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Friend of Mine Got Into a Bad Situation

5K views 39 replies 34 participants last post by  BenGoodLuck 
#1 ·
A friend of mine called me up today, he got himself into a pretty questionable situation last night. I have to just go by what he told me, but I don't have any reason not to trust that he told me the truth either. He doesn't have a CHL, was woken up by a fire alarm and on his way home was surprised by a transient, which fortunately led to nothing violent and the transient left the premises. A female neighbor of his stated to him that she was scared and didn't think she had locked her front door. He offered to check out her home if she wanted him to, she accepted. He went home, got his weapon (ruger SR9c) and searched her home and found nothing, they exchanged pleasantries and he went home. He is pretty freaked out right now since he carried a concealed weapon without a CHL and barely knows the female involved and is afraid that the owners of his community may attempt to evict him for UWC for similar.

Is he covered by Texas Castle Law or should he contact an attorney and prepare for civil or criminal prosecution?
 
#3 ·
Mums the WORD.

Loose Lips Sink Ships.

As they said in WWII.
 
#5 ·
Guess I don't understand very well. If the gun was concealed, how did the woman know he was carrying? And not for nuttin', one person clearing a home (and particularly someone else's home) is a really bad idea, IMO. If she was that frightened, I'd call the local PD. Clearing a building/house is something they do.
I'm all for doin a neighborly thing....and especially helping ah Damsel in distress. BUT.....given all the circumstance with that their transient and all. I'd ah called in LEO's first-off.

Because maybe they had some-other reports about that their transient too? Maybe LEO's were already looking for that their transient? And LEO's, they "could ah ~ should ah ~ been" checking that transient out? And while they were at it.... the LEO's could ah cleared that female's home for her too. That's what they do, and are for, in cases like this.

What if....your buddy would have shot that transient? Or worst yet, someone else, in her house; by mistaken identity?

Wouldn't want to be that victim of circumstances Moe.
 
#11 ·
Many things undertaken after dark that seemed like a good idea at the time, look stupid in the light of day. :yup:
 
#7 ·
I would not clear my own home, much less a stranger's! It is a risky operation for a trained team of professionals. One good citizen attempting this is asking for serious trouble.
 
#8 ·
Tell him that although his intentions were good, he should not assume the role of the police .She should have called them. No good deed goes unpunished. Word will get around.
 
#9 ·
I did not follow your post very well. Starting with he woke up by a fire alarm, and on his way home. The first half of the story does nothing but confuse me. What does running into a transient on the way home have to do with anything? Did your, friend think that this guy was in two places at the same time, (on the street, and in her apartment) ?

Even with a concealed weapon permit, playing neighborhood cop is not a good idea, (just ask Zimmerman, the Florida guy charged with murder). What was he going to do if there was someone there? He is foolish not to let the local police do a search. All that being said, I don't think he has anything to worry about now. Someone would have to press charges against him, and that isn't likely as there was only one possible witness, his girlfriend.
 
#10 ·
Considering he doesn't have a CCW and was on property other than his own than YES he broke the law. Like others said he is not a cop and should not be clearing houses. Good intentions don't hold too much weight in court. And self defense doesn't work out too well either when you knowingly bring yourself to danger.
 
#20 ·
I believe this depends on the state.
In Texas if a neighbor asks you to "watch" his property then there is no law broken.
I assume the same applies if a neighbor asks you to check her home.

But I still agree, even as a former LEO, I'd probably not do it. I do not have a vest, a radio, or back up.
I would have taken the neighbor to my home and called police.
This was most likely a burglary that was thwarted. Cops searching the area might have caught him.
 
#12 ·
Amazing the things a man will do to impress a woman. LOL Having to run home to get his pistol, so he could go all Cagney & Lacey (if he's old enough to have been trained by this TV show) on a woman's place, that he barely knows. Wanna guess if she was hot or not? LOL

Lots of teaching points in this thread boys and girls. Hahah
 
#13 ·
The neighborly thing is to call 911, brew some coffee, chat pleasantries, and wait for the calvary to clear the house. That's in the PD's job description.
 
#14 ·
First of all, nothing about the accounting of the events preceding his clearing his neighbor's house makes any sense.

If he allowed the neighbor to see his gun as he was searching her place and she spreads the news I suppose he could have a problem with "the owners of his community" (does he live in an apartment complex?). Instead of trying to play cop the smarter thing for him to have done would have been to provide some safe haven for his frightened neighbor, call the police and let them clear her place.

Strange story.
 
#16 ·
1. He needs a permit if he's going to carry a gun.
2. People make contact with transients all the time without incident.
3. He should have told the woman to call 911 and stayed out of it.
4. He needs to keep his mouth shut.
 
#17 ·
In Minnesota, he wouldn't be breaking the law, as he was on private property ( this law has surprised a few Minneapolis cops). He should be reminded that he is not a cop and has no business acting like one. Clearing an apartment is not a job for a novice. He took his gun from a place of safety and deliberately went into danger. If he had to use the gun, explanations would be interesting to hear.

Was she pretty?
 
#19 ·
You friend is NOT a police officer...he was not on HIS property, but another's...should have called the police to alleviate any possible problems...note I said "possible" problems...had he needed to use the gun for protection, I doubt any charges would have been pursued by the DA's Office.

Here's what I've said numerous times to many people. I have never seen the DA's Office pursue charges against a person illegally carrying a firearm who used the firearm legally to defend himself. It is not appropriate especially in Texas. It goes back to Texas Penal Code Section 9.31: Self Defense....Section 9.32 Deadly Force in self Defense....and, 9.43 Protection of Third Person's Property...grand juries are not just a bunch of people gathered to wreak havoc on the citizenry.
 
#22 ·
So when I drop off one of our elderly ladies from church and go with her to the door and make sure everything is OK in the home before I leave, I should call the police first? I understand what folks are saying but I will usually help out a neighbor without calling police first as they would do for my spouse if she needed help. Maybe I am misunderstanding this whole thread.
 
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#25 ·
Yeah, I think you might be misunderstanding that this individual agreed to help the woman and RETURNED to his house to get a gun. If he needs to return to get a gun I would question why...if this woman is in that much fear, it needs to be handled by police.

There's a significant difference in you taking a friend home from church and making certain they are alright while you are legally carrying a firearm...kudos to you. This man left his property to check someon else's property...he wasn't watching her property, he was checking it...BUT, to relieve anyone's anxiety, if something had occurred the police would not be seeking charges against him...
 
#27 ·
I'll give you and the friend credit for being conscientious, but you're making something out of nothing. Nothing's going to happen. Strange that someone would be more concerned about facing a minor weapons misconduct charge than getting ambushed by a burglar but what do I know...
 
#29 ·
I guess I'm wondering why he carried concealed, or "if" he did ? Isn't it legal to open carry there ? If he's given permission to carry openly on someone else's property, he can (as far as it is concerned here). Not clear on what he did. But if he just carried his gun from his apartment to hers, and was invited, then he wouldn't have any issues here. Now, if he conceal carried, he would.

Don't know which way he carried the gun, and all of the in's and out's of where you are ... in terms of the laws.
 
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#30 ·
I realize the my OP was a bit confusing so let me try again. Bear in mind that since I'm telling this second hand all I can do is rely on what he told me. The alarm went off, he went outside like all the building occupants did (it is a medium sized apartment building), after the all clear was given he went home but then decided he should check out his car just to be sure that everything was OK in the garage (never know). As he was coming back from doing that he was surprised by the transient. The format of his building is only of those where they have gates on the walk in entrances that you have a code for but once you're in then all that protects units are their front doors. In his neighborhood, they have a lot of problems with transients, drunk people, car break ins etc.

So he sees this transient, freaks out obviously and sees the maintenance man (who was there to fix the alarm) and that lady also. He said he didn't take any role in confronting the transient, the maintenance guy did. He kept his distance and told the lady to call 911, which she did. It appeared that the transient had set off the alarm by starting a small fire in a storage room and also had smashed through two locked doors to get in. The police never showed up, but the transient simply got her backpack and left and wasn't seen again. He didn't have any weapon on him during any of this and didn't seek out a confrontation just happened to be there.

The questionable part comes next, he was walking up to go home (elevators were out) and the lady mentioned that she didn't know if her door was locked. That was when he offered to check the unit for her, went and got his gun, came back and walked through the unit with his gun out. She definitely did invite him into her home, and saw his gun. He said that she actually thanked him and said it was good that he has a gun around.

I do think he is being paranoid, but I can kind of understand why given the gun debate these days. I told him in so many words that he should not have done any of this, don't play cop. I think he gets that now but still. And no, I don't know if she was attractive I didn't bother to ask.
 
#40 ·
I realize the my OP was a bit confusing so let me try again. Bear in mind that since I'm telling this second hand all I can do is rely on what he told me. The alarm went off, he went outside like all the building occupants did (it is a medium sized apartment building), after the all clear was given he went home but then decided he should check out his car just to be sure that everything was OK in the garage (never know). As he was coming back from doing that he was surprised by the transient. The format of his building is only of those where they have gates on the walk in entrances that you have a code for but once you're in then all that protects units are their front doors. In his neighborhood, they have a lot of problems with transients, drunk people, car break ins etc...
Wow, what a difference! The added details make all the difference. As long as the neighbor doesn't say anything and no one else saw him walking around with his gun out, I think he'll be ok. Lessons to be learned - call the police; don't clear someone else's house; don't walk around with a gun unless you have a permit; and keep it concealed unless you're on your own property.
 
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