Category: Law & Order

Personal Defense Tip: The Castle Doctrine Isn’t Absolute.

As part of January’s general grab-bag of weirdness, a Texas man is being charged with murder after he shot an armed home intruder. I know what you’re thinking: What about the castle doctrine? Not to mention it’s Texas. So what’s going on?

The comment section on the rather vague news reports are filled with opinionated social media experts claiming this guy will be out in no time and that he should totally sue local law enforcement for wrongful imprisonment. So, what’s the truth?

The truth is the castle doctrine isn’t absolute. That means you can’t do whatever the heck you feel like in your own home. Rules, people…there are rules.

Disclaimer: As always, please remember that I’m not an attorney and this isn’t legal advice. It’s simply information (and a dose of supposition) based on experience.

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Don’t do what Mr. Griffin did.

Criminal defense attorney explains manslaughter charges after suspected burglar killed

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A man has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after admitting to police that he shot a burglary suspect.

This happened on Robin Hood Lane in Memphis this Thursday. Marques Griffin, 30, told police he heard a noise in his apartment and found a man in his living room.

According to MPD, Griffin followed the intruder outside and fired three shots as the man ran away.

The suspected burglar died at the hospital.

Phil Harvey, the owner of Harvey Criminal Defense Lawyers, said that based on Griffin’s charges, MPD and the DA’s office decided he did not have a legitimate self-defense claim.

“If it’s true that Mr. Griffin shot someone outside of the home, then there’s a question of whether or not that self-defense statute applies,” said Harvey.

Harvey said Tennessee does not have a “Stand Your Ground” law.

He said the self-defense statute is written to apply when the victim is in their home and responding to a threat who is also inside or actively coming in.

“The standard ‘no duty to retreat’ part of that statute simply says you have to have a reasonable fear of what they call ‘imminent danger,’” said Harvey.

Harvey said that means that for deadly force to be considered self-defense, the victim has to be under an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury.

Harvey said there is established case law on this type of incident.

“Tennessee v. Garner… It’s a 1985 case. A U.S. Supreme Court case that came out of Tennessee that actually dealt with whether or not police can shoot a fleeing felon. And in that case, it dealt with a burglary suspect who was running away and was shot by the police. And the federal courts decided that it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment,” said Harvey.

Griffin remains behind bars on a $50,000 bond and is slated to reappear in court on Monday.

Police Search for TWO Persons of Interest in Brown University Shooting

As the search for the Brown University shooter who killed two students and injured multiple others drags on, police are now searching for a second person of interest in connection with the shooting.

Fox News reported Wednesday that the “mystery deepens” as police continue to insist they have no identity for a potential suspect. Now, Providence Police are asking for help with an individual “in proximity of the person of interest,” as seen below.

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FBI stops planned New Year’s Eve Los Angeles bombing by ‘anti-capitalist,’ anti-ICE terror cell

WASHINGTON — The FBI arrested five members of an “anti-capitalist, anti-government” extremist group on Friday and charged them with an alleged plot to carry out coordinated bombings in and around Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, according to officials and a criminal complaint.

The “credible, imminent terrorist threat” to five unidentified companies’ logistics centers in Southern California came from radical members of an offshoot of the left-wing Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), FBI Director Kash Patel and other law enforcement officials revealed Monday.

The splinter group called themselves the Order of the Black Lotus and passed along an “eight-page, handwritten document titled ‘OPERATION MIDNIGHT SUN’” that laid out the bombing plot to a confidential FBI source, according to a criminal complaint filed Saturday in Los Angeles federal court.

Four of the suspects were collared in Lucerne Valley in the Mojave Desert, where they were captured on video attempting to test improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Los Angeles first assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli told reporters at a news conference.
The quartet — Audrey Ilene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41 — have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. A fifth unidentified suspect was arrested in New Orleans while planning a separate attack.

Carroll and Page led the group and convened a private Signal chat where they used codenames, with Carroll identified as “Asiginaak,” Page identified as “Ash Kerrigan” or “cthulu’s daughter,” Gaffield as “Nomad” and Lai as “Kickwhere.”

The group had begun assembling the “complex pipe bombs” with “homemade gunpowder” in the desert when FBI agents arrested them on Dec. 12.

