Over the past 10 years I've had my vehicles ransacked a total of 12 times. Guilty parties were caught in the act 3 times and I was unable to get the DA to press charges.

It got to the point that I leave all my vehicles unlocked with nothing left inside that I care if it gets stolen....I still require the police come to the residence, write, and file a report.

If I do anything like kicking their ass, I am the one that would get my day in court charged with a crime
This country is going to hell in a hand basket

First off, police not enforcing, and/or prosecutors not prosecuting is BS.

Second off the best thing you can do to prevent this stuff is put in motion lights and keep yard well lit. After that is cameras. Criminals don't like to be seen criminaling.

Lock your stuff up, light your stuff up, and don't go chase someone breaking into your car. You are leaving whoever is inside unprotected and losing the advantage of the choke point created by a door or window. If you go outside you are changing it from a 10° field of view (danger) to 360°. Wait for the cops, a new iPod is way cheaper than a hospital, jail, or funeral.

This happened and may be relevant to the OP's question. Based on this, I would say the answer is NO.

A couple were in there motel room in St. Petersburg FL., not so great part of town. Granted this was close to 30 years ago. They were on vacation and leaving early in the morning. Outside their room were a couple of loud, belligerent drunks making noise preventing them from sleeping. The male occupant of the room looked out the window and saw 2 men, one very large. He wanted to say something to them but even though this man was trained in martial arts and in his prime, he did not like the odds if things went south. He had a pistol with him in his room so he tucked the pistol into the back of his boxer shorts as a form of backup. He opened the door, calmly and politely asked the two young urban troubadours if they could keep it down as he and his fiancée needed to get some sleep. This was very non-confrontational. The 2 guys were about 10'from the door. They immediately bristled and began to approach the open door. The motel guest, standing in the doorway pulled the gun out and just showed it to them, did not point it at them. The 2 yutes turned and tuck cover behind hind a car yelling "Gun! Call the cops" which they did at the hotel office. Of course one of them, the big fucker, must have had a previous relationship with the police because he split, not waiting around.

Meanwhile, the guest unloaded and put the gun away, waited to see if the cops would show so he could tell his side, which they did. After questioning both parties the motel guest was arrested, gun confiscated and he spent 24 hours in the Pinnelas County jail on a Friday night with many other bad hombres. While his anal hymen remained intact, word has it it was not a pleasant experience waiting for his $1,000 bond to post.

In the end, because of purely coincidental connections he happened to have with the prosecutor, the charges were dropped and the gun was returned albeit several months later.

Now the purpose of this antectdote is not to break down the actions (should have just shut the door, should have called the cops first etc) but to illustrate if you pull a gun on an unarmed person and are not in IMMEDIATE DANGER (though this person felt he was), you have committed assault with a deadly weapon.

Since my heavy involvement with guns in the past 10 years and CCW training, I've been of the mindset that if I am pulling a gun in a situation it is so that I can pull the trigger to defend myself or my family.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Where I work we have not had a car broken into in months...........now unlocked cars gone through and stuff stolen out of them, tons of those.

Exactly.

Simply locking your doors will prevent 95+% of car break-ins. (Okay, so I pulled that statistic straight out of my butt... But the percentage is extremely high.)

The scrotebags typically wander neighborhoods and parking lots, pulling on door handles until they find one that's unlocked. Smashing windows or jimmying locks to get inside is rare. Very rare.

quote:

You don't know the number of stolen cars we have had in the last year because people left their keys in the center console (usually in plain view) and left the car unlocked.

Yep. Plus all the guns stolen from unlocked cars.

The mind boggles.

Man, and to think I always considered the criminal justice system in Chicago the most corrupt and incompetent in the world. Maybe it's not so bad here after all. I have put HUNDREDS of people in jail for breaking into cars. One guy got 5 years for stealing a pack of gum. And no, I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say hundreds and a pack of gum. I'm shocked to hear that the criminal justice systems are worse somewhere else.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Man, and to think I always considered the criminal justice system in Chicago the most corrupt and incompetent in the world. Maybe it's not so bad here after all. I have put HUNDREDS of people in jail for breaking into cars. One guy got 5 years for stealing a pack of gum. And no, I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say hundreds and a pack of gum. I'm shocked to hear that the criminal justice systems are worse somewhere else.

I'd kill to be able to put someone in jail & have them stay there. Our new "crime bill" has reduced us up here to taxi service, I shit you not. 95% of the good people we take to jail now are, literally, out the front doors ROR before we finish the booking paperwork. Only reason to take them in is to get the COR on file so we can do it all again. This applies to almost all misdemeanors, including DUI (excludes DV assault, VCOR, and a couple of others). And felony drug possession? HAHAHAHA! That's gone. No such thing anymore. Theft? Needs to be at least $1000 for felony level now, and even then, with a first offense there is no jail time. It's out of control. The inmates are running the asylum, and they know it. All in the name of clearing out space in the jails, and focusing on "restorative justice". And guess who the scapegoats are for the rising crime? Yup....the cops. Out of control.

The original question pertains to making a “citizen” or “private” person arrest, so it’s important to know what the local/state laws are that pertain to such an act.

In Colorado private persons are authorized by law to arrest for crimes committed in their presence, and they’re permitted to use force to make the arrest. The statute clearly states, however, that deadly force is permitted only if there is a reasonable belief that it’s necessary to protect oneself or others against death or serious injury. So it’s obviously not justified if someone just runs away (and I know we’ve already covered that).

