A homeowner on Brayton Road in the city of Greece, New York, found himself in a pulse-pounding situation on Monday at 4:30 in the morning. It was then that he woke up to a burglary in progress, with the burglar inside his home. Instead of panicking, however, the homeowner used one well-aimed shot from his firearm to end the burglary and stop the threat, shooting the intruder.
The Greece Police Department officers arrived at the home after receiving a burglary in progress call and, once there, identified Rochester resident Christopher McManus, 25, as the burglary suspect. The homeowner’s gunshot struck him in his lower body and he was taken to the hospital to receive care for the injury, which was described as non-life-threatening.
The Greece Police Department posted about the incident on Facebook, saying, “Early this morning, @GreecePoliceNY responded to a burglary in progress on Brayton Road. After being attacked by the suspect, the homeowner shot the male with a legally owned firearm. Please see the media release for more information.”
In the attached press release, the Greece Police Department said:
On April 244, 2023, at approximately 4:30 a.m., officers responded to the 300 block of Brayton Road for the reported burglary in progress, where the homeowner shot the intruder. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect, 25-year-old Christopher McManus, inside the home with a single gunshot wound to his lower body. McManus was transported to the University of Rochester Medical Center with non -life threatening injuries.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the homeowner was asleep when he heard noises, indicating somebody had broken in. The homeowner retrieved his legally owned firearm, at which time McManus attacked him. The homeowner fired a single shot during the attack, striking McManus in the lower body.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division conducted the investigation into this incident and have charged Christopher McManus, a Rochester resident, with Burglary in the first degree, Assault in the second degree, Criminal Mischief in the second degree, and Petit Larceny. McManus is being held pending arraignment.
The homeowner’s actions appear to be in self-defense of himself and his home and will be referred to the Monroe Count District Attorney’s Office for further review.
Tilem & Associates, a New York law firm, described when force may be used in self-defense in New York, saying:
Under New York Law, Penal Law §35.15, a person is justified in using physical force against another when that person is under the reasonable belief that the physical force is necessary to defend the person or another person from what the person reasonably believes to be the illegal imminent use of force or the illegal use of force. There are certain exceptions to this general principle including “combat by agreement, or instances where the person seeking to use the defense was the initial aggressor or provoked the attack.
Note that the term reasonably is used twice. In order to be able to successfully use the defense of justification, both your belief that force is being used or is about to be used and your belief that your use of physical force is necessary to stop the attack must be reasonable under the circumstances.
The above rule only applies to the use of physical force. Deadly physical force which is the type of force that is capable of causing a serious physical injury or death is not permitted unless a person reasonable believes that deadly physical force is being used or is about to be used on himself, herself or a third person. Even in such a situation however, the law imposes on a person a duty to retreat before he or she can resort to using deadly physical force if they can retreat with complete safety.
However, the homeowner here will likely benefit from New York’s castle doctrine, which provides that there is no duty to retreat if someone is in your home and that you can use deadly force to defend your home, including in cases of burglary. So, even with New York’s somewhat tougher hurdle for when deadly physical force is allowed, it would appear the homeowner here is likely in the legal clear.
"*" indicates required fields