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When Seconds Counted, St. Louis Police Were Hours Away

A St. Louis woman was held at gunpoint and assaulted in her apartment for several hours this past weekend, and though a neighbor heard her cries for help and called 911, police didn’t respond until after the victim was able to get to a phone hours later.

25-year-old Miles Faris is facing charges of first-degree kidnapping, second- and third-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon, and multiple drug charges, but police have not been able to take him into custody because he fled the apartment before officers arrived on scene.

In court documents, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department acknowledged there was a call reporting a woman screaming in the apartment where the incident happened, but “due to a high level of calls that night, police were not able to respond to that call.”

The victim said he then told the woman he would kill her, her family and her friends, and told her to Facetime her mother to say goodbye. He chambered a round and held the gun to her head, reiterating that he was going to kill her, police said.

The victim recorded some of the incident on her phone, including video that showed Faris pointing the gun at her multiple times while appearing “heavily intoxicated.” Faris also said he wanted to bash the woman’s skull in, and that if she didn’t wake up in the morning, he would be the No. 1 suspect, according to charging documents.

According to a police spokesperson, police officers in the area had 27 separate calls for service between 5 and 8 p.m. last Saturday, with one of them involving shots fired. The spokesman told KSDK-TV that the original 911 call from the neighbor didn’t include any information about weapons being involved or a potentially life-threatening situation taking place, so it was essentially put on the back burner in favor of calls that were deemed more important.

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That smartphone, in fact any cell phone, in your pocket, doesn’t have to have the GPS activated for it, and thus you, to be tracked. That also applies to all these modern cars with any sort of ‘connectivity’ even if a subscription for some of the services has been paid for.
Just saying.
That’s how they tracked down this guy and also one of the ways they tracked down the murderer of the college students in Idaho 3 years ago.

Brown University shooting: What to know about person in custody

A person of interest is in custody after a gunman opened fire at Brown University over the weekend, killing at least two people and wounding nine others, officials announced.

Providence Police Department Chief Col. Oscar Perez said Sunday that the individual detained is a man in his 20s. Authorities are not currently searching for anyone else in the case.

The attack took place one day earlier at the Providence, Rhode Island, school at about 4 p.m., law enforcement said, prompting a shelter-in-place order that forced students and faculty to spend the night on campus.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley later told reporters that of the nine people shot, one has been discharged, one remained in critical condition and the other seven victims were in stable condition.

Officials have not yet released the names of those who were killed. Smiley also said that not all of the victims’ families have been notified as of early Sunday afternoon.

Law enforcement was still reviewing surveillance footage, coordinating with prosecutors, collecting evidence and speaking to witnesses on Sunday to gather more information about the suspected shooter, Perez explained.

Here’s what we know so far about the person in custody in connection to the Brown shooting, including where he was reportedly detained:

Who is person of interest in Brown University shooting?

Police have released few details about the person of interest, aside from confirming the man is in his 20s. Authorities initially described the shooting suspect as a man who wore all black.

No charges had been announced in connection to the case as of Sunday afternoon, and Perez told reporters the person detained has not yet been named a suspect in the shooting.

“It takes time, we have to make sure we have all the right evidence to prosecute,” Perez said during an afternoon press conference.

Gov. Daniel James McKee asked the nation to pray for the victims, their families and all those involved.

“The community is suffering and in pain,” McKee said during the press conference. “We stand with you.”

Where was the person taken into custody?

The person detained was taken into custody early in the morning at a hotel in Coventry, according to an update from the FBI. Coventry is located in Kent County, about 16 miles southwest of Brown,

FBI Director Kash Patel said law enforcement used cellular data to track the person of interest to a hotel room where he was detained by US Marshals and Providence police, based off a tip from the Coverntry Police Department.

The person, local  WJAR-TV reported, was apprehended at the Hampton Inn there.

@FBIBoston established a command post to intake, develop and analyze leads, and run them to ground.

We activated the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, to provide critical geolocation capabilities.

As a result, early this morning, FBI Boston’s Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the @USMarshalsHQ & the @Coventry_RI_PD, detained a person of interest in a hotel room in Coventry, RI, based off a lead by the @ProvidenceRIPD .

We have deployed local and national resources to process and reconstruct the shooting scene – providing HQ and Lab elements on scene.

