Woman shoots man found under her bed

[ScottsGT]

http://www.thestate.com/312/story/287760.html

Posted on Thu, Jan. 17, 2008
Woman shoots man found under her bed
The Associated Press

LAURENS, S.C. --Authorities say a woman coming home from work shot and killed an intruder she found under her bed.

Laurens County Sheriff Ricky Chastain says the woman heard a noise in her bedroom Monday evening and grabbed a gun when she saw a hand underneath her bed.

Deputies say the woman fired three times as the man started to come out.

Authorities say 23-year-old Richard Vanderford was hit in the shoulder and chest. Chastain says he was a neighbor of the woman and did not have permission to be in the home.

The sheriff says investigators will present their findings to prosecutors to see if any charges should be filed.

 

[MrPeter]

wow, interesting story! Is this a good shoot? If he was a neighbor I wonder if she recognized him? Is being under someone's bed uninvited when they get home threatening enough to use deadly force?
Interested in seeing what happens with this one.

 

[siglite]

Isn't it normally the husband who came home early that shoots the guy under the bed?

 

[ScottsGT]

Is being under someone's bed uninvited when they get home threatening enough to use deadly force?

It is in SC

 

[hockeybum]

hmm. this one makes you think. from what i understand she came home, BG was under bed, BG started to move out towards her, she shoot. this could go either way in court though....

 

[BridgeWalker]

Wow, turns out I have a tactical bed: it's a mattress directly on the floor, for the toddler's convenience. Also no chance of intruders hiding out there. Still have closets though...

I strongly suspect I would react the same way, though, absent other details. Entering my home without permission and hiding under my bed is indication of violent intent. I believe in most states the imminent threat of rape is considered justification for use of deadly force. Unless her bedroom is really big, she has no way of staying a safe distance away while ascertaining how he would behave next.

 

[ApexinM3]

Not enough info to pass judgment at this time. I'm curious to find the details on this one, though...

 

[NG VI]

if my girlfriend comes home and there's a stranger in the house i hope she has the presence of mind to get one of mine.

 

[General Geoff]

There you have it, folks.


The bogeyman can be persuaded; all it takes is a hot lead injection.

 

[jlpskydive]

It is in NC and I don't know any of my neighbors well enough not to think that they were there to do bad things to me or my wife if found under the bed.

 

[XDKingslayer]

No. This was not enough for deadly force to be used. Just because a guy is in another womans home uninvited and hiding under her bed doesn't make him a bad guy. It's entirely plausible that he was there to deliver flowers or was eradicating bed bugs.

Yes, that's sarcasm for the ones that won't get it. They're usually the same ones who question if a uninvited guy in a womans home hiding under her bed and starting come out from said bed is enough to justify deadly force...

 

[Ed Ames]

Is being under someone's bed uninvited when they get home threatening enough to use deadly force?

Generally yes. Not so much the hiding but the being there and the coming out. Being there shows illegal entry/intent. Coming out can be threatening. Assuming the story is accurate (and he wasn't "under the 19yo daughter's bed" or something) this would be justified under California law.

(I say CA law to avoid the assinine "the law in Texas isn't the law everywhere" comments... and because it's what I'm most familiar with.)

 

[M2 Carbine]

The guy is in her house, under her bed and there's any question if it's a "good shooting"?

Are you guys kidding?

What do you call justification for a "good shooting", after he rapes and kills her?

 

[outfieldjack]

Bang Bang Bang... wonder if he was planning on staying under there until she went to bed that night?

 

[MrPeter]

No. This was not enough for deadly force to be used. Just because a guy is in another womans home uninvited and hiding under her bed doesn't make him a bad guy. It's entirely plausible that he was there to deliver flowers or was eradicating bed bugs.

There is absolutely no need to be rude or condesending. I was just thinking that because they mentioned that he was a neighbor that there could have been a set of (extremely) unlikely circumstanced that led up to a reason (although probably not a good one) of why he was under that bed. Picture this: Guy gets a new puppy, it runs out of the yard, and while looking for it, he sees it run up onto the neighbors back porch and into the left-open sliding glass door, opens the door, yelling, "hello!?". Thinking no one is home and feeling wierd about it, he goes in following the puppy, and tried to get it out from under the bed.

NO this is NOT a good reason to go into someone's home and YES you can expect to get shot if you do this. All I'm saying is that if I found someone under my bed when I got home I would definately draw, definately command them to show their hands but stay under the bed, and at least give them a second to say, "hey Peter! It's me, Doug! Don't shoot! Let me explain!"

