Guy pulls a gun on me and doesn't get in trouble?

Maj. Drew

Ok,

1) Your age is irrelevant.

2) If the pistol was fake or real irrelevant.

3) A home owner has every right to defend himself and his property.

4) You are lucky you were not shot.

5) You will not have a legal leg to stand on in a civil suit.

6) You and your friends get to trespass on his property and damage his fence and nothing happens to them. Can THAT be right?

7) You went over and recorded his wife with out her knowing she was being taped. Can THAT be right? (Recordings are inadmissible in court anyway.)

What I find sad here is that your parents feel they need to punish a homeowner for defending his property and not their juvenile delinquent kid who runs amok and destroys others property.

Uncle Ben

He should have shot your punk a*s!

norris

OK your lucky he didn't shoot you, this day and age you don't need to be trespassing. I understand your running from the police !!!! no pity here .

I'm a police officer and I would not have charged him either. Be lucky your alive.. Just so you know I would advise him NOT to exit house with gun as guns are to protect lives more so then property. But maybe he thought you were going to break-in house.

The Saint

Be glad it wasn't my property that you invaded and/or damaged. My guns are real, and loaded.

p.s. I know how and when to use them; I'm a retired police officer.

Golden

your mistake is thinking you are not in the wrong here. you should apologize and work out a payment plan for the damage. i find you in my backyard at 1 am after having broken down my fence, it won't be a toy in my hand. Wake Up!

Wounded Duck

You were on his property at 1 AM. You are LUCKY he didn't shoot you. Your Dad should be mad at YOU not him. He was defending his property.

ProUSA2

"Cutting across some guy's backyard" is TRESPASSING!! Where you live and what your age is doesn't matter. It's trespassing in EVERY state.

Stay off people's property unless you are invited.

Next time, you may not be so lucky, you may be shot!!

I gave this question a star, so hopefully other people will look at this question and learn from your mistake.

wycetate

You climbed a fence and were on private property at 1 AM. Consider yourself lucky the gun was fake or you could be another crime statistic. Pay for the fence damage and be happy you are still alive.

Leafsfan29 is on the 1st tee

You were trespassing, which is against the law. You were on the guy's property. Depending on the statutes, this could be called attempted breaking and entering. If he legally owns the gun, then all he's doing is protecting his property.

The easiest way to avoid a problem is to stay off his property.

If the police are telling you he's in the clear, then let it go. Engaging him further is going to make a small problem worse.

Fixed By Phil Home Improvements

You were trespassing. He has a right to defend his property. He could easily say that he was afraid for his safety and you don't really have a leg to stand on.

dr. jackson

you got no case man,it's pretty much legal for him to do anything he wants to you as long as it's on his property and you weren't invited(and that was the case) especially if he has a no trespassing sign.all he has to say is he felt threatened(which is logical given the scenario).=)remember choose a best answer

Planet

In many states is is legal to use a gun to protect your property from trespassers, which you clearly were doing jumping over the guy's fence. He also has the right to sue you for breaking the fence. It may be a hard way to learn a lesson but you were wrong and shouldn't let this go to court by refusing to pay for the damages to his property. Respect other people's property and things like that won't keep happening to you. You're lucky, really, in my state a 15 old got shot doing what you did.

By the way, your dad is out of line and his willingness to take your side in this when you were clearly in the wrong just shows that you were raised wrong. He's probably been defending you instead of punishing you for mistakes all your life. He did you no favors. No doubt he was angry and scared that you could have died but he's angry with wrong person here. Man up and take responsibility for your actions, pay the guy for the damages and let your anger at him go.

Badcock4

You broke into HIS yard. He has the right to defend his property, and you should be serving community service for the crime you committed.
Your Dad is an idiot to back you in your delinquency - he should have whipped your behind for causing trouble!

