Suspected Burglar Sues Homeowner Who Shot Him

[Bill Mattocks]

Amazing. But the moral of this story is a reinforcement of what we all should already know; no one's life gets easier when they use a gun in self-defense. No one should be afraid to protect their own life with a gun if they must, but lots of things change afterwards.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21843731/marin-county-suspected-burglar-sues-90-year-old

Marin County: Suspected burglar sues 90-year-old man who shot him

By Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal
Posted: 10/24/2012 07:35:05 AM PDT
Updated: 10/24/2012 07:35:07 AM PDT

MARIN COUNTY -- A 90-year-old Greenbrae man who was shot in the head during an alleged burglary has been sued by the alleged burglar.
Samuel Cutrufelli, who was also shot during the incident, claims Jay Leone "negligently shot" him during the confrontation inside Leone's home.
Cutrufelli, 31, claims Leone caused him "great bodily injury, and other financial damage, including loss of Mr. Cutrufelli's home, and also the dissolution of Mr. Cutrufelli's marriage."
Cutrufelli shot Leone once in the face during the alleged burglary, and Leone returned fire, hitting Cutrufelli several times. Both men were hospitalized for an extended period after the gun battle.
Cutrufelli, whose charges include two counts of attempted murder against Leone, is near the end of his criminal trial. The negligence lawsuit was filed on his behalf by his father and his criminal defense attorney.
Leone, reached at home Tuesday, said he was unaware of the lawsuit.
"He's the one who busted my door in," he said. "I'll just countersue him then. That's what I'll need to do."

 

[granfire]

when you use it, make sure the intruder is good and dead?

(I have heard from several people that they had been given this very advice from LEOs when they asked about home defense...)

 

[MJS]

This is why I have NO remorse, concern or compassion for ANY dirtbag, piece of **** criminal, such as we see in this article! You break into someones home, with the intent to steal something that is NOT yours, and possibly cause serious or fatal harm to the people inside, you get injured because of YOUR actions, and then you sue! Amazing...simply amazing. Yeah, I know it happens, but its still amazing.

The same things this piece of **** is claiming, the homeowner himself can also claim. I pray the judge doesnt award this punk a dime!

 

[Bill Mattocks]

This is why I have NO remorse, concern or compassion for ANY dirtbag, piece of **** criminal, such as we see in this article! You break into someones home, with the intent to steal something that is NOT yours, and possibly cause serious or fatal harm to the people inside, you get injured because of YOUR actions, and then you sue! Amazing...simply amazing. Yeah, I know it happens, but its still amazing.

The same things this piece of **** is claiming, the homeowner himself can also claim. I pray the judge doesnt award this punk a dime!

But no matter what, it's going to cost the homeowner time and effort to deal with. He can't ignore it - that means a default judgment for the plaintiff.

 

[Tgace]

Even if you shoot him dead odds are that his family will sue you while spouting all the typical "he was a good boy", "why didn't he shoot him in the leg" platitudes.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Even if you shoot him dead odds are that his family will sue you while spouting all the typical "he was a good boy", "why didn't he shoot him in the leg" platitudes.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Which brings us to "Stand Your Ground" laws. Many states have "Castle Doctrine" laws that allow a homeowner to defend themselves with deadly force from home invaders. However, not all states have "Stand Your Ground Laws," which, among other things, may serve to disallow both criminal and civil prosecution if the police determine no laws were broken by the homeowner.

In other words, if California were a "Stand Your Ground" state, the accused would not be permitted to sue, dead or alive, so long as the homeowner did not break any laws when he employed deadly force against the person accused of kicking in his door and invading.

Many may feel that "Stand Your Ground" laws are too extreme (in the wake of the recent shooting in Florida), but this is the type of thing these laws were meant to do - protect innocent homeowners from criminal and civil prosecution when all they did was defend their own lives.

 

[Buka]

Moral of the story....

Always have a defense attorney as a student. Preferably a black belt.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Colorado. Home of the Make My Day Law.

 

[MPC1257]

I have only 2 questions. What lawyer actually took this case and why didn't the judge just throw it out of court? *sarcasm, so don't beat me up on this*

 

[granfire]

I have only 2 questions. What lawyer actually took this case and why didn't the judge just throw it out of court? *sarcasm, so don't beat me up on this*

because precedent has been made and the burglar collected...

where there is $$ there is a lawyer to take the case.

 

[WC_lun]

Seems to me that if you decide to work as a burglar and you are stupid enough to rob a home that is occupied, getting shot is a job hazard.

The defense of home and stand your ground laws have been abused, letting the predators get away with violence (No I am not talking about the Treyvon Martin case). I'm all for these laws and thier common sense application, but as we know, lawyers are good at twisting laws to suite thier client's needs. I think in some states, these laws need to be refined a bit more. For example, in Texas a man threatened to go to a man's home and kill him. The homeowner did not call the police. Instead he waited with a shotgun and killed the man when he arrived. The homeowner was not charged due to Texas home defense laws. Now I don't really feel too sorry for the dead man, but it was an unneccesary death. Citizens should not get to execute people, even predators, unless there is no other choice.

 

[Blindside]

Seems to me that if you decide to work as a burglar and you are stupid enough to rob a home that is occupied, getting shot is a job hazard.

The defense of home and stand your ground laws have been abused, letting the predators get away with violence (No I am not talking about the Treyvon Martin case). I'm all for these laws and thier common sense application, but as we know, lawyers are good at twisting laws to suite thier client's needs. I think in some states, these laws need to be refined a bit more. For example, in Texas a man threatened to go to a man's home and kill him. The homeowner did not call the police. Instead he waited with a shotgun and killed the man when he arrived. The homeowner was not charged due to Texas home defense laws. Now I don't really feel too sorry for the dead man, but it was an unneccesary death. Citizens should not get to execute people, even predators, unless there is no other choice.

Link to story?

 

[MJS]

But no matter what, it's going to cost the homeowner time and effort to deal with. He can't ignore it - that means a default judgment for the plaintiff.

True. It's a shame the homeowner has to go thru it. Actually, its a shame he had to deal with any of it, not just the fact he shot someone.