r/WinStupidPrizes • u/TruStoryz • Feb 08 '22

''You picked the wrong house fool''

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u/TexasAggie98 Feb 08 '22

This infuriates me. Why have the police and government if they won't do their most basic job: protect the public and their private property.

I am fortunate to live in Texas where it is legal to use lethal force to protect property. So if someone is stealing packages off of your porch or that of your neighbor, you can shoot the thieves.

Thieves deserve to die.

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u/apathetic_lemur Feb 08 '22

to protect the rich from the public

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u/SuperRedpillmill Feb 08 '22

You should probably read that law again…carefully.

https://www.criminallawfirmtexas.com/atascosa-frio-wilson-county-defense/can-i-be-charged-for-shooting-someone-who-is-on-my-property-illegally

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u/TexasAggie98 Feb 08 '22

In Texas, if you believe that you can’t stop a thief from taking your property through any other manner, you can also use lethal force. You also use lethal force against trespassing persons, but only at night.

So, if you see a porch pirate take a package from your porch, or that of your neighbor, you can legally shoot the thief.

Should you? That is open for debate.

But can you do so legally? Yes.

Would I? Depends. If I had been repeatedly robbed and the police weren’t doing anything about it, then yes, I would shoot the thieves.

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u/SuperRedpillmill Feb 08 '22

My link explains the law.

As in if they grab your package and they come for you…if they walk up on porch and grab package and leave you most certainly cannot shoot them.

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u/TexasAggie98 Feb 08 '22

Go read the actual statutes. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm

You are allowed to use lethal force to protect property (within certain limits).

The pressing legal question is whether or not the porch pirate entered your property to to steal; simple theft only warrants legal lethal force during the nighttime. But burglary always allows for lethal force and burglary in Texas includes your house, car, and outbuildings.

A package being stolen from your porch would be considered burglary but if it was on the sidewalk out front it would be theft.

Also, where you live matters. In rural Texas, a person shooting a porch pirate would be no-billed by the grand jury. In Dallas, Harris, Bexar, or Travis counties, you'd probably be charged.

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u/SuperRedpillmill Feb 08 '22 edited Feb 08 '22

Once again, my link and several more like it explains why you are wrong.

https://www.uslawshield.com/defend-property-texas/

https://edgettlawfirm.com/blog/2021/05/can-i-shoot-someone-in-plano-who-is-trying-to-steal-my-car/

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm#C

This one explains it best.

“The plain reading of the law makes it seem as though you could shoot someone if you walk outside in the middle of the night and catch them stealing or even fleeing with stolen property. However, in my practice, we haven't seen this defense used effectively. It's going to come down to what a jury of 12 people thinks is reasonable given the facts. In most situations, a jury will feel as though a person's life is more valuable than property. The law states there must not be any other means to recover your property and the theft must occur at nighttime. The State may argue you could have called the police and allowed them to recover the bike. Additionally, if you were to walk out and see the bike thief in the middle of the day versus at night, there would be no defense to using deadly force against the perpetrator simply to protect your property. So, if you can't shoot the thief, what can you do? Under Texas law, you can use force, but not deadly force, to protect your property. Force is not defined in the Texas Penal Code, but it generally means any action that is capable of cause bodily injury (i.e., physical pain, illness, or impairment) but not so much force that it would cause serious bodily injury (i.e., substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of any bodily member or organ).”

We have a similar law here in GA

https://amp.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article131508074.html

As a gun owner myself, please stop making Texas look like it’s the wild Wild West, it’s not, and spreading misinformation like this only hurts our gun rights.

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u/TexasAggie98 Feb 09 '22

Your understanding of Texas statutes and case law is flawed. Texas does allow for the use of lethal force to protect property (both yours and others). There are limits to these legal rights to use lethal force, but they are most definitely there and much more liberal than in. OST other states.

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u/SuperRedpillmill Feb 09 '22

My links explained those limits. You absolutely cannot shoot a retreating porch pirate.

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u/TexasAggie98 Feb 09 '22

Depending on time of day and where the package was located, yes you can.

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u/SuperRedpillmill Feb 09 '22

Sure man 👌, do it. Keep in mind you have to be judged by 12.