No Charges to Be Filed Against Colorado Man Who Shot Confuse

[dewayneward]

By Fox no less, but the heading about no charges being filed.....Of course there wont be, some guy was breaking into his house, the guy gave more of a warning than I would have, they were shouting at him to leave...their dogs were barking, etc. I have been snookered off my hiney before, and I cannot imagine not being able to put two and two together, "wait a minute, I dont have dogs, and there are dogs inside "my" house. Also, hmmm, my key doesnt work....Ok, I'll just break a window....hey why are there 2 strange people inside my house....

Either he was on the "whacky tobacky" or there is something more to it. I just dont get the fact of reporting that he wont have charges. Darn tootin' he wont. I did like the "make my day" law though, LOL

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484267,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
<quote>No Charges to Be Filed Against Colorado Man Who Shot Confused 'Intruder'
Wednesday, January 28, 2009


E-Mail Print Share COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado Springs resident will not be charged for fatally shooting an intruder who tried to break into a home that he apparently thought was his, prosecutors said Tuesday.

James Parsons is protected under Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which allows people to use deadly force in self-defense in their home against intruders, according a statement from the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Parsons shot 22-year-old Sean Kennedy, an assistant golf pro at a Colorado Springs golf course, on Dec. 28. Kennedy had been drinking that night and apparently thought he was breaking into his own house, which was a block away.

Police handed over the case to the district attorney's office, which determined Parsons had "reasonable belief" that he and his girlfriend were in danger.

Prosecutors said Kennedy broke a window in the back door and was reaching inside to unlock it. Two dogs inside barked persistently as the couple shouted for him to leave. The ordeal lasted more than four minutes.

"A reasonable person in those circumstances would have believed that [Kennedy] was going to do a crime against them or property," said newly elected District Attorney Dan May, who oversaw the review of the shooting.

Kennedy had been drinking at a Colorado Springs golf course, and his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit for driving in Colorado when he pulled up to the Parsons' house in his pickup truck, The Gazette newspaper reported.

Friends and family members believe Kennedy thought he had arrived at his own home, which he shared with roommates.

He got out of his pickup and began shouting and beating on Parsons' door.

"[Kennedy] continued to beat and pound on the door, during which time the resident told his girlfriend to call 911, and he went into the bedroom to get his gun, a revolver," the DA's office said.

Kennedy went to the back of the house, forced open a screen door, smashed a window and was reaching to unlock the deadbolt, investigators said. Parsons then shot at him three times.

Two bullets went through Kennedy's arm and into his torso, May said.</quote>

[ELB]

James Parsons is protected under Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which allows people to use deadly force in self-defense in their home against intruders, according a statement from the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Did the DA really call put "Make My Day" in his statement? I would like to see that. No bias on the reporter's part here. (I note that 'intruder' is in scare quotes, but 'confused' is not).

Anybody "confused" enough to yell back at the people inside, pound on the door, break the glass, ignore the barking dogs, and persist for four minutes is "confused" enough to do someone harm once he gets inside.

[BluHog]

But... but... he didn't mean to scare the residents. He was drinking - he couldn't help it!

Seriously, though, when I read this yesterday, I thought the perp was just hospitalized. Didn't know he'd died. But, on the up side, that's one less drunk out there trying to kill citizens. The story I read yesterday didn't have all the details about how long this went on, about the perp pounding on the doors and about the residents yelling at him. Your point about the drunk doing damage if he got inside was very valid. The citizens of Colorado Springs owe the homeowner a big thank you.

[Oldgringo]

James Parsons is protected under Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which allows people to use deadly force in self-defense in their home against intruders, according a statement from the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Did the DA really call put "Make My Day" in his statement? I would like to see that. No bias on the reporter's part here. (I note that 'intruder' is in scare quotes, but 'confused' is not).

Anybody "confused" enough to yell back at the people inside, pound on the door, break the glass, ignore the barking dogs, and persist for four minutes is "confused" enough to do someone harm once he gets inside.

In Texas, it's called "the Castle Doctrine". In Colorado, it's called the "Make My Day" law. In both cases, it allows one to protect one's house, premises, self, etc. Look it up.

[barres]

You say of course there won't be charges filed, but under Colorado law, you don't have the right to use deadly force to protect your home until the perp is in your home. The perp in this case was on the door step just outside the home. Add to that that when this was first reported a month ago, it was reported that the home owner shot the perp through the door. With those two bits of (true) information, you can see that it was definitely not clear that the homeowner would be cleared of all charges. There was a large cry in the community (and in the gun community) for the homeowner's prosecution for murder.

