Picture this scene: It’s late at night and you wake up to the sound of glass breaking. There’s a burglar in your home. You’re afraid for your safety and the safety of your family so you get into your gun safe and take out a firearm. The person robbing you hears you moving and goes out the window. You chase them, follow them outside, and tell them they must stop. While they’re on your lawn, the burglar reaches inside his jacket. You’re afraid they’re going after a weapon and so you shoot them. Have you committed a crime?

You are legally allowed to use force in your home in California

In the state of California, you are allowed to use force if you believe the following:

• You and / or another person in your home was in danger of being seriously hurt, unlawfully touched, or killed;
• You believed that force was necessary to prevent said danger;
• You didn’t use more force than you needed to in order to protect yourself and others in the home.

You’ll note that nowhere does it say that you can use deadly force to prevent a crime. You can’t just believe that someone is going to rob you – you must believe that they were going to cause you great harm or that they were going to harm someone else. You can’t use deadly force just to prevent a robbery or the destruction of your property.

In the example we gave in the first paragraph, you might be charged with murder. If you were, the prosecutor would argue that since the thief was fleeing, you weren’t in danger. However, your California criminal defense attorney would argue that you were acting reasonably.

What exactly is reasonable fear of death?

According to California Penal Code Section 198.5, if someone breaks into your home and they’re not a family member, it’s reasonable to assume that you’re in danger. In this case, the prosecution would have to work hard to prove that you should not have been scared, even though a stranger was in your home.

You could be charged with other crimes

Though you may not be held responsible for defending yourself, you could be arrested for related crimes. For example, if you used a firearm that wasn’t legally registered to you, then you may be charged with a firearm violation. There is nothing worse than living through the traumatizing experience of having someone break into your home, to then be charged with a crime yourself.

If you’ve been charged with defending yourself, contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell for your free case evaluation. We are here to understand your side of the story and to defend your rights. Call us today at (949) 585-9055 to set up your appointment.