Crazy things happen everywhere, but they seem to happen more often and more crazily in Florida (though, dare I say we’ve all felt a reduction under Gov DeSantis’ leadership?). When you hear of a homeowner waking up to find a naked man trying to grab the resident’s cat (we did the dad joke in the headline; that’s all you get!), your thoughts naturally turn to the Sunshine State. Well, ours do at least.
Color us surprised, then, when we learned that this home invasion and armed response took place in Texas. Texas!
During a break-in, you expect to see a man in dark clothes and maybe a mask searching for your valuables. But the last thing you’d expect to see is a stark naked man traversing your living room. Perhaps, in this particular case, you’d actually hope for the dark clothes and mask?
You also wouldn’t expect to see him on a hunt for your pet cat instead of your TV. But this is just what happened.
kfdm.com has the story…
According to the sheriff, at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, a homeowner in the 190 Block of CR 4161 contacted the Newton County Dispatch Center and stated that he woke up and found an unidentified naked man inside his house. He described the intruder as a white male that appeared to be young, possibly in his early twenties. The homeowner further advised that the unidentified man tried to steal his cat. The homeowner reported that he fired a shot at the man that grazed his right forearm.
The man ran from the home and headed towards the nearby high school. Deputy Nash who had arrived to the scene saw him, chased him, and took him into custody.
The unidentified man was transported by EMS to a Beaumont hospital for treatment and was released into the custody of Newton County S.O. He’s in the Newton County Jail pending additional charges and arraignment.
Pets are considered property in most states, meaning owners can’t legally use force to protect them. Of course, since this happened in Texas, there’s more leeway for protecting property. Especially livestock, though, again, this wasn’t in Florida so I doubt he was milking his cat to make cheese. Additionally, Castle Doctrine can get touchy based on if the intruder was an imminent physical threat or not.
Do you believe it was legally justified?