Now we know that the shot through the door actually went through the door window that the perp had broken and reached through to unlock the deadbolt after the homeowner and his girlfriend spent 4 minutes (while on the phone with 911, thank God) yelling at him to go away. It is obvious now that the homeowner reasonably feared for his and his girlfriend's safety, and that is why he shot. And it was a good shoot, so he was cleared. But that was not so obvious from the initial reports a month ago. I say all this to remind us that we rarely get all the facts (or even true facts) from the media when reporting a SD shooting, so we have to be very careful about forming conclusions based on those early reports.

[Purplehood]

You say of course there won't be charges filed, but under Colorado law, you don't have the right to use deadly force to protect your home until the perp is in your home. The perp in this case was on the door step just outside the home. Add to that that when this was first reported a month ago, it was reported that the home owner shot the perp through the door. With those two bits of (true) information, you can see that it was definitely not clear that the homeowner would be cleared of all charges. There was a large cry in the community (and in the gun community) for the homeowner's prosecution for murder.

Now we know that the shot through the door actually went through the door window that the perp had broken and reached through to unlock the deadbolt after the homeowner and his girlfriend spent 4 minutes (while on the phone with 911, thank God) yelling at him to go away. It is obvious now that the homeowner reasonably feared for his and his girlfriend's safety, and that is why he shot. And it was a good shoot, so he was cleared. But that was not so obvious from the initial reports a month ago. I say all this to remind us that we rarely get all the facts (or even true facts) from the media when reporting a SD shooting, so we have to be very careful about forming conclusions based on those early reports.

I assume that they changed Colorado law since the mid-80's. Back then it was legal to shoot someone on your lawn, or at least that was the understanding.

[ELB]

James Parsons is protected under Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which allows people to use deadly force in self-defense in their home against intruders, according a statement from the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Did the DA really call put "Make My Day" in his statement? I would like to see that. No bias on the reporter's part here. (I note that 'intruder' is in scare quotes, but 'confused' is not).

...

In Texas, it's called "the Castle Doctrine". In Colorado, it's called the "Make My Day" law. In both cases, it allows one to protect one's house, premises, self, etc. Look it up.

I did look it up. I was correct. The DA did not use "Make My Day" in his statement. (Interestingly, that post (in this thread) has disappeared (???)). He did misspell German Shepherd, tho...

I am well aware of what the terms "Castle Doctrine" and the perjoratively named "Make My Day" mean -- they are political shorthand, and neither appear in Texas nor Colorado law. The reporter incorrectly, but I would bet not accidently, attributed the second term to the DA, and combined with the careful use and non-use of quotes, I am still convinced he slanted the reporting of this story.

Again, here's the DA's actual statement:

http://www.4thjudicialda.com/press.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Press Releases
DISTRICT ATTORNEY FINDS RESIDENT WILL NOT BE PROSECUTED IN THE DECEMBER 28, 2008 SHOOTING DEATH

Today, the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced that it will not prosecute the resident of 3212 Virginia Avenue, James Parsons, in connection with a shooting on December 28, 2008.

On December 28, 2008 at approximately 9:50 p.m. Colorado Springs police officers were dispatched to 3212 Virginia Avenue regarding a burglary in progress. As officers arrived they were advised that shots had been fired. Officers found an unknown male, later identified as Sean Kennedy, lying in the back yard near the back door of the residence. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy at the El Paso County Coroner’s Office later determined that Sean Kennedy died from two gunshot wounds.

Detectives from the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit were dispatched and conducted a thorough investigation of the shooting. The investigation revealed that at about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, December 28, 2008, the resident of 3212 Virginia Avenue was at home with his girlfriend when he saw a white GMC pickup truck drive up and park in front of his house, a small ranch-style home. The resident saw an unknown male get out of the truck and approach his front door. Two dogs belonging to the resident, including a German Sheppard, started barking loudly and continually as the unknown male began forcefully pounding and beating on the front door. He was yelling obscenities and appeared to be angry and upset. The unknown male continued to beat and pound on the door, during which time the resident told his girlfriend to call 911 and he went into the bedroom to get his gun, a revolver.

After several minutes the resident and his girlfriend saw the man run around to the back of the home. The resident positioned himself near the kitchen and saw the man at the back door. The man broke the lock on the back screen door, pulled open the screen door and began beating his fist on the back door. The man continued to yell obscenities. The man then broke out the pane of glass in the back door nearest to the dead bolt. The man put his arm in through the broken window and was using his hand to undo the deadbolt when the resident shot at the man three times with his revolver.