We set up a digital media intake portal to ingest images and video from the public related to this incident.

And the FBI’s victim specialists are fully integrating with our partners to provide resources to victims and survivors of this horrific violence.

This FBI will continue an all out 24/7 campaign until justice is fully served.

Thanks to the men and women of the FBI and our partners for their continued teamwork. Please continue praying for the victims and their families – as well as all those at Brown University.

A follow-up to an earlier post.

Charges filed against man shot by manager during Murray jewelry store robbery

MURRAY — Criminal charges were filed Thursday against an Oregon man who police say attempted to rob a jewelry store in Murray and ended up being shot by a store manager.

Beyker Villegas, 22, of Redmond, Oregon, is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies.

On Nov. 25, two men walked into Sierra-West Jewelers, 6190 S. State. One man “was wearing a long black wig, and the other had a scruffy brown wig, fake mustache and beard,” according to charging documents. Both were wearing dark jackets and matching black and red plaid pants.

As the assistant manager asked if he could help, Villegas “pulled a gun,” the charges state. The manager attempted to press the silent alarm, but Villegas pulled him to the middle of the floor.

“(The assistant manager) was unable to understand the suspects because they were yelling in Spanish. Villegas kicked him in the leg and gestured to the ground,” according to the charging documents.

As the men attempted to duct tape a woman also working at the store, the assistant manager grabbed his concealed firearm and fired a round into the ground. That prompted both Villegas and his partner to try and get the gun away from him, the charges say.

“(The assistant manager) shot another round toward Villegas. As the suspects ran outside, (he) hit Villegas in the head several times with his firearm. (The assistant manager) attempted to stop the suspects from leaving, but they were able to get in their vehicle and dragged (him) with the car as they backed up,” according to the charges.

Not long after the men drove away, a man with a gunshot wound to his abdomen was dropped off at an urgent care center in Sandy. Employees at the clinic called the police. Villegas was transferred to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray for further treatment. He was released over the weekend and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.

Prosecutors say police are still working to identify the second man in the robbery who was able to get away.

Villegas has family in Oregon, but prosecutors say he “is also a citizen of Venezuela. He currently has a federal detainer, and if not held, he could be deported or transferred to other custodial facilities.” They are requesting that he be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail pending trial.

 Alleged yuppie jihadis, 19, from Montclair, NJ, plotted Boston bombing-style attack, planned to join ISIS: feds

Two upper-crust student athletes from tony Montclair, New Jersey, are accused of participating in an ISIS-inspired terror ring — with one of the suspects allegedly plotting a Boston bombing-style attack, the feds said Wednesday.

Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzel and Milo Sedarat, both 19, were arrested on Tuesday, with both teens living in $1 million-plus Victorian houses in the manicured New York City suburb.

The accused yuppie jihadis both grew up in privilege before allegedly turning to ISIS.

Milo Sedarat holding up a red, white, and black Air Jordan sneaker.
Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzal and Milo Sedarat (above), both 19, were arrested Tuesday and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group.

Jimenez-Guzel’s mother, Meral Guzel, serves as head of the United Nation’s Women’s Entrepreneurship program, and Sedarat’s father, Roger Sedarat, is an award-winning Iranian American poet and a professor at Queens College in New York City.

Guzel has been with the UN for more than a decade working on women empowerment projects, according to her LinkedIn account, with the mother previously working in the finance sector.

Roger Sedarat, who teaches poetry and literary translation for Queens College’s MFA program, is best known for his works celebrating the written history of his father’s native Iran and Persian poetry.

Neither parent could be reached for comment on Wednesday.

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My latest Substack essay: The Insurrection Act: A short guide to President Trump’s options.

With resistance to ICE in many blue cities, there’s been a lot of talk about Trump invoking the Insurrection Act. There are other, lesser statutes that he can employ, but this is the big gun. It intentionally gives the President enormous freedom and power to put down resistance to the law.

This is the relevant part of the Insurrection Act:

§252. Use of militia and armed forces to enforce Federal authority

Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion.

So first, it’s discretionary to employ: “Whenever the President considers.” This language leaves no room for judicial review, by design; it’s up to the President to determine when the predicates for invoking the Act apply. Second, this phrase, “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings,” seems to fit perfectly with what’s going on in places like Portland or Chicago.

