Shooting during home invasion was justified, county attorney says

[FarmerRick]

http://www.dealsomaha.com/article/20140310/NEWS/303119982/1687#shooting-during-home-invasion-was-justified-county-attorney-says


A fatal shooting during a home invasion on Saturday was justified, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Monday.

Kleine, who said a toxicology report will take a least a month to complete, gave the following account of what happened based on his discussions with police and his review of an autopsy performed Monday:

Ronald Green, 66, was at his home at 5104 N. 49th Ave. about 9 p.m. Saturday, watching the Creighton Bluejays' basketball game on television. Green heard someone trying to get in the front door. Green went to retrieve his revolver, which is licensed. When he returned, Ramon R. Matlock, 19, of Omaha, had kicked in the front door and was in the entryway.

Matlock swung at Green, landing a glancing blow to the face, Kleine said. Green then fired at Matlock, hitting him in the chest. Matlock turned away. Green fired a second shot. The second bullet went through Matlock's hip and broke the glass in the storm door.

Both shots were fired in the home, Kleine said.

Green called 911 and told the dispatcher to send a rescue squad.

“It's our opinion that Mr. Green's actions and use of deadly force were justified,” Kleine said. “He feared for his life.”


 ~  ~ ~ Read more at link ~ ~ ~

[jFader]

I was watching this one to see what happened....good for the homeowner defending himself & his home!

The question that I popped into my head is...

Was it decided that it was justified because of the 'disparity of force' between a strong young man & a senior citizen?  OR was it the fact that the intruder first swung on the homeowner?

Could it/Would it be argued by a overzealous prosecutor that 'he shouldn't have feared for his life because the perpetrator wasn't armed' ?

[FarmerRick]

I was watching this one to see what happened....good for the homeowner defending himself & his home!

The question that I popped into my head is...

Was it decided that it was justified because of the 'disparity of force' between a strong young man & a senior citizen?  OR was it the fact that the intruder first swung on the homeowner?

Could it/Would it be argued by a overzealous prosecutor that 'he shouldn't have feared for his life because the perpetrator wasn't armed' ?

We'll probably never know for sure. My guess would be simply not enough evidence for a conviction.

[landon410]

i was listening to chris baker in the not so distant past, and a guy called in talking about how police treat people.
The caller kept calling Chris Baker a "privileged Nebraskan" clearly implying being white makes one privileged, however what I was dying for Chris to say, is no one in his neighbor hood is shooting people.

The caller kept talking about "certain neighborhoods" the police treat pepole different, well yea.... certain neighborhoods in Omaha have the highest murder rate IN THE COUNTRY.....

maybe the city/cops/state are tried of this and are going to go to bat for the homeowners on these.

[bkoenig]

I was reading the comments on the KETV story about this case.  95% of them supported the homeowner, but it's amazing how there were people who actually thought he was wrong for defending himself.  According to them it's ok for thugs to kick in your door and beat you, but it's wrong for you to fight back.

[DenmanShooter]

This raised a couple concerns for me.

The gun was 'licensed"?  WTF so I went and looked it up.  Omaha has a really screwed up law on the books there.  "concealable firearm" has to be registered?  Unless you have a CCW?  What's the definition of concelable and how did that get on the books?   What is the penalty for having an unregistered pistol?   Omaha is F'd up. 

Second, the family is claiming the perp must have been drunk and disoriented.  Yeah, most drunks go around bashing in doors and slugging the occupants and it's perfectly acceptable.  Sounds like a gang inititiation or some other such to me.

Glad the guy won't be prosecuted and the County Atty sees it the way he does.

[jFader]

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/Suspect-In-Justified-Shooting-Sentenced-On-Gun-Charge-248413141.html?device=phone

Don Kleine doesn't seem 'out to get people' on self defense cases...
The link above was a case where the guy was not prosecuted for defending himself but rather for 'felon in possession'...I started feeling sorry for the guy because it was a drug charge from 20 years ago, then the moment was ruined when I read that it was also a stolen firearm..

Omaha does have some ridiculous laws that have apparently been on the books for a long time. Maybe its time to press Stothert on making some changes although I'm sure the OPD loves the extra hassle they create for law abiding citizens.

[RLMoeller]

Jean has been receptive to working with us on this.  The city council is our biggest obstacle at the moment, but I believe there are some things we may be able to do.

[NE Bull]

The gun was 'licensed"?  WTF so I went and looked it up.  Omaha has a really screwed up law on the books there.  "concealable firearm" has to be registered?  Unless you have a CCW?  What's the definition of concelable and how did that get on the books?   What is the penalty for having an unregistered pistol?   Omaha is F'd up. 

FYI:
For those new to the NFOA, We were instrumental in getting the CHP exemption put in place.
We (in partnership with SAF) also recently won a court case against the city of Omaha to allow Legal Permanent Residents  to be able to "register"/legally own handguns within the city.

I have been recently approached by folks from the Omaha Police Officer's Association for our help with a project of theirs. ( I will gather more info and make a separate post) But I think we MAY be able to negotiate a repeal of this registration process. 
I will not pretend to speak for the officers, but from following their FB page, I, too, believe as landon410, they have had enough and  while not promoting vigilante mobs, they are asking the community to keep an open eye, pay attention, contact police about suspicious activity, and "Always have a Plan B"  to protect yourself and family should the police not be able to arrive in time. 
 

[DenmanShooter]

FYI:
For those new to the NFOA, We were instrumental in getting the CHP exemption put in place.
We (in partnership with SAF) also recently won a court case against the city of Omaha to allow Legal Permanent Residents  to be able to "register"/legally own handguns within the city.

I have been recently approached by folks from the Omaha Police Officer's Association for our help with a project of theirs. ( I will gather more info and make a separate post) But I think we MAY be able to negotiate a repeal of this registration process. 
I will not pretend to speak for the officers, but from following their FB page, I, too, believe as landon410, they have had enough and  while not promoting vigilante mobs, they are asking the community to keep an open eye, pay attention, contact police about suspicious activity, and "Always have a Plan B"  to protect yourself and family should the police not be able to arrive in time. 
 

Excellent.  Thank you.  I would think the fact of having to have a handgun purchase permit would be enough to overcome the registration issue.  After all it has to be approved by the CLEO in a district.  Registration is waived for CCW which is a good thing. 

Thanks for the info and great job.

[Ronvandyn]

Excellent.  Thank you.  I would think the fact of having to have a handgun purchase permit would be enough to overcome the registration issue.  After all it has to be approved by the CLEO in a district.  Registration is waived for CCW which is a good thing. 

Thanks for the info and great job.

East Nebraska is a whole nother world.  Folks west of Lincoln may understand parts of why this is, some may not.  My first purchase in this state was quite a shock.  I have NEVER had to register a gun outside of California, and I have not lived there in more than 35 years.  Nearly 100 guns bought and sold since then.  I think I still have the last gun I purchased there in the safe.  Gonna have to get it out and see if it still shoots straight.

All that running back and forth to the PD, back to the seller, just to purchase a firearm?  NUTS!  Thank god for CCW's and Rod Moller!  I don't do firearms business in Omaha any more, Rod's place is more comfortable (needs more chairs!). 

Ron