Remember the guy that shot the exchange student trespassing in his garage late at night? He got 70 years in prison. Just saying.
Here car burglaries are pretty common. People drive to a nice neighborhood late at night/early morning, they park at the end of the street and get out and walk down the street checking car doors. If it's unlocked, they steal whatever they find. If a garage door is left open, they steal tools ECT. It's depressingly common and is probably what is happening in this neighborhood.
I find it incredibly hard to believe it's legal anywhere to hold a stranger at gunpoint because you suspect them of a crime. Yes, if you caught them committing or attempting to commit a felony (kidnaping, rape, murder) I can see it, but trespassing or petty theft?
Here, thankfully, in many states we have a castle doctrine and/or a stand your ground law. The castle doctrine language varies slightly from state to state. In essence it gives a resident the right to protect their person, family, pets, and property against an intruder. I'm not saying those apply in the situation with AA. Like many, I'm waiting for all of the details to come to light. Someone upthread said it best..."Fool me once, shame on me..."
Just some general comments. In most states, it doesn't take much money or monetary value to be stolen before a misdemeanor (what you might call petty crime) becomes a felony. I get the sense that the laws may differ significantly on this point across countries.
Another potential area of difference, if someone were to enter a new construction home that's unfinished but where the outside walls, doors, and windows are in place, a misdemeanor trespass charge becomes a felony B&E. If that same person is carrying a weapon (knife, gun, etc.) on them at the time, add another felony or more.
To those who mentioned that they are tempted to visit new construction sites, it's probably best to view from a distance, or just ask the new homeowner for permission if they are there. That is something that puzzles me about whoever it was trespassing on the site. If the homeowner was there, why not just go up and say, "Hi, I'm so-and-so. I've always been fascinated by construction. How's your house coming along?" Most homeowners are proud as pie of their new home and would be happy to show someone about, especially if the walls aren't up yet.
One last thing. It's a question for everyone. I have no clue as to the answer. What if the homeowner's video shows that it was someone other than AA who was trespassing. Could that person be charged in some way? Before you laugh my question under the table, these situations happen frequently with DUIs. There was a recent case where a driver was over the limit. He pulled off on the shoulder of the highway and went to sleep, engine no longer running. A car broke down just a few car lengths ahead of driver 1, where they patiently awaited roadside assistance. Next comes car 3, a sober driver who either wasn't paying attention or had serious night blindness. He proceeds to hit the left rear of car 1, propelling it into car 2 and killing car 2's occupant. When it was all said and done, they charged the driver of car#1 with multiple felonies, reasoning that but for his decision to drive drunk, the chain of events would not reasonably have played out that way. Thoughts on my question about the trespasser? (I'm not equating these situations. I'm only using that example to illustrate how complex things can get.) TIA
