Indiana Self-Defense: Man stands his ground during burglary :: 04/04/2018

MARSHALL, Ind. (WTHI) - A string of burglaries happened in Marshall, Indiana late last week.

One homeowner took matters into his own hands by firing shots at one of the suspects. Nobody was hurt during the incident.

However, it prompted the Parke County Sheriff's Office to make a Facebook Post concerning the "Stand Your Ground" law.

Wednesday, News 10 spoke to Carl Huxford, who has lived in Marshall, Indiana for 14 years. He and his other neighbors were victims of the recent burglary. Huxford says his vehicle and his son’s vehicle were burglarized.

Huxford shares, “My other neighbor said that he looked out, he saw the boy crouched underneath his car with a gun in his hand. And he said, ‘I didn't want to shoot the boy over what was going on.’"

However, Huxford did have another neighbor that when he realized what was happening, took matters into his own hands by firing off shots.

Huxford says, "He was defending his space. I think he did the right thing."

So that brings up the question, ‘What rights do homeowners have to protect their property?’

Parke County Sheriff Justin Cole says, "If it’s an open field, that’s not included, if it’s a barn that sits way back of your property, then that’s not included. If it’s your vehicle that unoccupied then you’re not covered under that self-defense right either. It's got to be within your curtilage, it's got to be nearby buildings or your home. Sometimes if you have a fence, it's within your fence. So, there are grey areas."

As a homeowner, hearing there are "grey areas" can sound scary. But, Cole says it just means each situation is different.

Sheriff Cole says, "Every case of self-defense is fact sensitive, so it can be open for legal debate. So if somebody does choose to take that step, then they should also be prepared, they may have to defend their actions of what they did, and there could be consequences if they weren't within the law."

Knowing that the “Stand Your Ground” law is in place, Huxford says if he was in his neighbor's shoes, he probably would've done the same thing.

Huxford says, "We've got a right to our space and to our defense and if someone invades our privacy we've got a right to defend ourselves."

Despite this incident, Huxford says he still feels safe living in the small community.

Huxford shares, "I always feel safe. My door's unlocked, my car was unlocked, it still is. It's a safe community, it was just an isolated incident. "

We want to hear from you, how familiar are you with the “Stand Your Ground” law?

http://www.wthitv.com/content/news/Man-stands-his-ground-during-burglary-478810253.html