

 

[Shalako]

My line of thinking was of the sort that if you are in true FEAR for your life, you will not be able to meter out a precise level of force. It seems more defensible to claim that you just started firing and all of a sudden the gun was empty. You were really scared and all.

Well, maybe that wouldn't hold up too well in front of a jury, but never having been in a lethal force incident, I can only imagine that I would be mildly terrified (lose track of rounds fired, etc.)

Putting in a fresh mag would definitely look bad.....

 

[benEzra]

Whats the deal with all the home invasions in central Fl? Every time you turn around it's happened again.

Had another one in Pensacola (Florida panhandle) day before yesterday. Four thugs broke in, beat an 18-year-old girl to death, and started stealing the furniture. Neighbors saw the crooks' van in the yard backed up to the house, got suspicious, and called the girl's mother (who also lived at the house, but was at work) and police. Perps fled, but the police picked up 3 the same day and the last one today. The Pensacola paper said that the crooks are suspected in at least two other recent home invasions.

I have always been told you are supposed to empty the magazine when using lethal force. Something about a court of law, being in fear of your life, and shooting to stop the threat.

In my opinion, one of the advantages for using a rifle in a situation like that is that (1) the threat can be stopped with fewer rounds, on average, and (2) a good defense rifle has a deeper magazine than almost any handgun. Emptying the magazine would be bad tactics, in my opinion, since most of that ammo is best kept IN RESERVE in case the threat has violent accomplices.

It's also not defensible in court. Emptying a 6-shot revolver wouldn't be a problem, but shooting a perpetrator 30 times if he goes down after the second shot would probably get you manslaughter and possibly 2nd-degree murder.