Whether this case gains any traction with the press remains to be seen. Missoula, MT, is a little off the beaten path and is unlikely to jump out on the national radar but it has some curious wrinkles. Here’s the story, which is obviously still developing (http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/missoula-man-charged-with-shooting-gets-death-threats/article_e48abe1c-6785-5ce7-b4ab-cf1ffc906c7c.html).
A quick synopsis: A 29-year-old guy, recently relocated to Missoula with his girlfriend and infant child, have their home burgled twice in the last couple of months. The guy’s reportedly pissed at the Missoula PD for not getting to excited about the whole thing and decides he’s going to be a tad more proactive. He sets up an alarm system around the home with some security cameras and here’s where it gets a little sticky. His girlfriend has reportedly admitted she salted a purse with some readily traceable items and left it in the garage with the door open, presumably to bait the thieves into stealing something that would allow them to be identified if they attempted to pawn the items. Additionally, the man reportedly told a neighbor he’d been sitting up several nights in a row, hoping to catch the thieves and, if necessary, shoot “some ****in’ kid.”
Well, the plan worked. Last Saturday night the alarms go off, he sees someone in the garage on the video camera, and heads out with a shotgun. The shooter has told police he was in fear for his life and swept the garage with four shots without giving any verbal warning. And took the head off of a 17-year-old high school exchange student from Germany attending his junior year at a local Missoula high school. There was apparently another individual in the driveway, as yet unidentified, who fled the scene.
The shooter has been charged with deliberate homicide. His attorney is suggesting they will use Montana’s “Stand Your Ground” law as a defense. And the predictable shit storm has commenced, with some elected officials calling for a repeal or revision of the law while others are insisting the case is in its preliminary stages and it’s too early to make any judgements about the law. Regardless, the age of the deceased and the fact that he was a foreign exchange student is sure to muddy the waters. Local news are already running stories about what a great kid the deceased was, a talented soccer player, active in school activities, and generally well-liked and popular.
Obviously the kid had no business in this guy’s garage in the middle of the night and, once they find the other party that fled the scene, I suspect it’s going to come out that they were planning to rip the guy off (although that’s pure conjecture on my part). But setting out “bait” for the thieves, knowing there’s a person in the garage, and just hosing it down with a shotgun without so much as a “Hey, Mother****er!” is starting to venture into a pretty gray area, at least by my reckoning.
Anyway, could be an interesting case.
