By WUSA 9
Lesli Foster:
Now to a topic that will likely spark some conversation. Is it legal to shoot someone who breaks into your house? That's the question investigators in Marilyn are looking into right now. A father of two was shot to death over the weekend for trying to get into someone's house. His wife says it was all a big mix up. Ger Lehan explains and breaks down the law where you live.
Bruce:
Ring doorbells have captured all kinds of scary things. On video, early Sunday morning in Howard County, one captured the death of Gary Espinoza, a father of two.
Wife:
It's just a horrible, horrible mistake.
Bruce:
His wife says. The Herndon business owner must have become disoriented at a pool party in Maryland.
Wife:
Gary is the best husband, father, wonderful person, not violent.
Bruce:
Howard County Police say The video shows Espinoza banging on the front door of Charles Dorsey's home, shouting profanities and yelling. I'm going to blank you up. Dorsey yells for him to leave. ESP Espinoza jostle the door handle. The door is released and Dorsey screams. He pushed the door open, he pushed the door open and opens fire.
Wife:
I think that he thought that the homeowner was our friend. It was just playing a joke on him like head locked the door and was messing
Bruce:
With the old saying is, your home is your castle. But lawyers say the reality is that the rules on self-defense vary from state to state and go from one extreme to the other. All the states in green, including Virginia, have stand your ground laws either in theory or in practice. Even when you're outside your house in Maryland, you have a right to use reasonable force to defend your home. If you have a reasonable fear that someone is about to commit a crime in DC and in Vermont, you have a duty to retreat even inside your house. If you can, in the Howard County case legal experts say, the prosecutor may well end up turning to a grand jury to decide if the Castle doctrine applies. Bruce Leche, WUSA.
Also check the GunLaws Gun Laws in DC | Joseph A. Scrofano