As for your going over there, I hope you are both charged with felonies for witness tampering - jail sounds like the correct place for both of you.

ahsoasho2u2

How can this be right?
Say what?
"I got caught." End of statement.
Consider yourself lucky. At 1 am., private yard, fenced, had broken fence climbing into yard?
Good thing you are in California, here in Alabama neighbors yard, a pit bull, who would have made sure you went to the hospital with bite wounds. Like crawling into a fence at the zoo with the tiger.
Went to talk to the guys wife (you and Dad, who is pissed?). Ever hear about tampering with an investigation?
She could charge you with threats or intimidation, my wife would have called the police to you and daddy, as being threatening with a tape recorder?
Do you not know that a tape recorder cannot be used in a court of law, unless you tell the other party, you are recording the conversation.
Again she could sue you for infringement of her civil rights, threats, intimidation etc..
Think you and hot head dad need to chill out before ya both end up in a cell together.

trumain

Answer: What Ben said!
You are wrong,,,here and then. The fact that you are waiting the air of the honest is a tribute to American forgiveness!

jackson

Totally legal and you have zero shot at defending anything if it goes that far. 1 AM, a party and such. Sure the guy is odd but you will lose.

If it is pushed you will get the max on any charges and more charges can be levied after the fact. If the guy goes to it it he may levy charges against you, your parents (at 16 your were out), the people who own the house that you were at, the kids who were there, their parents..... the list is endless.

It would be pretty easy for the guy to sue for the ENTIRE fence. That repaired part might not match the rest. So we are talking a huge amount of money. Fixing the fence might cause the lawn or something else to be disturbed. Then you can add thousands more.

Time for real life. You go over and apologize. Your father offers to just pay to fix it. And you hope the guy is OK with that.

David B

You are 100% in the wrong. Your age is irrelevant. A homeowner has the legal right to use a firearm to defend their home. He chose the better option- he simply detatined you and turned you over to the police, he could have just shot you. Think about it this way- it's 1AM, it's dark, he heard his fence breaking, & people in his yard. Now don't forget that- this person doesn't know you, doesn't know what your intentions are, doesn't know if you're armed, doesn't know if you're on alcohol/drugs, etc, starting to get the picture? I bet after this experience you'll think twice before jumping over another fence.

As for your father being upset- He's an IDIOT, he should be angry at YOU, and NOT the homeowner who was legaly defending his home. Had I done what you did when I was your age I'd have gotten a whooping with a leather belt and been made to help rebuild the fence.

I'd be carefull suruptitiously recording people in California- it is one of the "all-party consent" states.
Section 632 of the California Penal Code:
"â€œ(a) Every person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication, by means of any electronic amplifying or recording device, eavesdrops upon or records the confidential communication, whether the communication is carried on among the parties in the presence of one another or by means of a telegraph, telephone, or other device, except a radio, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or Section 631, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.â€ Section 637.2 of the California Civil Code Section 637.2 creates a private right of action for violations of Section 632, and provides for damages in the amount of the greater of $5,000 or three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff."

- David

Yoda

You weren't "cutting across some guy's backyard", you were TRESPASSING on someone's property. It doesn't matter WHY you did it , and it doesn't matter if you are 16 years old or 96 years old.

His fence didn't "got broken"...YOU broke it.

You broke somebody's fence at 1 am and trespassed on their property.

You are ******* lucky you weren't shot and killed.

Instead of trying to blame the owner for protecting his family and property, place the blame where it belongs...on YOU.

You need a serious attitude adjustment (it sounds as if your dad does as well), and hopefully those responding to your question have helped give you one. I sincerely hope you are prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law because you obviously came away from (survived) an event that very likely could have resulted in your death, and didn't learn a ******* thing.

Chuck P

Not only were you wrong for trespassing, but, by your own admission, you have also committed 2 other legal offenses. The first has been already been pointed out to you, the illegal taping of your conversation with the complainant. The second is witness tampering. By contacting this person directly (instead of through your lawyer or the prosecutor) you have now committed the crime of witness tampering. My advice to you son is to stop complaining, own up to the fact that you were wrong, accept responsibility for your actions and stop digging a deeper hole for yourself by doing more stupid **** just to try and prove that you were right (which you weren't).

Also, show this thread to your "really pissed" dad and tell him to act like a better parent instead of one of those "not my kid" *******. He's part of the reason you're in the trouble you are in. Why are you out running through people's yards at 1 am when you are only 16?? Your father should start acting like a real parent and kick your ***, have you in at a reasonable hour and make you accept responsibility for your actions.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: