Pinned man shoots car thief!

[timothius]

Saw this on the news tonight. I didn't hear of any action by the DA. The thief however has been booked.

TOMÉ, N.M. -- The getaway went all wrong for an alleged car thief in Valencia County this morning when he fled with a Cadillac and a gunshot wound.

Police say the alleged thief pinned the homeowner with the car he was trying to steal, but got shot himself in the process.

This morning a Tomé homeowner woke up to see his son's car being stolen out of the family's driveway. He armed himself and ran out to make it clear this was not going to be an easy steal.

The suspected thief drove the Cadillac he was trying to steal toward the homeowner pinning him against a fence. The homeowner retaliated by firing one shot.

That shot hit the suspect, but he fled the scene in the Cadillac with the homeowner following him for seven miles.

“When he went out, he was pinned by that vehicle against the fence,” New Mexico State Police Sgt. Robert Miller said. “There were shots fired by the victim.

“At that point they continued on a small pursuit.”

But before the homeowner caught up, the alleged thief crashed and abandoned the Caddy. While bleeding from his wound, he stumbled and fell in front of a commuter driving to work who happened to be behind him.

The commuter thought he hit the suspect with his truck, ran out alarmed and then realized the bleeding man had been shot. He then called 911.

The suspect remains at UNM hospital with a gunshot wound, but police said it is not life-threatening.

The father was also taken to UNM Hospital but treated and released.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[jowgafist]

I sure hope the caddy is ok.

[TN_Mike]

He did the right thing I think.

He went out to try to stop the theft and when the thug tried to do serious bodily harm and or kill him, he used deadly force to stop the threat. Just as any LEO would do.

Hope the DA doesn't worry about the poor thugs rights and decide to charge the home owner with anything.

[Janq]

He did the wrong thing, and is very lucky he didn't get himself killed via the car he was trying to protect/retain...which itself is no doubt insured and replaceable. Human lives are not.
I'm sure his wife and children would rather have dad and in one piece than him dead or banged up/injured with or without the car.

If a thief wants one of my cars he can have it, they're nothing that can't be replaced thanks to proper insurance.
Getting shot (by the BG) or worst hit/run over by the BG in your own car could easily be a death blow if not leave one seriously injured or maimed.
Further following the guy wasn't the best of ideas either. Stay home with your family, dial 911, and be the best witness possible rather than assuming the one BG you see does not have additional accomplices or support unseen.

It's just a car, and it's not like Cadillac's aren't dime a dozen easy to replace.

- Janq drives a Subaru & Honda

[peacefuljeffrey]

The suspect remains at UNM hospital with a gunshot wound, but police said it is not life-threatening.

That's too bad. Wish the homeowner had had the opportunity to take a better-aimed shot.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Janq, how do you know that the Cadillac is not some older one, that the son might have bought and worked painstakingly to restore? Maybe it's NOT insured against theft. Some people have trouble affording FULL coverage on a car. And even with a claim made against a theft policy, do you get back the full amount that it will cost you to get a comparable car? NO. No, you get back the book value of the car, right? And that will HARDLY mean you can just trot on into a dealership and lickety-split get yourself a nice new set of wheels.

So the car thief is stealing more than just metal, glass, rubber and plastic. He's stealing the time and life-energy that the owner put into acquiring the car. Even with theft coverage, there will be a shortfall that will have to be taken up by the owner if he wants a new car.

The criminal scum who try to take what is ours DESERVE to be shown the pathway to hell by a bullet. And our society NEEDS to be more willing to treat criminal scum harshly. Otherwise, THEY RUN THE PLACE. Otherwise, on any given day, you can find your life turned upsided down by what THEY decide to do to you or take from you.

Sorry, I won't accept that passively. And I hope more and more others decide that they will not, either.

[unrequited]

I'm not sure I'm ready to conceed that the price of a car is worth the price of a bg's life. I'd have stayed inside, called the police, and checked on my family. Maybe gone outside to confront, but NEVER to give chase afterwards, that's just crazy. ...of course if he touched my new STi I'd have to hunt him down to the corners of the earth.

[NCHornet]

So Jeff, are you saying the loss of a few grand is worth dad getting killed? Just want to make sure what you are saying here. I am not one of the computer commando's we have on this site, so I can't say for sure what I would do unless it happened to me. I would probably persue after him before I would confront him in the yard though.

[Geezer]

I think that the homeowner was within his rights, until he persued the BG. He opened himself up to a LOT of legal problems/and a civil suit . He fired his gun in self defense, but at that point, he should have remained at home. It's too bad that the BG is expected to survive - to do it again.

[ccw9mm]

The criminal scum who try to take what is ours DESERVE to be shown the pathway to hell by a bullet. And our society NEEDS to be more willing to treat criminal scum harshly. Otherwise, THEY RUN THE PLACE.

