Was this a justified shooting in Vida Monday Night?

[U8395279]

A homeowner living in the rural town of Vida, along the MacKenzie River, was confronted late Monday night by a hostile man who came uninvited onto his property. After the initial confrontation, the homeowner went outside into the dark night armed, to check and make sure that the man had gone.

At that point he was struck in his leg. Believing that he had been shot, he then fired his handgun at the intruder, who was still trespassing on his property, after being told to leave earlier.

However, it turns out that the man had only struck the homeowner with a rock fired from a slingshot. The trespasser was arrested by responding sheriff deputies, and charged with several crimes: first-degree burglary ( he was caught stealing property ), unlawful use of a weapon, fourth-degree assault, reckless endangering, menacing, and second-degree criminal mischief.

The shooting of the prowler, however, is still under investigation, to determine if any charges will be filed against the homeowner.

Did the homeowner make any mistakes? Should he face any kind of criminal charges? What do you think?

Here is a link to a news account of the incident:

Vida man hit by a slingshot-fired rock shoots McKenzie Bridge man, sheriff's office says

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[Andy54Hawken]

Well the homeowner was attacked and anyone remember Goliath?
I have no doubt you could get killed by a rock fired from a slingshot.
That said...
I probably would not have gone out to see if the "hostile" was still around.
After arming myself I would have waited until the police arrived.

I say probably 'cause I can second guess all I want from the safety of my couch in daylight with a hot cup of joe....
Might be thinking differently tonight if it happened to me....
Andy

 

[SHPD_Retired]

From what little information was in your post, without reading the attached, I would say that the home owner feared for his life and thusly was justified in using deadly physical force. He will most likely have to convince a grand jury of this.

 

[jsparks747]

He was totally justified. Someone was trespassing on his property and shot at him with a slingshot. Moral: Don't trespass in a rural area and don't attack a rural homeowner with a slingshot.

 

[11Charlie]

My gut says justified but there are some unanswered questions here. Did he have a light? Could he see the suspect clearly? Did he see a gun instead of a sling shot?

Not sure I would have gone outside looking for the guy. I would have waited for the cops but put into the same scenario I would defend myself with force if need be.

 

[Mister Bisley]

Pretty crappy situation indeed. Unfortunately, incidents like this are totally avoidable if nut jobs like this respect the boundaries of private property. Hindsight, he could have stayed in the house until the law showed up. I think the homeowner walks, because he was attacked on his own property.

I get tired of hearing about law abiding citizens, minding their own business, on their own property being pulled into conflict by some jerk that shouldn't have even been there in the first place.

 

[Mark W.]

A sling shot has the ability to kill

 

[Mister Bisley]

No volume on that vid. I FF to the good part. So he met deadly force with deadly force on his own land...totally justified

 

[11Charlie]

No volume on that vid. I FF to the good part. So he met deadly force with deadly force on his own land...totally justified

Send that video to his attorney might come in handy!!

Edit: quoted wrong person lol

 

[DB is Here]

I would have called the Cops then tried to observe what he was doing. It is frustrating not to be able to protect what you've worked hard to earn...

 

[308]

After a physical altercation with the resident of the home, Wilson (the slingshot dude) eventually went outside, according to Carver. The resident, whose name has not yet been released, went outside a short time later to see if Wilson had left the property, Carver said. The resident told authorities that he then felt something strike him in the leg.

So slingshot dude was visiting the resident dude and they got mad at each other inside the home...sounds like there is more to the story. 'Tards on display...

 

[Howard1955]

Yes, I do think the resident was within his rights to defend himself.

And... don't bring a slingshot to a gunfight.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Shooting some one with any thing, In this case a slingshot IS a direct threat and I say Justified in the use of lethal force! Hard to say on the other points and facts as they are presented, will see if charges are brought up!

 

[Certaindeaf]

I wonder if there's 15 heads in the freezer and "slingshot boy" was just trying to escape before getting paralyzed in the spine.
obviously I didn't click

 

[U8395279]

Well the homeowner was attacked and anyone remember Goliath?
I have no doubt you could get killed by a rock fired from a slingshot.
That said...
I probably would not have gone out to see if the "hostile" was still around.
After arming myself I would have waited until the police arrived.

Well, it appears that the guy was actually stealing valuable stuff from his property, hence the 1st degree burglary charge.

The other point that I should bring up is that Vida is a tiny unincorporated town, with only a little over 1,000 people living in the entire zip code, and no police department. Since the Lane County Sheriff had to cut back on its rural patrols, it can now take 30 minutes or more for law enforcement to be able to respond to a 911 call from Vida.

People living in such small rural communities face a different problem when it comes to defending their homes, compared to those of us that live inside a substantial city. The only government building in Vida is their post office.

Here is a photo from Google Maps, showing the view that you see when you enter Vida from the west. You will see the tiny Post Office on the immediate right with its American flag, with the town's only market right next to it. A bit further to the right down the road, you will see the town's only gas station.

And a little further yet down the road on the left, you see a few parked cars. They are parked at the only place in town to eat: The Vida Cafe.

That is it. This is the entire town of Vida.



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[Mister Bisley]

Good point Lance and there are parts of OR that are a lot more remote than Vida

 

[No_Regerts]

Heck, in Pasco the police will shoot you for throwing a rock, much less propelling it 4 times faster with a weapon! Zing!

I don't know if he knew it was sling shot or just felt the pain and reacted. He will be judged on the totality of what he knew when he pulled the trigger.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Well Lance since you quoted me ...
Small town or not .. isolated or not...
Speaking only for myself , As much as I dislike the idea of someone stealing the items I worked for... I wont shoot 'em.
Its just "stuff" at the end of the day ... and not worth the taking of someones life.

Now if I am in fear for my life or that of my family ... "What flowers do you like?"
Again just speaking for myself.
Andy

 

[Stomper]

A homeowner living in the rural town of Vida, along the MacKenzie River, was confronted late Monday night by a hostile man who came uninvited onto his property. After the initial confrontation, the homeowner went outside into the dark night armed, to check and make sure that the man had gone.

At that point he was struck in his leg. Believing that he had been shot, he then fired his handgun at the intruder, who was still trespassing on his property, after being told to leave earlier.

However, it turns out that the man had only struck the homeowner with a rock fired from a slingshot. The trespasser was arrested by responding sheriff deputies, and charged with several crimes: first-degree burglary ( he was caught stealing property ), unlawful use of a weapon, fourth-degree assault, reckless endangering, menacing, and second-degree criminal mischief.

The shooting of the prowler, however, is still under investigation, to determine if any charges will be filed against the homeowner.

Did the homeowner make any mistakes? Should he face any kind of criminal charges? What do you think?

Here is a link to a news account of the incident:

Vida man hit by a slingshot-fired rock shoots McKenzie Bridge man, sheriff's office says

.

This is a great topic, Lance!


If I lived in such a setting and been the resident, "Sheriff Shovel" would be investigating this incident.


Just kidding!!



Based on the above info, IMHO this is a justified use of deadly force.


The perpetrator had:

1.
The means to inflict serious bodily harm and/or death.

2.
The intent to inflict serious bodily harm and/or death.

3.
The opportunity to inflict serious bodily harm and/or death.



The actions of the defender were:

LOGICAL (sound judgment)

REASONABLE (correct reasoning)

NECESSARY (unavoidable)

 

[Member 5605]

Let's not base things on the REACTION of the homeowner. Let's look at the FIRST action which was the trespassing and criminal intent.

The reaction was justified. The action was not.