Physical evidence at the scene and other witness statements corroborated the statements of the resident and his girlfriend. Review of the 911 dispatch tape also confirmed the statement of the resident. At the beginning of the dispatch tape, the resident’s girlfriend was heard saying “someone’s trying to get in the house” and telling the dispatcher to “hurry up, he’s trying to get in the house!” The resident’s girlfriend was on the phone with a police dispatcher for nearly 4 ½ minutes while the unknown male was trying to get into the home. The resident’s girlfriend was then heard saying “Oh my God, he’s coming in the back door!” and then “Are they on their way, because oh my God, he broke in the glass!” followed by the sound of gunshots. Both the resident and his girlfriend immediately sought medical attention for Sean Kennedy.

The resident and his girlfriend cooperated fully with this investigation. The evidence from the dispatch tape and from investigative interviews indicated that they were both terrified during this incident and were traumatized by these events.

It was further determined through the investigation that Sean Kennedy lived at 3212 N. Institute Street, one street west of Virginia Avenue, with several roommates. According to witness statements, Sean Kennedy had been drinking alcohol with friends at a local golf course just prior to this incident. His blood alcohol level at autopsy was .261 gm/dl, over three times the legal driving limit.

Under Colorado Revised Statute section 18-1-704.5 the Colorado General Assembly “recognizes that the citizens of Colorado have a right to expect absolute safety within their own homes.” This law provides that any occupant of a dwelling is justified in using any degree of physical force, including deadly physical force, against another person when that other person has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, and when the occupant has a reasonable belief that such other person intends to commit a crime or use any physical force, no matter how slight, against any occupant.

Based upon the evidence and a review of Colorado law governing the use of deadly physical force against an intruder, it is the opinion of the District Attorney’s Office that the resident of 3212 Virginia Avenue did not violate Colorado law, and he will not be prosecuted.

Inquiries may be directed to District Attorney Dan May or Deputy District Attorney Gail Warkentin at (719) 520-6000.

[flintknapper]

To me...it is abundantly clear this was a "good shoot".

If anything is to be learned from this...I would call attention to a couple of things.

1. You can call 911 for help (good advice if there is time), BUT the fact remains: It takes time for the police to arrive. If you are lucky...it will be 5 minutes, often times it takes much longer. Even when the first unit arrives, they may wait for backup....or "assess" the situation before intervening. During that time... YOU had better be prepared to defend yourself (or be willing to suffer the consequences of your inactions).

2.Drunks (or persons chemically enhanced) place themselves (and OTHERS) at risk when they are in public. I have little patience or sympathy for drunks. I do have sympathy for the family.

Where were this young man's so called "friends" when they let him drive away from the golf course intoxicated? If this person had run a red light and killed a family of four, we would see quite a different report.

But because he tried to force his way into a home that didn't belong to him, and was so snot slinging drunk he didn't recognize 4-5 tell-tale signs indicating he was at the wrong location...we are supposed to feel sorry for him?

Do we need to move Colorado over to the west coast too? Maybe we could shove California down a little bit and wedge Colorado in between Commiefornia and Oregon. Coloradoans need to revisit their laws (and elected officials)!

These homeowners were only trying to protect themselves. I applaud them!

[dewayneward]

A big AMEN flintknapper.

I was reading the story trying to understand why there would be any sympathy (outside of a human being dieing) for this person. I guess I can see an earlier posters point about how the people there "thought" that the gun was fired to someone OUTSIDE the home. I dont, however, want to give the benefit of the doubt though to anyone and say that this should have been a case closed.

It becomes even worse after all the other facts are revealed (I thought the original report had enough facts)

I have learned that the police arrive just in time to clean up the mess and take a report, that people are whacky and to not trust them (this guy over 4+ minutes is whacking on the door...I dont buy the "I'm drunk" nonsense...and most importantly I intend on staying in texas as long as I can.

[Fangs]

Something I found quite interesting...

The investigation revealed that at about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday...

Really? You're wasted before 10 on a Sunday?

[Keith B]

Something I found quite interesting...

The investigation revealed that at about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday...

Really? You're wasted before 10 on a Sunday?

Well, at least it was P.M., not A.M. However, as a LEO I actually arrested folks a few times on Sunday morning who were still drunk from Saturday night.