Indiana Man Convicted of Felony After Shooting Intruder :: 09/09/2014

A Portland, Indiana man has been found guilty on the charge of criminal recklessness resulting in serious bodily injury. That's a felony which carries an 18 month prison sentence with it.

David McLaughlin claims that when he opened fire on David A. Bailey he feared for his life due to hand movements Bailey made after McLaughlin told him to stop at gunpoint.

According to The Star Press,

Defense attorney Jill Gonzalez said her client — alerted by an alarm to an early morning break-in at his detached garage last April 21 — had no way of knowing if the intruder he encountered in his backyard was armed.

"This happened in a matter of seconds," she said. "My client told him to freeze. … He didn't shoot to kill."

Gonzalez maintained McLaughlin was acting in defense of his family and property, and had been the victim of earlier break-ins.

"You have to stop somewhere," she said. "People are tired of having their stuff taken."

Despite McLaughlin testifying in his own defense that he feared for his life and despite the fact that Bailey testified that he did not commit the burglary (despite the fact that he got shot), the jury quickly returned a guilty verdict.

Dunkirk Police Chief Dane Mumbower testified that shell casings suggested McLaughlin fired the first shot at the intruder while in his backyard, then shot two more times after pursuing the man into an alley.

A somber reminder of how a defensive gun use can go, even when the suspect survives the incident.

http://gunssavelives.net/blog/video-indiana-man-convicted-of-felony-after-shooting-intruder/

http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2014/09/03/man-trial-shooting-intruder/15046339/