Neighbor Being Attacked

[Southern_guy]

You live in a remote area, with your nearest neighbor being a single mother with toddlers. Over the last few weeks, a spate of break-ins, robberies, and trespassing have plagued houses around your property. They've broken into houses and robbed them while people were inside, and are growing bolder.
Your neighbor has been menaced by the sounds of two people moving around at night, including someone shining a spotlight into her window and trying to break down her door with a blunt object. Another night, they tried all the doors and windows while screaming for the woman to let them inside and making threats.
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?

[Dave R]

IANAL, but in my opinion:

1 She can legally call you.
2 You can legally visit her. OK, help her.
3 You can defend yourself if you are attacked.

Some jurisdictions allow use of deadly force to defend another. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[orionengnr]

Disclaimer--
I know what I can do legally where I live. My CHL class was very informative, and there have been enough high-profile cases to help define at least the edges of the envelope.

Direct answer:
I don't know Louisiana law, because I don't live there. I salute you for wanting to do what is right. But knowing the law and acting in accordance with it are your first two lines of legal defense. Having a local 2A-friendly lawyer on retainer might not be a bad idea.

[IZZY]

This calls for a sleepover

[RLWII]

Documented break-ins and robberies. Neighbor (female, young, with child) in need of help. If the call comes, I'm not going to take the time to call a lawyer.

Sometimes you have to run toward the gunfire.

[pax]

I think this is more of a legal question than a tactical one, so am moving this thread down to the appropriate forum.

pax

[Glenn Dee]

OK... I'm going to think like a detective investigating self defense shooting.


QUESTIONS I'LL ASK YOU.
How well do you know this woman?
How often do you visit her?
Are you intimately involved with her?
Does her husband know your here?
Did she ask you to bring your gun with you?
How does she know that you have a gun?
Did you offer to help her with her problem?
How often does she need you to come chase intruders?
Why do you think this person targets her?
Do you personally know the person you shot?


QUESTIONS I'LL ASK HER.
How well do you know your neighbor?
Are you intimately involved with him?
How often does he visit?
Do you have a husband , and does he know about your neighbor coming over?
Do you know the man who was shot?
How often do you have intruders?
Why is this intruder targeting you?
How many times have you called the police?
Have you spoken with the police about this on-going condition?


I SMELL CHEESE!!!

First off... Burglars are stealthy. According to your description of the intruders action... It sounds more like a jilted lover, or an ex husband... Maybe the current husband. Banging on doors, yelling and shouting in the night.

I dont think your being untruthfull, but she may be. Either way it's more a police matter. If a burglar wants to get in... he'll get in. If a home invader wants to get in... he'll get in. Not stand on the porch, yell and bang on doors... That behaviour is reserved for boyfriends, stalkers, and husbands.


Maybe you want to take a look at this situation from another angle.

Glenn D

[kgpcr]

i call BS on this one. Why would they make so much noise?None of this makes any sense. To many things left untold. Maybey she wants you to come over and play hide the pickle

[Southern_guy]

I suppose it is a possibility that the neighbor is being deceptive; however, there are some other factors involved. The house they reside in was formerly squatted by a meth and arms dealing shop before being busted, then was sold cheaply to the current residents, which might be an alternative explanation for people (former customers/cookers?) messing with the place.
I looked into it some more; the woman does have a husband, however he is a oil company worker who spends large periods of time either on platforms or in other countries. The same request was also made to a ex-policeman that lives nearby.
I've been getting really creeped out lately by how organized some of the crimes have been; they seem to have many people's schedules memorized and are becoming increasingly brazen in their thefts. Though it may be paranoia, I've gotten the feeling I'm being watched.
I own a decent sized parcel of timber directly bordering the house, and found a junkie spoon and treads leading towards the menaced house.
Not really sure how to handle this one.

[MLeake]

...

1) getting a security system installed;

2) getting a large, trained dog or two;

3) getting and learning how to use a handgun, rifle, and/or shotgun?

I'd be willing to help if I got the call, and in my area I'd be legally ok, but who's to say I'd even be around in such a scenario? Similarly, who's to say that you'll be home if she ever has the problem she anticipates?

She needs to be able to protect herself, and should be taking steps to enable herself to do just that.

[blume357]

why can't she defend herself and her children....

If a person is outside my front door shouting and trying to kick it in.....

yes, the door would need replacing and the front porch a good washing off.

me thinks if the story is true that she wants a little more than what you think, but if you go over there... you might want to supply your own 'protection'.

there's more than one type of 'bump' in the night you need to watch out and be prepared for......

[alloy]

Trying to kick in the door?

That's pretty hardcore. A call from the husband might rule out a few things since obviously he would be concerned....being out of town and all, but how much farther than trying to kick in the door, can it really go?

[abelacres]

Can you set up a neighborhood watch of sorts?

[cecILL]

Some critter cams couldn't hurt. Maybe a couple of those two-way radios, also.

[Mike Irwin]

I don't know of a jurisdiction in the United States where it's illegal to use deadly force to prevent grave bodily injury or death to another individual.

[BlueTrain]

Let me get this straight. You live in a remote area but you have close neighbors?

[MLeake]

This isn't actually that far-fetched a concept. I can think of an example off the top of my head, since we had looked at houses out that way last year.

There's a fairly popular, wooded subdivision, near Jasper GA. Gated entry, in mountain foothills. Steep, winding roads, with low speed limits that common sense dictates one probably should not exceed (assuming one prefers to remain on the pavement). Took over twenty minutes to get from the gatehouse to the house we wanted to look at.

Decided that 1) it would take too long for her to get to campus from that place under normal conditions; and 2) ice or snow in any amount would result in being housebound. So, we passed.

Individual lots weren't that big, maybe .3 to 1 acre, so neighbors were close. OTOH, Pickens County sheriff's deputies could take a long, long time to get way back in there. So could the private security guys.

I can think of several other neighborhoods that are similar. Some are primarily seasonal, and so people who live in them year-round may have a lot of neighbors in peak months, and few to none in off-peak.

[Brian Pfleuger]

As others have said, I would certainly start by helping her learn to defend herself. A good, large dog and learning how to use, owning and, most importantly, being PREPARED to use at least a handgun and preferably at least a 20ga shotgun would both be more helpful than calling you in the middle of the night.

All else fails, yeah, I'd probably scoot over there to help a neighbor. Also, probably not alone.

[Mike Irwin]

Hell, I grew up in Central Pennsylvania less than 10 minutes from Harrisburg, the state capitol, and there were many areas within a short drive that could be considered remote, but with neighbors close by.

Most of the police departments in the area were daytime only, and at night the nearest cop, a State Police officer, could be more than an hour's drive away because they covered such a large area.

[Brian Pfleuger]

In NY, and many other states I'm sure, the idea of being "remote" but with nearby neighbors, particularly if "remote" is a reference to the proximity of law enforcement, is an everyday reality for HUGE sections of Upstate.

Even in my relatively populated area, there may be 4 police cars covering our 700 square mile county.

[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.