The question about pointing a gun is less clear, I believe. Just pointing a gun isn’t the use of deadly force (in my opinion), and therefore we might assume that that would be okay in Colorado, but I don’t know what an LEO or a court might think of that. Threatening someone with a gun without justification is a felony, and police deal with that sort of thing much more often than private person arrests. An officer might not be thinking of the latter and assume that the guy with the gun has committed the much more serious offense than stealing something from a car.

I believe that if someone was in that situation, it would be important to say, “I made a citizen’s arrest as authorized by state law, and had my gun out to protect myself from attack until you got here.” But of course that’s not any sort of legal advice, just an observation, and as always if it’s not necessary to display a weapon under the circumstances, it’s probably best not to display a weapon.

To reiterate, though, it’s vital to know the laws of your jurisdiction. What may be legal in one place could land you in jail in another.

In NC you can detain a suspect until the police arrive, but you must use reasonable force. So pointing a gun at some one might not be reasonable.

We prosecute car B&Es here. But they never get time.

Everyone has to remember that the system is staffed with a herd of liberal lawyers. A very few are conservative and they usually don't make too many waves, knowing they will be outcast or never win a case again.....

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Where I work we have not had a car broken into in months...........now unlocked cars gone through and stuff stolen out of them, tons of those.

Exactly.

Simply locking your doors will prevent 95+% of car break-ins. (Okay, so I pulled that statistic straight out of my butt... But the percentage is extremely high.)

The scrotebags typically wander neighborhoods and parking lots, pulling on door handles until they find one that's unlocked. Smashing windows or jimmying locks to get inside is rare. Very rare.

quote:

You don't know the number of stolen cars we have had in the last year because people left their keys in the center console (usually in plain view) and left the car unlocked.

Yep. Plus all the guns stolen from unlocked cars.

The mind boggles.

Recent headline from chief of police in nearby city last week, stating firearm larencies were the highest ever the past 4 months.
Same method by thieves, testing car doors, seeing if they were locked, and people leaving their guns in those unlocked vehicles.

Anyone leaving a gun unsecured in an unlocked vehicle deserves to have it stolen, just sadly, it may be used in a crime or bootlegged up to the NorthEast.

We need a skunk spray attachment that works off the cars security system.

Yes, and while you're holding them at gunpoint, put your foot on their neck and say "IF YOU MOVE ONE INCH I'M GONNA BLOW YOUR FACE OFF!!!!"

Very effective, and completely legal

I recall a huge rash of car break ins where I lived. It went on for 4 or 5 nights and, ended up being the same 2 guys, one middle aged male and a late teens male. At my companies' lot, the got a .357 Magnum revolver, a compound bow from a hunter, a chain saw and keys from a Chevy truck. Their little spree came to a close when they were doing cars in a theater parking lot across from our Sherriff Department and Jail barraks.

I'll add, they left a large j shaped gouge in my driver side glass, on my new Blazer. They didnt break it.

If they don't prosecute, remember that the DA is an elected position and they want to keep their jobs if not move up to a Judge someday.
Around here, breaking into cars would be unwise.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
I'll add, they left a large j shaped gouge in my driver side glass, on my new Blazer. They didnt break it.

That's just rude.

I am not going to point my gun at someone unless I am prepared to kill them and I am not going to kill someone for breaking into my unoccupied car. However, I would flip on my floodlights (my house will light up like a prison yard with one switch) and attempt to run them off. If they are armed and want to raise the level of aggression at that point, all bets are off, but I doubt that is the case for petty thieves. Like a pack of hyenas, they will run off and look for the next easy prey.

I understand the frustration with punks getting away with crime, but I am not prepared to go to jail for what would be considered an over-reaction in today's society.

quote:

Originally posted by NK402:
You need to be thinking ahead. What if he doesn't want to be held at gunpoint and runs away? Are you going to shoot him ?

Don't you know they ALWAYS run toward you with malcontent of great bodily injury or worse?
Of course you HAVE to shoot them ~ to save your or others life.

In Texas, it would probably be legal. And you'd probably get on the local news and an attaboy from the local sheriff.

As always with questions of law, you have to know the law in your state. These things can vary widely from state to state.

eThey just changed the laws here to prevent such nonsense. Now if you get a gun stolen from your vehicle, and it wasn't in a locked container, your the criminal. See, they totally fixed it!

But seriously, here where I live, if you decide to go confront a car burglar and you don't take a gun your stupid. I'm not advocating confronting burglars, but if you do, you have the right to use the least force nessessary to make a citizens arrest. Note I said "least force nessessary. Those three words might very well be decided by 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty for your criminal trial, and then again by 12 bleeding heart liberals at your civil trial.

So here's my advice. Know your local and state laws. If you decide the 12 million in gold and diamonds you've left in your car is worth risking your life, and your well trained in dealing with multiple suspects, make sure you call 911 before stepping out the door. make damn sure you tell the 911 dispatcher what your wearing and that your armed. Remember that your bringing a gun to what could otherwise be an unarmed encounter. In CA, someone offering to fight you is not a deadly force situation. If he says he's going to beat your ass and starts walking toward you, what will you do?

But to answer your question, at least here in CA, yes it legal to hold someone a gunpoint if they are stealing from you. Because your making a citizens arrest, AND you know these people are often armed/ninjas/multiple suspect types right?

Put a mannequin in the back seat wearing a hockey mask and holding a bloody machete, if they still break into your car you probably didn't want to confront them anyway.