Residents of house may be charged after alleged burglar found dead

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,467
139
63
Location, Location
I think he's an alleged burglar because the police don't have proof yet that he was a burglar. Could have been a house guest gone bad.

We'll all assume he was a burglar, but until there is more evidence, you have to avoid convicting him as a burglar. His frequent night time bike rides sound rather interesting, don't they?
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
848
113
70
Saint John, N.B.
yeah, I saw this.

Actually, one needs a lot more details before it is clear whether or not the home owners were justified.

IMHO, if the guy forced his way inside......anything that happens inside is his own fault.

Different if he is on the front porch with a bouquet of daisies in his hand.
 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
11,596
141
63
Backwater, Ontario.
Story I heard is the girlfriend said he had gone for a bike ride, which he was in the habit of doing, early in the morning, - i.e. in the dark.

Yep, looks like the folks he wanted to "visit" didn't care for his company or method of entry.

He has a criminal record, and sounds like a low life.

You are allowed to meet force with force. I hope he had a knife in his hand when the cops found him in a pool of his own blood.................HINT HINT!!!
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
83
bliss
Like force... what a frustrating legal concept. Who wants to stop and make sure they're using 'like force' against a burglar in the off chance that the burglar can best you with 'like force'. I've been at the back door with a knife in hand upon hearing an intruder before. Luckily it was my husband and I didn't have to test my skills out, but, I certainly wouldn't have stopped, had it been a burglar, to check and see if he had a knife too, before I stuck it in his gut.
 

wulfie68

Council Member
Mar 29, 2009
2,014
24
38
Calgary, AB
I'll agree that some details are missing, but I have a hard time seeing charges as being warranted.

a) the father and son say the deceased was not a guest, thus there needs to be some proof to say he was.
b) if he was not a guest, I have a hard time seeing this as unreasonable force: its a hand-to-hand situation, not like they blasted him with a firearm

I have real issues with the fact that people who are victims of crime and manage to turn the tables on lawbreakers needing to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers to justify their actions. I know its early to say that about this case but the examples cited at the end of the article demonstrate that the situation arises far too often in the Canadian justice system.
 

EagleSmack

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 16, 2005
44,168
96
48
USA
Like force... what a frustrating legal concept. Who wants to stop and make sure they're using 'like force' against a burglar in the off chance that the burglar can best you with 'like force'. I've been at the back door with a knife in hand upon hearing an intruder before. Luckily it was my husband and I didn't have to test my skills out, but, I certainly wouldn't have stopped, had it been a burglar, to check and see if he had a knife too, before I stuck it in his gut.


From the article...

“You have to have proportional force to the force that you’re facing, and that is the difficult concept,” said Gordon Dykstra, a criminal defence attorney in Abbotsford, B.C. “If this was Louisiana, you could take your .45 and just blast away.”


They went to the DEEP South for that example! Who uses .45s anymore? ;)

I have real issues with the fact that people who are victims of crime and manage to turn the tables on lawbreakers needing to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers to justify their actions.

The same in this country. When you get the upperhand on a criminal expect to have to defend yourself in court with either criminal or civil charges. Sometimes both.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
848
113
70
Saint John, N.B.
From the article...

“You have to have proportional force to the force that you’re facing, and that is the difficult concept,” said Gordon Dykstra, a criminal defence attorney in Abbotsford, B.C. “If this was Louisiana, you could take your .45 and just blast away.”


They went to the DEEP South for that example! Who uses .45s anymore? ;)



The same in this country. When you get the upperhand on a criminal expect to have to defend yourself in court with either criminal or civil charges. Sometimes both.

Geez! Somebody must be using 'em! Still in the Colt catalogue, Para Ordinance has built a company on them, Kimber sells some very, very hot n' fancy ones, and you can even buy a 1911 from Smith and Wesson!!!!!

Gotta love a piece of technology patented in 1905, and still among the very best 106 years later!

