Neighbor Being Attacked

[thesheepdog]

I would help her out. I mean come on, we're Americans here!

If it were me, I would stay a couple of nights and be ready to defend her. In the day-time I would be getting her prepped to defend herself.

Weapons training, a dog, motion detecting flood lights, etc. As others have stated, maybe a neighborhood crime watch, or stake out-community effort is an excellent way to scare the %$^* out of criminals!

Be sure she calls the police, then you; and make sure she tells the police that you are her neighbor and armed to protect her.

 

[maestro pistolero]

Make sure you know what you are getting into. She may not be telling you everything. Repeated visits from zombies yelling "let me in", or "open the door" does not sound like a burglary to me.

 

[Southern_guy]

I do indeed live in a remote area. I don't know if the pattern is the same for the rest of the country, but in my part of Louisiana you typically have long stretches of empty roads between cities with small clusters of houses on sideroads. In my case, I live next to a main roadway, while the neighbor is 3/4 of a mile down a dirt road that runs adjacent to my property. The next nearest neighbor to me is a retired policeman turned farmer about 1/2 a mile in the opposite direction. Go a few more miles down the road, and you'll find another clump.
The nearest police station is 35 miles away. I have never even seen a police car on my road, with the exception of when the woman called them. The home did have a bulldog, but it was found shot to death the morning after the first attack. If it is legal, I may loan them a handgun.

After taking this thread into consideration, my current plan is this:
If she says that the house is being entered, call the retiree and 911. Keep 911 on the line and explain the situation and my concerns, and what they think I should do. Drive towards the building with a rifle and a 9mm handgun, stop out of sight of the house, and approach through the tree-line to observe what is happening. If it is a legitimate threat, act accordingly. Would that be legal?

 

[thesheepdog]

Drive towards the building with a rifle and a 9mm handgun, stop out of sight of the house, and approach through the tree-line to observe what is happening. If it is a legitimate threat, act accordingly.

Without the retired officer shooting you? Not a good idea unless you're in full communication with both the Ret officer and your neighbor.

I would forewarn both of your plan.

 

[NWPilgrim]

If there is a retired policeman nearby and she is going to also contact him then why not chat with the guy? Get his advice on how the two of you can help her, or how he thinks you could. That way you can coordinate who will respond and how to identify each other is you do respond.

Maybe agree to meet at a specific location before approaching the house together, or leaving a signal at the driveway or something to indicate one of you has already gone around the house or inside. Share a set of FRS radios?

Getting her more self sufficient on self defense and hardening her house is always a good idea. And she better know how to identify you entering the property versus a bad guy.

Seems like the retired cop could give you both sound advice on legal and practical sides of the situation.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Is this a thread on the legality or tactics? Pax thought it was legal.

Thus, hasn't it been answered. Unless told differently, in most states you can use lethal force to protect yourself and someone else from grievous bodily harm.

But that wasn't the OP - it was can you help her?

Later it was whether you could go there with firearms to help her. I'm no expert on Louisiana law, so someone who knows that should be consulted by the OP or do we have an expert here?

Thus, tactics aren't relevant - I should throw this back to Kathy if you want to talk about dogs and alarms, etc.

Also, legal advice here isn't really legal advice - now is it?

 

[Edward429451]

She needs a couple dogs. Maybe you could treat her to a puppy? That there would be neighborly and politically correct both.
A puppy that will grow into a deeper bark like a shep. Tweakers are terrified of dogs.

 

[markj]

If a neighbor called me at night with this issue, I would put a few of my dogs in the truck and go take a look see. Them dogs will root out a stranger in quick order, then he or she would have some explaining to do while I dial 911.

I do have a gun in the truck but Idoubt if this is a gun situation, dogs will scare the crap out of a person.

 

[BlueTrain]

Say, you're not a guy watching all of this through your back window with your binoculars as you sit there in a wheelchair, are you? Does the electricity go off a lot around there? Does the sheriff's department get a lot of crank calls and finally quits responding? Do you live close to the deep woods? Can you tell us a few more details?

 

[Southern_guy]

Without the retired officer shooting you? Not a good idea unless you're in full communication with both the Ret officer and your neighbor.

I would forewarn both of your plan.

That's why I said I would get the retiree. I plan on contacting him later this evening for more advice. I am certainly re-examining the situation more.
But as the OP question was: if another property is being attacked, under Louisiana law can you help them out? The retiree's advice might be a bit outdated, though I will certainly seek it out.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Here's a source. I used the google on the internets.

http://louisianacarry.org/laws/index.htm

 

[riverwalker76]

Referring back to the OP's topic ....