Third, discretionary language again: “as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion.”

It’s entirely up to the President under the statute. You may think it’s a bad idea — I’m not so sure it is, because I don’t think it’s a good idea for state and local governments to have a veto on federal law enforcement actions — but it’s entirely lawful. And, properly understood, not subject to judicial review. (The Insurrection Act, once triggered, also overrides the Posse Comitatus Act’s prohibition on using the military for law enforcement purposes.)

Invoking the Insurrection Act wouldn’t be unprecedented — it’s been done thirty times in the history of the Republic, or a bit less than once every 8 years. A state actively resisting federal authority could be met with the full power of the U.S. military — and the President could even recognize a competing, alternative state government. There’s no meaningful opportunity for judicial review under the Insurrection Act as its invocation is a “political question” and hence non-justiciable. (The same is true, as the Supreme Court held almost 200 years ago, in the case of Luther v. Borden, of recognizing one of two competing state governments as the legitimate government of a state).

“Political question” just means that the decision is left to one or both of the political branches of the government, leaving no room for judicial resolution. There is discipline, just not judicial discipline; instead it comes ultimately from voters.

And invocation of the Insurrection Act carries a special political resonance, though how much of one depends on how it is used. Using it to send troops to Portland to control a mob isn’t likely to be too controversial. Using it to replace the government of California, or to support a breakaway state of “New California,” would be more so.

Unless pushed, I don’t think Trump will go very far with this. Politically, it suits him to have Democrats, who yammered about “insurrection” for the past several years, acting loudly insurrectionary. And he seems to be able to accomplish a lot with threats — a threat to send the National Guard in to Chicago produced a sudden flurry of action from the Illinois State Police.

As Clay Whitehead used to say, the value of the Sword of Damocles is that it hangs, not that it falls. That may be the case here, too. But if the sword of the Insurrection Act falls, it can fall very heavy indeed.

13 arrested, four police officers injured in violent Boston Common protest: ‘Completely despicable.’

Thirteen people were arrested Tuesday night in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent on the Boston Common and left four police officers injured, including some with broken bones, according to officials.

Protesters “turned on police” at approximately 6:50 p.m. when they began to move from the Common to the area of Tremont and Winter streets, Boston Police said.

“At that time, protesters turned on police, kicking a marked cruiser, assaulting officers, blocking traffic, and setting off devices causing red smoke in the air,” Boston Police spokesman Sgt. Det. John Boyle said in a Tuesday night statement.

Protesters scuffle with officers at Chicago anti-ICE demonstration

Eight men and five women were placed under arrest. No one had been booked as of shortly before 9 p.m.

Four police officers were injured in connection with the incident. Two officers were taken to local hospitals for treatment. Police have preliminary reports of officers with broken bones, but all injuries are considered non-life-threatening, Boyle said.

“Another night of violence against police officers in Boston tonight,” said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.

“Our officers were attacked, assaulted and sent to the hospital with injuries. Completely despicable and totally unacceptable. We were outnumbered and understaffed for the event,” he continued.

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10 US Code Chapter §252  (the Insurrection Act)

“Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion.”

Something to be aware of for those of us who do carry.

Overturn of Montana Man’s Conviction Illustrates Issue With Gun-Free School Zones

The Bruen decision left the door open on “sensitive places” that can be gun-free zones. Places like courthouses, for example.

For a lot of people, schools should definitely be on that list. I’m not so sure, but I can accept that some people disagree with me. They have a right to be wrong, after all, especially since we know that the gun-free zone thing doesn’t seem to keep bad people from carrying them onto the campus anyway.

But a case in Montana, where a man’s conviction was just overturned, highlights one major issue with gun-free school zones.

See, the issue isn’t just the schools, but a perimeter around the schools, and that’s what got him arrested.

A man who was convicted in federal court of firearms violations after menacing neighbors and an elementary school in Billings by carrying guns and patrolling the neighborhood has had his conviction overturned in a split decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a ruling earlier this week, the panel of three appellate judges said that Gabriel Metcalf’s conviction should be overturned because he offered a plausible interpretation and understanding of federal gun law, even while acknowledging that federal district court judge Susan Watters had a more straightforward and traditional definition of the law.

