OK, so here's the scenario: I live downtown in a loftaminium. We have a homeless shelter 1/2 a mile down the road, and the walking traffic that passes us daily is not what I'd consider "model citizen" candidates. Anyway, a few months ago, a homeless guy passed me in our secured hallway, going up the stairs, towards the condos. It seemed odd at the time, middle of the day, but I figured one of my neighbors had enlisted some day labor help and let him in. 30 minutes later, I had to go down to the garage to get something out of my car, and here is this guy snooping around. At that point I knew he was up to no good. So I asked him what he was doing there. He answered something unintelligible, and I told him he needed to leave. He proceeded to get belligerent with me, giving me some BS story and telling me I needed to pay him some money or he wasn't going to leave. Something wasn't right with this guy - drugs, mental illness, whatever, but all I knew was he wasn't in Kansas anymore, so to speak. So I told him again, in no uncertain terms he needed to leave. I wasn't armed at the time (last time BTW), so I told him I was going to call the police. I sprinted up the stairs to get my gun and cell phone. When I got back, he had left.
Turns out the dirt bag had slept on my neighbors rooftop deck and had made a mess of the place. Apparently I had caught him as he was leaving. Our entire condo is secure with door codes to access the property. We have no idea how he got in. He went all through our building - the rooftop access is way in the back and I caught him in the front. Anyway, I guess I did the right thing, because he left, but it still has me wondering; what if I had been armed at the time? What if he had been armed? It was a situation where I can fully imagine pulling a weapon on him had I had one at the time. I suppose, upon seeing a gun, he would have left immediately, but who knows? Like I said, he wasn't "right".
What would you have done? What would you have done if you were armed at the time? What does the law say about this? Does the castle doctrine apply to the common areas of a condo?
Turns out the dirt bag had slept on my neighbors rooftop deck and had made a mess of the place. Apparently I had caught him as he was leaving. Our entire condo is secure with door codes to access the property. We have no idea how he got in. He went all through our building - the rooftop access is way in the back and I caught him in the front. Anyway, I guess I did the right thing, because he left, but it still has me wondering; what if I had been armed at the time? What if he had been armed? It was a situation where I can fully imagine pulling a weapon on him had I had one at the time. I suppose, upon seeing a gun, he would have left immediately, but who knows? Like I said, he wasn't "right".
What would you have done? What would you have done if you were armed at the time? What does the law say about this? Does the castle doctrine apply to the common areas of a condo?