The simple answer is 'Yes'. Your neighbor can call you, and you can intercede if she requires help. What a lot of people do not realize .... the last time I checked .... anyone can intervene in the instant that she is in fear of her life. 'Breaking and Entering' is a Felony, and ANY citizen can apprehend a person if they are caught in the act of committing a felony. From what I recall ... it is 'by any means necessary' with the exception of firing on them UNLESS you are fired upon first.

A similar thing happened here in Kentucky a few years back. A man witnessed a store being robbed, so he held the thief up at gunpoint until the authorities arrived.

 

[teeroux]

Here in the state of Louisiana homicide is justifiable in defense of others if that person would be justified of homicide. Someone attempting to make forced entry into an inhabited dwelling is grounds for deadly force. So if she called you as well as the police and you found said person attempting to enter you could shoot that person justifiably.(remember just because you can doesn't always mean you should)

I would order him to prone out or else I would shoot. That way he would have the choice, run away, comply, or charge and end up with lead poisoning.

Here is the criminal code. 14:19, 14:20, 14:22 are what you need to read up on.
http://firearmsandliberty.com/papers-shade/Raging Against Self Defense-Thompson.html

 

[Southern_guy]

If the situation goes downhill and one ended up having no option but to face criminals, how would one keep things from going haywire, both legally and tactically?
For instance, I've always heard that you should get them to lie down in a "crucifixion" position with their arms extended and legs crossed. But what if they don't do so? For instance, one starts slowly walking towards you after you order them to freeze, or they blindly fire then run for their vehicles?
And what should one being doing in terms of interacting with police; both during and after such an event? The potential of being mistaken for one of the assailants seems rather high.

 

[Skans]

She has called the police each time, and due to the distance from the nearest station, the men are long gone. She has asked if she can call you to help her if they break inside the house.
Could you legally do so?

In Florida / Georgia, no problem. Yes. You're an invitee with permission to be inside of the Host's home. You can defend yourself and the others living there, if you so choose. And, if you want to fart around with saying "freeze sucka" or issue commands to lie down, etc. that's up to you - I'll let the muzzle end of my gun do all the talking in the event of a home invasion.

DISCLAIMER: This is Internet Legal Advice - the best kind of legal advice available for the price. You can fully rely on this; cite it in court if you are arrested - it is better law than any Supreme Court Justice can come up with on a given day. It is not Copyrighted, so you don't even have to give me credit for it. I grant you all plagiarism and editorial rights too.

 

[tet4]

I think the legal question is pretty simple if the facts are stated correctly. However, in this case, I think better judgement would say to convince her to a) get a few dogs or an alarm, and b) get a gun and learn how to use it. She's the only person that can defend herself. Think of the plan - someone has broken in, she finds the time to call someone (you). You come over and have to enter her house and then look for that person. There's no way that this situation could turn out well. Never mind the endless legal problems that could arise out of it.

Tell her for her own safety that she should get a gun now and learn to use it and then let it be up to her to live her life as she sees fit.

 

[kraigwy]

I've run into this. Neighbor lady has called me more then once when she heard wierd noises. Yes she knows I carry, and yes I'll do what ever necessary to protect her.

Here's one more thing, Her hubby is a deputy. If he's on duty, chances are he or any other deputy is a long way off.

Yes I do go over to her house often, as does my wife. Somebody has to keep his tractor running.

What ever happened to the ideal of neighbors helping neighbors?

 

[Derius_T]

Depends on your local laws, but I would indeed help her if I found her in eminent danger, just like I would anyone else. That said, nothing scares off crazies like some good floodlight/alarm/siren system or some really loud dogs, or both.

I have dual 250 watt floodlight systems mounted at all outside doorways, motion activated at 50 feet. Also some cheap motion alarms on doors and windows, 9 volt battery, (the kind normally used for cabinets and stuff) that if the door or window is jarred really hard or attempted to open, they emit an ear piercing, shrieking wail. (I think they were 10 bux at wally-world)

If they get past all that, I guess my dogs finally get to eat people food, literally. If they manage to get past all that, I'm almost sorry to shoot them, almost...

 

[WANT A LCR 22LR]

Somebody has to keep his tractor running.

I know all about any excuse to go play on the tractor(s)!

Anyway, I wonder how the good Samaritan law would play out in this situation. RE: If someone is in dire need of help, a person near by is compelled to render aid ( and is protected from being sued by the person they are assisting. ).