Drawing on a trespasser in your backyard?

[torsf]

For the sake of argument:

If you see that somebody has walked up your driveway and walked behind your house, in a fenced in NON gated area (as in partially fenced with an opening instead of a gate), and it is clear that they have gone clearly beyond the point of 'oh i was just looking at something', and you feel that they are up to no good based on their behavior, could legally you step out of the back door of your house with a weapon and confront them? Could you also perform a citizen's arrest for trespassing?

You are also with in a school zone...

****

Would it matter that if after the fact you find out that the individual was a known criminal & had outstanding warrants against him, and has evaded the police multiple times?

[sfpcservice]

Call the police and wait in your house. Otherwise you are entering a very tricky situation. You can't protect property with deadly force.

[Peter.Steele]

Call the police and wait in your house. Otherwise you are entering a very tricky situation. You can't protect property with deadly force.

... however you can threaten more force than you are legally entitled to use.

[stitchnicklas]

no gate = bad for you.


best bet......buy a gate cheapo.


-------------------------------------my backyard is 100% fenced and i investigate all sounds armed,i live where coyotes live..more then 1000ft from a gfsz

[torsf]

no gate = bad for you.


best bet......buy a gate cheapo.


-------------------------------------my backyard is 100% fenced and i investigate all sounds armed,i live where coyotes live..more then 1000ft from a gfsz

Gate not an option due to right of way & other issues.

[Arisaka]

Shoot! "Git yer yella belly offa ma laaand!" J/K

[torsf]

Call the police and wait in your house. Otherwise you are entering a very tricky situation. You can't protect property with deadly force.

That's basically what ended up happening... just analyzing what happened earlier.

[HowardW56]

For the sake of argument:

If you see that somebody has walked up your driveway and walked behind your house, in a fenced in NON gated area (as in partially fenced with an opening instead of a gate), and it is clear that they have gone clearly beyond the point of 'oh i was just looking at something', and you feel that they are up to no good based on their behavior, could legally you step out of the back door of your house with a weapon and confront them? Could you also perform a citizen's arrest for trespassing?

You are also with in a school zone...

****

Would it matter that if after the fact you find out that the individual was a known criminal & had outstanding warrants against him, and has evaded the police multiple times?

I had a guy in his underwear in my yard a few years ago... I let my 3 Shepherds out....

I've never seen a man climb a tree quite that fast.....

His eyes got real big when I came out armed and asked what the hell he was doing in my yard....

He posed no threat at that point, I backed away and called the police....

The 911 operator didn't quite understand when I told him that my dogs had a man treed in the backyard.

Apparently several people had called, he was a peeping tom...

By the time the police had arrived, he had jumped from the tree to a block wall and was gone...

I was pissed when the police arrived, but I can laugh about it now, those dogs scared him more that I did...

BUT back to the OP's question....

The safest bet would be to take a defensive position within your home and let the police handle the outside...

[CSACANNONEER]

Why would you draw a gun if you did not feel your life was being threatened? The way I see it, you'ld be showing your ace in the hole long before you should. Besides that, you are not legally able to use (and "drawing on someone" is "using") deadly force to run off a trespasser. Also, even if your property is not properly fenced and posted, you can't just arrest someone for trespassing. Even the police will give them verbal notice and send them on their way. Finally, there are people who can legally trespass without a warant or prior notification. If you draw on one of them, they have the right to meet force with force and shoot you! You will be in the wrong. So, you really need to know exactly what is happening and fell that your life is in immediate danger before you even think about displaying a firearm, let alone pointing it at anyone.

[odysseus]

Why would you draw a gun if you did not feel your life was being threatened? The way I see it, you'ld be showing your ace in the hole long before you should. Besides that, you are not legally able to use (and "drawing on someone" is "using") deadly force to run off a trespasser. Also, even if your property is not properly fenced and posted, you can't just arrest someone for trespassing. Even the police will give them verbal notice and send them on their way. Finally, there are people who can legally trespass without a warant or prior notification. If you draw on one of them, they have the right to meet force with force and shoot you! You will be in the wrong. So, you really need to know exactly what is happening and fell that your life is in immediate danger before you even think about displaying a firearm, let alone pointing it at anyone.

The OP has a situation where there is not closed off access to the public. One could accidently just walk through, which is problematic in his scenario - being no one had to climb over a fence to gain access.

However to what you said, I feel needs to be flushed out a little. Say for example I have a yard totally fenced off, someone would have to climb over in order to get in without me opening a way, so no confusion at all about entry to private property versus quasi public access. My dog is barking, I go out to examine what is happening and low and behold I run into someone. They are trespassing, but certainly as of yet I have not discerned intent or threat.

