AC unit theft

[sld]

Slightly off topic, but my buddy used thieves to his advantage one time.

He had bought a new tv and put the old one back in the new box and left the box in the back of his pickup. Some stupid thief stole it.:laughing:

 

[2manyrocks]

:thumbsup:

 

[Taylortractornut]

Its mandatory here with all the big scrappers for the 3 day wait on copper sales. Some times on aluminum to. Alot of them though are taken to mom and pop dealers that that take right to Birmingham or other central locations. Ive done some repair work for one such outfit. They always pay cash. They do issue a receipt based on the 3 day wait. and also they pay a smaller pay out for taking the metal. I know of 5 or six folks that make it a point to take it there.

 

[dmccarty]

They do things a little different in Texas. From Texas statutes.
PENAL CODE**CHAPTER 9. JUSTIFICATION EXCLUDING CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

...

Burglars beware!

Just be aware that just because the statute says you can do something does not mean you should. Back in the 80s FLA had a statute that allowed a homeowner to use deadly force to prevent theft. A man came home to his house and found a thief leaving with the homeowners TV set. The home owner shot the thief.

The DA prosecuted the home owner even though he was backed up the statute. The home owner won the case but he surely lost the war with his legal bills and stress. I doubt the cost of the TV covered more than an hour or two of Lawyer time.

A similar case occurred in NC a few years after the FLA case. A homeowner caught two teenagers in his garage looking to steal his motorcycle. The homeowner shot one or both of them and I think one died. One of the problems for the home owner was that he shot them in the back. Again the homeowner was not convicted but I bet he just wished they had stolen the bike. It would have been cheaper and a lost less stressful. If he had a different jury he easily could have gone to prison for many years. I can't remember what happened with the civil case.

There have been a few deadly force incidents in the last year or so in my area. I was surprised when the DAs did not press charges. By the letter of the law the home owners were danged lucky to not get charged. If they had been living in a different county I think they would have been charged. Different county being a neighboring county.

Frankly if you have to use deadly force you better have a clear and convincing reason that you can articulate to the officers, DA, possibly the Grand Jury and jury. And the reason had better be that your life or someone else was in danger. Anything less is likely to be problematic

Later,
Dan

 

[JohninCT]

Just be aware that just because the statute says you can do something does not mean you should. Back in the 80s FLA had a statute that allowed a homeowner to use deadly force to prevent theft. A man came home to his house and found a thief leaving with the homeowners TV set. The home owner shot the thief.

The DA prosecuted the home owner even though he was backed up the statute. The home owner won the case but he surely lost the war with his legal bills and stress. I doubt the cost of the TV covered more than an hour or two of Lawyer time.

A similar case occurred in NC a few years after the FLA case. A homeowner caught two teenagers in his garage looking to steal his motorcycle. The homeowner shot one or both of them and I think one died. One of the problems for the home owner was that he shot them in the back. Again the homeowner was not convicted but I bet he just wished they had stolen the bike. It would have been cheaper and a lost less stressful. If he had a different jury he easily could have gone to prison for many years. I can't remember what happened with the civil case.

There have been a few deadly force incidents in the last year or so in my area. I was surprised when the DAs did not press charges. By the letter of the law the home owners were danged lucky to not get charged. If they had been living in a different county I think they would have been charged. Different county being a neighboring county.

Frankly if you have to use deadly force you better have a clear and convincing reason that you can articulate to the officers, DA, possibly the Grand Jury and jury. And the reason had better be that your life or someone else was in danger. Anything less is likely to be problematic

Later,
Dan

Agree with most everything you said Dan. Most states do not allow use of deadly force to protect or recover ones property (arson is a notable exception). The purpose of my post was not to comment on the morality or the judgement of the shooting of the burglars but to point out the legality in Texas where a similar AC theft incident occurred. The Texas law is truly different than most states in allowance for use of deadly force in protecting property including preventing a burglar from fleeing which is an absolute NO NO in most other states.

So, I'll revise my conclusion just a bit.. In Texas burglars beware. In other places maybe not so much.