On the other hand, if he was coming out and wouldn't stop when she commanded, that's another story. This article clearly doesn't state enough of the facts to be able to draw a conclusion.

In any case, you can save your sarcasm and wit for the playground.

 

[ozwyn]

this is why the monsters under the bed stop haunting humans after a certain age...

sounds like a good shoot to me.

 

[MrRezister]

Is it a good shoot?

I guess that depends:

What would you want your wife/sister/mother to do if she found someone under her bed upon returning home?

I know what I would want, but I shouldn't go into details or I might get banned.

 

[TexasRifleman]

and at least give them a second to say, "hey Peter! It's me, Doug! Don't shoot! Let me explain!"

Or give them a second to shoot you first, since you hesitated.

 

[HKUSP45C]

Oh, I disagree that the article doesn't have enough facts to draw a conclusion.

I won't shoot someone who wants property by theft (not forcible theft just stealing stuff). However, if you enter my house with out my permission or a badge\warrant you have signed your own death warrant. I'll assume you aren't there for iced tea and a chat about the new faux hardwood floors. I'll assume you're there to do me or mine harm and will take action accordingly.

If you cease all movement save breathing and possibly crying I'll cover you until the police arrive to escort you to the jail house. If you move I'll stop you from moving in the most expedient manner at my disposal and I'll do it with out asking you what your intentions are.

You just don't go roaming and hiding in other peoples houses hoping not to get caught or shot. It's an unhealthy way to make a living, at least it is in my house.

He broke in and hid, she caught him and shot him. He was wrong, she was right, regardless of the mitigating circumstances or the hypothetical puppies.

 

[Chester32141]

Is being under someone's bed uninvited when they get home threatening enough to use deadly force?

If it's not it ought to be ...

 

[Ed Ames]

...[because] he was a neighbor ... there could have been a set of (extremely) unlikely circumstanced...

That's true but not relevant. Why the person under the bed was there doesn't matter.

Whether the person under the bed had a right to be there does. E.g. if he was invited in by the shooter, by an adult child of the shooter, etc. then he had a right to be there and that would be a factor in determining whether this was a "good" or "bad" shooting.

The frame of mind of the shooter does. If she lives alone, came home, found something "not quite right" and armed herself to explore, found a stranger in her bedroom, and shot him to stop from being attacked and raped that's one thing. If she came home and found her 16yo daughter on the couch en dashabille, grabbed her gun and started searching, found the man and shot him fer doin what he shoulna outghta been doin... whole nuther story.

Most likely scenario is panty raid gone wrong... and if you play with fire you get burned... but other scenarios are possible.

 

[BridgeWalker]

To me, it is the hiding under the bed that pushes it over to a good shooting. People frequently wander into other homes, either accidentally (generally while either ill or under the influence of drugs/alchohol), or with ill-intent towards property alone. Hiding under the bed indicates lying in wait though.

If he was just a drunk, he'd be sleeping in the bed. If he was just a perv, he'd be going through her underwear drawer, not under her bed. If he was just a burglar, he'd be going through her jewelry box/trashing the house. He was carefully lying in wait, and I'd have to assume he was doing so armed.

In the other three possibilities, she is *still* probably justified in shooting. In this circumstance? Abso-freaking-lutely.

 

[TEDDY]

Deadly Force

MOST PEOPLE WHO QUESTION THE SHOOTING ARE IN states that do not have laws to protect the people and therefore the posters are reluctent to defend themselves and suffer accordingly.Scott is right about SC.there was a case in SC exactly like this and AG declined to prosecute under SC defence law.even Mass has a castle law and a case law.florida has one too and you dont have to be in your home only, any place where you are entitled to be.
You should know you states law if you carry.

 

[CT]

That there is creepy.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

"grabbed a gun"

. . . and grabbed a gun when she saw a hand underneath her bed.

Doesn't say "from where" she grabbed.

Handbag?

Holster?

Dresser drawer or closet?

In any case, it wasn't far.

Strikes me that she was fairly prepared and mentally ready.

South Carolina? Why would a guy in South Carolina feel safe sneaking into someone else's home? Strikes me that you might pull that off in Massachusetts, but . . . I dunno, maybe he's an import and doesn't understand the local culture.

All in all, I'm thinking that was a pretty dumb move on his part.

My vote? Ladies in ALL the states should think like this.

Hidin' under a lady's bed is bad manners.

Mind yer manners.