Although I personally prefer the Browning........
 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
11,596
141
63
Backwater, Ontario.
Like force... what a frustrating legal concept. Who wants to stop and make sure they're using 'like force' against a burglar in the off chance that the burglar can best you with 'like force'. I've been at the back door with a knife in hand upon hearing an intruder before. Luckily it was my husband and I didn't have to test my skills out, but, I certainly wouldn't have stopped, had it been a burglar, to check and see if he had a knife too, before I stuck it in his gut.


Me neither, Karrie. That was my HINT HINT. Put the intruder down, and make sure he has a weapon the cops can find. I mean ya just cain't say, "off the miscreant", now, can ya!!8O Not Canajian apres tout.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
5
36
London, Ontario
Like force... what a frustrating legal concept. Who wants to stop and make sure they're using 'like force' against a burglar in the off chance that the burglar can best you with 'like force'. I've been at the back door with a knife in hand upon hearing an intruder before. Luckily it was my husband and I didn't have to test my skills out, but, I certainly wouldn't have stopped, had it been a burglar, to check and see if he had a knife too, before I stuck it in his gut.

I wouldn't wait either.

If some guy broke into my place unarmed, I would not be a match for him. I'd need a weapon to protect myself, be it a sharp item like a knife or a blunt object. So would that be considered "not like force"?
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
29,640
11,107
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
I wouldn't wait either.

If some guy broke into my place unarmed, I would not be a match for him. I'd need a weapon to protect myself, be it a sharp item like a knife or a blunt object. So would that be considered "not like force"?


I think you need to have a golf bag filled with misc item, in the event that dude
has a 1"&5/8th wrench....you'd need to defend yourself with an 1"&5/8th wrench
or smaller, etc....whacky....
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Satelitte Radio Addict
May 28, 2007
15,289
2,910
113
Toronto, ON
I think you need to have a golf bag filled with misc item, in the event that dude
has a 1"&5/8th wrench....you'd need to defend yourself with an 1"&5/8th wrench
or smaller, etc....whacky....

And you need to ask him/her to wait until you have your 1&5/8" wrench ready. Maybe you could have 2 and just give him/her that as his weapon to so you will be evenly matched.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
29,640
11,107
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
And you need to ask him/her to wait until you have your 1&5/8" wrench ready. Maybe you could have 2 and just give him/her that as his weapon to so you will be evenly matched.


Yeahhh....been think'n it through, & if some hopped up freak with a steak knife
ends up in my home through a locked door, I think he'll get to meet the
framing hammer.

Equal......matching....whatever....force, in your own home with an intruder, is just
wrong.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
5
36
London, Ontario
Yeahhh....been think'n it through, & if some hopped up freak with a steak knife
ends up in my home through a locked door, I think he'll get to meet the
framing hammer.

Equal......matching....whatever....force, in your own home with an intruder, is just
wrong.

Well it would be impossible to judge matching force. That's what I meant, me, all 5'3" of me, against an average sized unarmed male, I wouldn't stand a chance. I'd need some kind of weapon.

The hell with it, I'll brain him with a hammer. Or the cast iron frying pan, that's got some heft to it. Deal with the fallout later I guess.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
29,640
11,107
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Well it would be impossible to judge matching force. That's what I meant, me, all 5'3" of me, against an average sized unarmed male, I wouldn't stand a chance. I'd need some kind of weapon.

The hell with it, I'll brain him with a hammer. Or the cast iron frying pan, that's got some heft to it. Deal with the fallout later I guess.


Maybe a pre-emptive aproach would be in order then to discourage a break in.
Here's the sidewalk leading to my backdoor, planned to make a thief think twice:



.....and the sign on the Man-door to my garage:

 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
11,596
141
63
Backwater, Ontario.
Maybe a pre-emptive aproach would be in order then to discourage a break in.
Here's the sidewalk leading to my backdoor, planned to make a thief think twice:



.....and the sign on the Man-door to my garage:



I'd get a Rotty for the nights I'm away (only a few), if I was sure it wouldn't eat the Chihuahua...................Helluva watch dog. Not much of a guard.