I probably will be armed. Does that mean I am pointing it at them, not initially, but they could probably in this example see I am holding a pistol. If they move at me that pistol will address them. However it is at this point where what I am saying to you, I have done nothing wrong. I am not required to sit in my house if my dog is barking and call the police. I do get to go out and check out what is going on, and it is my private land and I have every right to be armed if I deem it necessary. Now you say if they see me with a pistol they might draw on me, well they would be the one responsible for escalation in this scenario. Remember I said I am only holding my pistol at the ready, but they reach for their gun then is ok to you?

[HowardW56]

The OP has a situation where there is not closed off access to the public. One could accidently just walk through, which is problematic in his scenario - being no one had to climb over a fence to gain access.

However to what you said, I feel needs to be flushed out a little. Say for example I have a yard totally fenced off, someone would have to climb over in order to get in without me opening a way, so no confusion at all about entry to private property versus quasi public access. My dog is barking, I go out to examine what is happening and low and behold I run into someone. They are trespassing, but certainly as of yet I have not discerned intent or threat.

I probably will be armed. Does that mean I am pointing it at them, not initially, but they could probably in this example see I am holding a pistol. If they move at me that pistol will address them. However it is at this point where what I am saying to you, I have done nothing wrong. I am not required to sit in my house if my dog is barking and call the police. I do get to go out and check out what is going on, and it is my private land and I have every right to be armed if I deem it necessary. Now you say if you see me with a pistol you might draw on me, well you would be the one responsible for escalation in this scenario.

Take it from someone who has been there, first instinct isn't necessarily the smartest. Yes you can legally go out into your fenced yard armed.

Unless you are looking for justification or an altercation, why push it.... Once you are aware of the intruder in your yard, you have the upper hand, you know your way around, and you know that you are armed.

I let my dogs tree the guy in my yard, hindsight tells me that I should have just stayed in the house, taken up a defensive position and and called the police.

The best possible outcome from a confrontation is that it was avoided....

[stix213]

Gate not an option due to right of way & other issues.

This makes it sound to me that its actually a public area.

[HowardW56]

Gate not an option due to right of way & other issues.

This makes it sound to me that its actually a public area.

That sounds more like someone has an easement across your yard for access of some sort...

If that is the case, absolutely stay indoors, the situation you described would be similar to a odd stranger on the sidewalk in front of your home, be aware and stay indoors...

[torsf]

It's hard to describe the layout of my property, but for you to find yourself accidentally where this individual was, it would be like finding yourself on the top floor of a private parking garage or the middle of a corporate campus. At some point it goes from a oops to you clearly knew what you were doing, at least in how i see things.

The OP has a situation where there is not closed off access to the public. One could accidently just walk through, which is problematic in his scenario - being no one had to climb over a fence to gain access.

However to what you said, I feel needs to be flushed out a little. Say for example I have a yard totally fenced off, someone would have to climb over in order to get in without me opening a way, so no confusion at all about entry to private property versus quasi public access. My dog is barking, I go out to examine what is happening and low and behold I run into someone. They are trespassing, but certainly as of yet I have not discerned intent or threat.

I probably will be armed. Does that mean I am pointing it at them, not initially, but they could probably in this example see I am holding a pistol. If they move at me that pistol will address them. However it is at this point where what I am saying to you, I have done nothing wrong. I am not required to sit in my house if my dog is barking and call the police. I do get to go out and check out what is going on, and it is my private land and I have every right to be armed if I deem it necessary. Now you say if they see me with a pistol they might draw on me, well they would be the one responsible for escalation in this scenario. Remember I said I am only holding my pistol at the ready, but they reach for their gun then is ok to you?

[odysseus]

No - don't assume I am pleading a real situation. I am not naive as it would seem you put it in your reply to me that I would not know avoidance and defensiveness as assets to a situation.

I am just putting a scenario out there for discussion, one to flush out the position CSA was writing about.

Take it from someone who has been there, first instinct isn't necessarily the smartest. Yes you can legally go out into your fenced yard armed.

Unless you are looking for justification or an altercation, why push it.... Once you are aware of the intruder in your yard, you have the upper hand, you know your way around, and you know that you are armed.

I let my dogs tree the guy in my yard, hindsight tells me that I should have just stayed in the house, taken up a defensive position and and called the police.

The best possible outcome from a confrontation is that it was avoided....