NY man defends house from intruders, gets manslaughter charge

[Sogaard]

http://longisland.news12.com/news/youssef-abdel-gawad-of-huntington-station-charged-with-manslaughter-for-shooting-alleged-burglar-1.7269293

 

Thoughts?

[dbHunterNY]

sounds like it was legit... if they offered up the video footage.  the flash came after the person trying to enter drew their gun.  we'll see.

[ants]

Someone posted up the video, on this sight, earlier in the week.

[jjb4900]

a three second clip offered up by the shooters family....I'll pass on making a judgement based on that.

[BigGuyNY]

Who cares if the intruder fired at all.  If someone is pointing a gun at you, shooting them is justified under the NYS penal law.  The story must be omitting some sort of action by the shooter that went outside the definition that allows using deadly force. 

Edited March 8, 2014 by BigGuyNY

[Elmo]

If you continue to watch the video, the 3 brothers came out of the house and continued after the attempted intruders.  2 of the brothers were holding what looks like shotguns or rifles.  So the question is when was the fatal shot taken?  Did it hit the intruder in the chest while he was trying to break in or did it hit him in the back while they were fleeing and being chased?   While I would say not guilty regardless, the law might say otherwise.

[Doc]

So is this where we are heading? Are we supposed to just leave our well-being and the safety of our loved ones to the mercy of the thugs of this world. Well, that won't be happening in my home.

 

I say there is no excuse for a burglar to be inside my house. There is also no way for me to determine if they are armed. There is also no way for me to determine their mental state or whether or not they intend to do harm. So my approach is to level any threat that is within the walls of my home. I have always been of the assumption that that action is within my legal rights. Is there some reason why this guy has been singled out as one to be denied that right to self defense?

[bowslinger]

i would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6

[jjb4900]

the "burgler" holding the gun wasn't the one shot and killed it was someone else accompanying the "burgler" who was outside of that confrontation...........there's more we're not hearing or seeing.

[phade]

the "burgler" holding the gun wasn't the one shot and killed it was someone else accompanying the "burgler" who was outside of that confrontation...........there's more we're not hearing or seeing.

Seems legit. Accompany burglar but dont shoot me cause I aint got nothing to do with it. Gimme a break.

Break into someones house...deserve what you get.

[Arrow Flinger]

My son said they were discussing this in his criminal justice class the other day. According to his professor, you have a legal right to shoot anyone who breaks into your home while you are there..armed or not. I would hope the professor knows what he was talking about because he's also a retired police officer but you never know.

[jjb4900]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/04/li-man-facing-manslaughter-charge-for-shooting-killing-alleged-armed-burglar/

looks like he shot one of them in the back in a neighbors yard, whatever they presented to the Grand Jury was obviously enough to get an indictment.

[Bowtoons]

My son said they were discussing this in his criminal justice class the other day. According to his professor, you have a legal right to shoot anyone who breaks into your home while you are there..armed or not. I would hope the professor knows what he was talking about because he's also a retired police officer but you never know.

When I took my handgun safety course the instructor told us that you can not shoot an intruder in your home unless they are using deadly force against you.

[jjb4900]

When I took my handgun safety course the instructor told us that you can not shoot an intruder in your home unless they are using deadly force against you.

if they were already using it against you, it's probably too late to help yourself............ I have to disagree with that, now chasing someone down the street and shooting him in the back in someone else's yard may get you in a bit of trouble, but inside your own home? I would think not.

[Bowtoons]

if they were already using it against you, it's probably too late to help yourself............ I have to disagree with that, now chasing someone down the street and shooting him in the back in someone else's yard may get you in a bit of trouble, but inside your own home? I would think not.

I thought pretty much the same thing when he was explaining it to us. He seemed to know what he was talking about though. He was a retired LEO. So you would hope he knew the laws.

[Arrow Flinger]

When I took my handgun safety course the instructor told us that you can not shoot an intruder in your home unless they are using deadly force against you.

 

If someone breaks into my house I'm shooting before they have a chance to use deadly force! The laws are so screwed up its not even funny. When you choose to commit a crime like that, you shouldn't have any rights protecting you. Just look at those 3 kids that broke into the guys house in Granby and stabbed him to death recently. Now, if that guy shot and killed those 3 kids he woulda probably went to jail. Unfortunately, he didn't have a gun and now he's dead. He was screwed either way!

[philoshop]

In NYS you have the right to use deadly force to counter deadly force in your home or place of business.

You don't have the right to use deadly force beyond the confines of the building, whether it's your home or place of business. Street crimes are different and have lots of other rules and regulations. Mostly weighted against the person being attacked.

Using deadly force against an unarmed intruder in your house or place of business in NYS will likely end up with you in front of a jury of the intruder's peers. Deadly force beyond those narrowly defined confines of home or business and you're probably toast. You can't chase the intruder down the street.

 

There is no Castle Doctrine in NYS. No 'stand your ground' and defend yourself. And basically no legal right for you to stop criminals unless they're armed and facing you inside your house or place of business.

 

Wrong? Absolutely!! The law where we live? Unfortunately it is.

[ants]

When I took my handgun safety course the instructor told us that you can not shoot an intruder in your home unless they are using deadly force against you.

You have the right to defend yourself, or to defend someone else, against what you to believe to be the "imminent" use of deadly physical force. You don't have to wait until a person is actually using deadly physical force against you or someone else. If say an intruder was in you home and was unarmed. You order him at gun point, to leave and he advances towards you. I would consider that an attempt by the douche to disarm me and use the weapon against me or my family. "BANG"

[Doc]

As has already been said a few times, there has to be more to this story than what has been reported in this story. Nobody is required to demonstrate that they were in imminent danger by waiting until they or someone in their family is dead or wounded. That's just plain ridiculous and as wacked out as this country's legal system is, I sincerely doubt that people are under that kind of self defense definition. I believe what we have here is either faulty reporting, or reporting before all the facts have been discovered.

[nyantler]

So is this where we are heading? Are we supposed to just leave our well-being and the safety of our loved ones to the mercy of the thugs of this world. Well, that won't be happening in my home.

 

I say there is no excuse for a burglar to be inside my house. There is also no way for me to determine if they are armed. There is also no way for me to determine their mental state or whether or not they intend to do harm. So my approach is to level any threat that is within the walls of my home. I have always been of the assumption that that action is within my legal rights. Is there some reason why this guy has been singled out as one to be denied that right to self defense?

I would add that when it comes to my family I'm always going to err on the side of their safety... whether it means facing charges later or not... my family can visit me live in jail, the burglar's family can visit his grave at the cemetery.

[Terry]

Let's not forget he has only been charged, not found guilty...

[ants]

"Officer. I thought that he definitely was  going to kill me, my wife or my kids. ….I had to shoot. He was going to kill us" "I was in fear for my life and for the life of my family"