The majority opinion, written by Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a former Montana Solicitor General, noted that Metcalf appears to be the only person to test whether Montana’s open carry gun law complied with the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. In his appeal, Metcalf also raised concerns that his conviction also violated his Second Amendment rights, but the appellate court stopped short of deciding that issue, ruling instead that Metcalf’s interpretation of the law was plausible, and therefore he could not have known he was violating federal law.

Judge Mary M. Schroeder issued a dissenting opinion in the case, saying that VanDyke and Judge John B. Owens had reached their conclusion “by means of a tortured application” of judicial principles, even while acknowledging that Watters had the better and more traditional interpretation of state and federal law.

At the heart of the issue, at least in the case itself, is that Montana’s permitless carry law basically says that everyone who isn’t expressly forbidden from carrying a gun is considered licensed, and the federal law says people with licenses can carry in the buffer area around a school. The Biden administration argued that no, the licensing had to be explicit–something the law doesn’t seem to actually state, for the record–and so he was in violation of federal law.

Metcalf’s defense is that he literally had no reason to believe any such thing, which is fair.

However, a bigger issue is the existence of this area outside of the school grounds themselves.

See, the federal law doesn’t account for permitless carry as most states have it, nor does it account for things like reciprocity. You have to be licensed in that state in order to just walk past a school on the sidewalk, which is a problem.

This is something most people are going to be unaware of when traveling, for one thing, just as they’re not going to be aware of where all the schools in a given city might be. Just following Google Maps could land you a felony charge, simply because Google didn’t know you needed to be so many feet away from a school because you’re lawfully carrying a firearm.

It’s ridiculous.

If we’re going to insist that schools should be gun-free zones for law-abiding adults, can’t we at least agree that if someone intends anything malicious, stretching that zone out however many feet or isn’t going to actually stop them any better than the sign on the door will? Can’t we also agree that it’s ridiculous that people otherwise obeying the law, going about their day, might end up with a felony charge because they set foot outside of their house with a gun on their person, simply because they live in a constitutional carry state and live too close to a school?

Of course we can’t, because some people are so vehemently hoplophobic that they can’t accept anyone with a gun not being evil.

The Trump Administration Announces Major Changes to U.S. Citizenship Test

The government has unveiled substantial changes to the US naturalization civics test, announcing a return to more rigorous standards for prospective citizens.

These updates, effective for applicants filing after mid-October, are intended to ensure a deeper understanding of American history, government, and civic values, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Expanded and More Challenging Content

The revised test, as outlined in the Federal Register notice , seeks to modernize and strengthen the assessment of civics knowledge.

Officials state that the new questions, format, and evaluation criteria are designed to challenge applicants to demonstrate not just rotate memorization, but a deeper conceptual understanding of core American values, historical turning points, and the structure of government authorities.

The revised test increases the pool of possible questions from 100 to 128, reintroducing updates first implemented in 2020 and rolled back during the previous administration. Applicants now face 20 questions, of which they must answer at least 12 correctly, compared to answering 6 out of 10 in the previous version.

The test remains an oral exam, with a wide range of topics including the Constitution, significant wars, influential figures such as Thomas Jefferson, and examples of American innovation.

Notably, the passing score is unchanged, but administrators can stop the exam after 12 correct or 9 incorrect answers, streamlining the process while maintaining rigor. Most applicants will take the exam in English, although some exceptions exist for older, long-term residents.

New Vetting and Character Assessment Standards

Alongside changes to the test content, the administration is implementing stricter criteria for evaluating applicants’ moral character and societal contributions. Guidance to USCIS officers now instructs them to consider a broader range of behaviors and revives neighborhood investigations to help verify eligibility.

Additionally, the agency has clarified that any involvement in illegal voting, illegal registration, or false citizenship claims will disqualify applicants from meeting good moral character requirements.

Rationale and Broader Context

USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser stated that “ American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values ​​and principles as a nation,” and that the changes are designed “to ensure only those aliens who meet all eligibility requirements, including the ability to read, write, and speak English and understand US government and civics, are able to naturalize.”

He framed the move as promoting full assimilation and strengthening the integrity of American citizenship, calling these “critical changes… the first of many” planned under the current administration.

This announcement has sparked renewed debate in political and civic circles over the balance between making the citizenship process demanding and ensuring it remains fair and accessible.