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Can you shoot someone inside your home in Missouri?

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MISSOURI — Twenty states have castle doctrines while even more have stand-your-ground laws but what constitutes legal self-defense can still vary across these states.

For Missouri, both the castle doctrine and the stand-your-ground law state, the law permits protecting oneself (or a third party, with exceptions) with deadly force should a person feel it is necessary. This “necessary” part, however, is often not made clear and warrants a breakdown of the terminology.

Missouri Castle Doctrine Law

The “castle doctrine” is not a defined law that can be invoked, but rather a set of principles which may be incorporated into the defense of one’s self while on owned or leased property, as well as the defense of said property (e.g. vehicles, the home itself) or third parties (family) also present at the time of the threat.

Simply shooting a trespasser on your property can lead to criminal charges since not all trespassers are violent; the resident must be faced with a threat first. According to Missouri Revised Statutes 563.031:

[Protective] force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle lawfully occupied by such person.

Castle doctrine does protect guests at a home where a break-in occurs, should they act with deadly force. But if a break-in occurs at a residence where you were not invited, you cannot use deadly force against that trespasser under castle doctrine.

Missouri Stand-Your-Ground Law

“Stand-your-ground” laws roughly define how an individual can defend themselves when faced with an imminent threat anywhere else; imminent being a keyword here because even threatening words towards a defending person can lead to a justified homicide. But words made days, or weeks ago cannot be acted upon in a self-defense manner.

Stand-your-ground states do not require the defending actor to retreat or remove themselves from the situation prior to applying defensive force. In contrast, some states like Arkansas, have a “duty to retreat” first while in public before defending.

Recent Developments

Last February, Senate Bill 666, sponsored by US Rep. Eric Burlison, would have strengthened Missouri’s stand-your-ground law by essentially giving shooters acting in self-defense the benefit of the doubt, thereby flipping the burden of proof and forcing police to have probable cause before arresting them.

The bill was heavily criticized by law enforcement and other lawmakers who eventually dubbed it the ‘Make Murder Legal Act’. It would die in the Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee in a 4-3 vote.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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