From what some say, a home burglary has a heavy psychological impact on the victims. That being the case, a home invasion must be devastating.
So what does someone do if their home is being invaded? Not long ago I asked a local police lieutenant in front of a small audience how an armed homeowner would know whether a commotion at the front door was a home invasion or the SWAT team. The answer: you don't know.
So the homeowner is faced with a serious dilemma. Shoot or surrender. And that choice is a life or death decision as the SWAT team would surely prevail, but a home invasion might be repelled.
Now I don't sit around worrying about this as the likelihood of the SWAT team assault at the wrong address is fairly remote. But it happens.
In Lufkin, Texas, the police raided the residence of Marco Sauceda, a 30 year old who, according to his lawyer, did not speak English and had the mind of a child. Apparently, a neighbor had reported an attempted burglary, so the cops barged in. Sauceda locked himself in the bathroom and refused to come out, i.e., he resisted arrest. So they charged him with resisting arrest.
The prosecutor probably argued to the jury that if they believed that he did resist arrest with the full intent to do just that, then the jury must find him guilty. The jury did convict him, but they sent out a plaintive note to the judge saying this:
“We’ve all reached a verdict. To us we feel he has been wronged. Please consider that in his sentencing.”
If there was ever a case that would justify jury nullification, this certainly seems like one, but apparently that did not occur to the jury members. And the judge slapped Saucedo with a $500 fine and sentenced him to 30 days in the slammer. LufkinDailyNews.com.
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