A deadly shooting inside an Amherst home over the weekend is stirring up questions about when a homeowner has the right to use deadly force. So far the homeowner who shot and killed a 31-year-old teacher shortly after 1:00 a.m. Sunday has not been charged with a crime and whether or not that changes depends heavily on if it can be shown that the homeowner had reason to believe the intruder intended to commit burglary.
We may never know why David Park of Albany entered the wrong home in the middle of the night on Millbrook Court in Amherst or why he apparently ignored what the homeowner's attorney says were several warnings given before the shooting. "My client had yelled repeatedly, 'I've got a gun. Just leave', and that have no effect," says Thomas Burton, attorney for the homeowners. Following the warnings the homeowner fired and fatally wounded Park.
Barry Covert, a local defense attorney who's not connected to the Millbrook Court case, says homeowners have considerable leeway when they feel threatened inside their homes. "The legal standard is much more protective of the homeowner when you are in your own dwelling than outside of the dwelling, and therefore you can use deadly physical force to protect the premises even if you don't believe that deadly physical force is going to be used on you at that time," explains Covert.
Some people are publicly questioning why the homeowner didn't fire a warning shot instead. His attorney says that was an option, but the perceived threat also justified deadly force. "When someone's only less than 10 feet away at the base of a short staircase and there's nowhere for you to retreat, with the perception that the person who's in your house is a burglar...," says Burton. While the homeowner was getting his gun his wife called 9-1-1. It's not clear yet if the 9-1-1 tapes captured the homeowner's warnings before he fired, but if the recordings can provide that evidence it may bolster the homeowners' case if it goes to a grand jury.
The homeowners' attorney says his clients empathize with David Park's family but he also want people to understand the homeowners were put in a very difficult situation. "The course of events that started this didn't begin with the homeowners. It began with somebody else who was in this house at 1:30 in the morning," says Burton.
The case is now in the hands of the Erie County district attorney and he may end up letting a grand jury decide if the homeowner should face charges.
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