Until the laws that apply change accordingly, taking such a stance might well be the quickest way to a trip to a barred cell. Getting stopped is getting stopped, even if police do it sometime later. The loss of one's life in the effort is irreversible; it's a decision that isn't for everyone in all instances. For many, there must be a balance. Generally speaking, a piece of insured property is not worth a life.

In this instance, the shooting was a defense of his life, not the car. He confronted the BG about the car; the BG escalated to a lethal force encounter, attempting to smash the guy; and the GG responded accordingly.

For myself, I don't believe I will ever defend to the death a piece of property, particularly not one that's insured. That is, in point of fact, what the insurance is for. On the other hand, I have no qualms over defending a life at whatever cost to the BG. If I'm lucky, I never will have such qualms.

[Janq]

PJ,

Fully insured, partially insured, or even with no insurance at all (e.g. Reggie Jackson's classic car collection circa late '80s), I'd bet a years worth of lunch that if his family were asked to choose between dad and _any_ car....they would choose dad all day long.

The shooting became in defense of his life after he placed himself within immediate and real danger, to rescue the car.
Unrequited up until 2 months ago I had in addition to my Legacy a second shipment '04 STi and as much as that car was fun & cool, it's nowhere near the value of my life to myself nor to my wife and two kids, even as my daughter and I both have fond memories of "Fast Car". :p
Like Cadillacs and other toys, older or newer, they can be pretty easily repaired if not replaced even when insured for collision only.

If I'm going to get myself involved in a serious real world potentially life endangering involvement with a BG(s) then it'sgoing to be toward something irreplaceable such as human life as opposed to allowing sentimentality and pride to get me hurt if not killed. Dude is lucky the theif decided to reverse rather than floor it and press dad through the fence and up under the wheels.
In some states defense of property is allowed while in others it is not so whether he was legal to do soo depends on local laws. Definitely though pursuing the BG off his property on to city streets and all like a LEO was not a good idea as he is not a LEO.

- Janq

[Moga]

If I lived in a state that permits the defense of property, and I was a party to the incident being discussed, I would defend my property with the force required to discourage the actions of the criminal. Certainly I would have no qualms about discharging my firearm if I was nearly run over by a motor vehicle operated by the BG.

Some of us, myself included, have to work awfully hard for what we have. It is difficult to see the possessions that we've labored to acquire taken from us by people that don't know the value of hard work. If I had money bags waiting to be emptied on a whim then perhaps I'd have an alternate perspective on defense of property. Only I don't.

Besides, insurance isn't the safe bet that it used to be years ago. The industry seems to be hell bent on accumulating expensive premiums from their consumer base while avoiding payouts if at all possible.

I respect the point of view of those that say it's not worth it to resist against thiefs that attempt to reduce your wealth. It's just that a few of us don't share that mind set.

My motor vehicle is my life line. It is how I transport myself to and from work, medical appointments, school, the vets, etc. Without it I would be in dire straits. Furthermore, I have spent a good deal of my life working for my possessions and I can't get those years back. That makes them pretty valuable to me. While I wouldn't engage a BG for the water hose hanging on the side of the house, my vehicle falls in another category.

Keep in mind that resistance doesn't always involve a gun. I'm not advocating vigilante justice here. I'm simply expressing an alternate take on the subject derived from my own independent and critical thoughts on personal protection.

YMMV.

[seattlekos]

I don't think the guy should've gone after BG with a gun for a car. Maybe cap out the tires or something, sure, to incapacitate the Caddy. IMO shooting is when all else fails and a life is in danger (oneself, loved one, helpless victim/stranger).

Of course, 20/20 hindsight and all... he may've just been purely angry and pumped on adrenaline, so who am I to know what was going through his head? I hope he realized later how foolish the act was. Who knows, chasing after the guy, what if he'd done something in his altered mental state and hit a kid? For a car?

(Edit: And Moga said "My motor vehicle is my life line. It is how I transport myself to and from work, medical appointments, school, the vets, etc. Without it I would be in dire straits." You bring up a compelling point, so now I'm undecided on what was right or wrong.)

[retsupt99]

the homeowner was fine in his shooting the suspect...who attacked with a 5000# weapon...good shoot!

To follow the suspect is risky, but to follow and stay behind and call 911 would seem OK...

The homeowner needs to become more involved with 'gun control'...stronger grip, better use of front site, steadier trigger pull...2CM and 1H...

ret

[Thumper]

Hey Janq,

I could use another vehicle and you're all insured up and all, and since I know you won’t shoot me... what did you say your address was?

Seriously though, running out the door was one thing, I can't say I wouldn't do that... and it truly might have been better if he just called the police, but the pursuit part I agree was really a bad idea!