We’re learning more details about a defensive gun use in San Jacinto, California that happened last Friday night and resulted in the death of a home intruder.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, 45-year-old Israel Martinez was shot and killed after firing a shotgun at the homeowner, who was visiting with neighbors when he heard screams and the sound of a gunshot coming from his home. The sheriff’s department said that Martinez’s girlfriend was also found about a half-mile away from the armed citizen’s home shortly afterwards, suffering injuries she allegedly received after Martinez assaulted her.
Now neighbors are providing more information about the confrontation between the homeowner and Martinez.
“His goal was to get his daughter out safely, regardless of what happened to him,” neighbor Robert Dorame said. “I’m shattered for them because they’re good people.”
… The family who lives at the home isn’t ready to speak out, but neighbors told KTLA that they, too, were home, and the ordeal was terrifying.
Neighbors said the father was hanging out with neighbors outside when his wife went inside to charge her phone. When she did, she reportedly came face-to-face with a man who had armed himself with guns he found inside the home. He allegedly then started shooting.
“From what I understand, the guy tried shooting at her as she started running,” Dorame said. “Then when she goes into the garage, she yelled out, ‘There’s a stranger in the house with a gun.'”
Her husband then attempted to get inside to save their daughter, who was also inside.
“The guy started loading up again. He got in there and the guy shot at Chris,” Dorame recalled. “He dropped, got up and he unloaded at him and got the guy down.”
He was then able to get his daughter out of the house unharmed.
… “He did more than just save his own family,” Dorame said. “Because if he didn’t take that guy down and that guy took him down, his next step was probably to come to one of our houses and unload because, at that point, he had a death wish. He didn’t care.”
Authorities still have no idea how Martinez ended up in the home. According to investigators, Martinez assaulted his girlfriend with a knife while they were in a car less than a mile from the residence, but it’s unclear why Martinez then made his way to the armed citizen’s home. According to police, there was no connection between Martinez and the homeowner, and it appears that he just randomly chose the home and made his way inside.
While there’s no doubt that the homeowner was justified in using lethal force to defend his family against the home invader, it’s possible that the Riverside County District Attorney could bring charges against him if it’s determined that his firearms were not stored in accordance with California law.
The state requires that all firearms be kept locked up or disabled using a CalDOJ-certified firearm safety device or a gun safe. I think one-size-fits-all storage mandates are unconstitutional, but the California law is actively enforced, and depending on the results of the sheriff’s investigation the homeowner could still find himself the target of a district attorney who wants to make an example out of him.
The penalty for a first offense is only a fine, thankfully, so even if the D.A. decides to go after the homeowner for storing his guns in a way they could be accessed by Martinez, he won’t be facing any jail time or the loss of his Second Amendment rights.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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