I drew my weapon, was it the right thing to do

[chubbs]

I went to a differnt liquor store than usual, bad idea. After buying my case of beer and talking the usual talk with the guy behind the counter i headed out the door. As i came out to head to the jeep two mexicans came out from the north of me from behind a dumpster. One yelled Hey, and followed that by something i didn't understand. I just kept walking east to my jeep(about 20 yards), at that time i hear that voice in my head and look behind me to see another mexican coming from the south side of the building which is not lit well. He's moving in fast, so i put a little spring in my step to get to the jeep before them(i'm bad about not locking my doors and leaving the windows down) and get in. As i'm getting in i draw my 9mm from my iwb holster. Keys were in same side pocket, so know i'm seating here for a split second thinking how am i going to get them with out putting the gun down. Didin't matter much because the solo mexican is at my door mumbling broken english or spanish. He's two buddies are at the passenger side fender. He puts his hands on the edge of my door and so i show him whats in my right hand by holding it parallel to my chest pointing it at him. He's still babbling as i tell him ( wish i would of said something intelligent) to back the f up. He starts back peddling saying wrong you, wrong you. His buddys follow him quickly around the building and out of sight. i hit the road a bit shaken. So my question is, did i do the right thing. He never really threatened me, but i sure felt threatened. 3 on 1 sucks even if i'm a big guy and they were 130 ponds soaken wet.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

If it happened to me just as you described it , I'd have done the same thing . Lucky for you .

 

[Blue Tile Spook]

Three-on-one, one guy right at your window and his two buddies on the other side of the vehicle, having arrived out of the darkness around the side of the store?

Yep, my weapon would have been drawn, also.

My belief is that most people don't have my best interest at heart and I am not a very trusting individual.

 

[techres]

I would have done the same. File a report with the PD.

 

[wag1911]

...... He starts back peddling saying wrong you, wrong you.

Your response was a good measured one and it was right you, right you.....wrong day to f#$k with Chubbs. They were likely trying to intimidate and rob you. Hopefully you called the cops after you got down the road a bit.

 

[hotfarmboy1]

I'd say you did very well. I would of done the same thing. Did you call the police afterwards? That's one thing I would of done as soon as possible as well.

 

[deadsquirrel]

glad to see it went down without any real incident. you did the right thing.

on a side note, you should have just yelled "I.N.S.!!!" and they probably would have booked it!

all kidding aside i am glad that you did not get hurt and hopefully these fools will think twice about robbing someone minding their own business

 

[Comp]

I would of drawn. just like you. However i have my car remote to unlock only the driver side door with 1 push. 2 pushes unlocks all doors. I would advice who every does not have your Remote Entry System set up like this, to do so.

glad to see it went down without any real incident. you did the right thing.

on a side note, you should have just yelled "I.N.S.!!!" and they probably would have booked it!

all kidding aside i am glad that you did not get hurt and hopefully these fools will think twice about robbing someone minding their own business

+ Rep for INS!!!!

 

[j706]

So let me get this right, You exit a store and three males approach you and/or your vehicle and you draw a weapon and point it? WOW!! Yes you did wrong. Matter of fact you broke the law and committed a crime based on the way you described the incident. Unbelievable!! In fear of serious bodily injury or death by a group of guys walking towards you is a stretch IMO. You might want to brush up on state law before you find yourself is some legal jeopardy.

 

[Donnelly]

So let me get this right, You exit a store and three males approach you and/or your vehicle and you draw a weapon and point it? WOW!! Yes you did wrong. Matter of fact you broke the law and committed a crime based on the way you described the incident. Unbelievable!! In fear of serious bodily injury or death by a group of guys walking towards you is a stretch IMO. You might want to brush up on state law before you find yourself is some legal jeopardy.

Perhaps you might want to brush up on the law:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

SECTION 1. IC 35-41-3-2 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2006]: Sec. 2. (a) A person is justified in using reasonable force against another person to protect the person or a third person from what the person reasonably believes to be the imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person:
(1) is justified in using deadly force; only and
(2) does not have a duty to retreat;
if the person reasonably believes that that force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the person or a third person or the commission of a forcible felony. No person in this state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting the person or a third person by reasonable means necessary.
(b) A person:
(1) is justified in using reasonable force, including deadly force, against another person; and
(2) does not have a duty to retreat;
if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person's unlawful entry of or attack on the person's dwelling, or curtilage, or occupied motor vehicle.
(c) With respect to property other than a dwelling, or curtilage, or an occupied motor vehicle, a person is justified in using reasonable force against another person if the person reasonably believes that the
force is necessary to immediately prevent or terminate the other person's trespass on or criminal interference with property lawfully in the person's possession, lawfully in possession of a member of the person's immediate family, or belonging to a person whose property the person has authority to protect. However, a person:
(1) is not justified in using deadly force; unless and
(2) does not have a duty to retreat;
only if that force is justified under subsection (a).

 

[antsi]

The circumstances sound clearly threatening to me. You've got three guys stalking you in the dark, coming at you from different directions. I would certainly have had my hand on the butt of my gun and if any of them got to close would have drawn.

 

[Agent 007]

.

 

[CountryBoy19]

So let me get this right, You exit a store and three males approach you and/or your vehicle and you draw a weapon and point it? WOW!! Yes you did wrong. Matter of fact you broke the law and committed a crime based on the way you described the incident. Unbelievable!! In fear of serious bodily injury or death by a group of guys walking towards you is a stretch IMO. You might want to brush up on state law before you find yourself is some legal jeopardy.

Seems like you're the only dissenting opinion here. No crime was committed and was absolutely ok to draw. There is nothing wrong with drawing to break-up a potential conflict. Although if he were in the middle of a busy place and he wasn't sure of their intentions it may have been a better idea to only prepare to draw. In his vehicle; no reason not to draw. Its tough to draw in the vehicle so why not have it ready if the need arises. I'd rather draw and not need it in that situation than sit there and play dumb until the guy reaches in the window at me. What would you do in that situation? You'd struggle, and you wouldn't win because in a matter of seconds his buddies would've been on you too.

To the OP, you were absolutely ok to draw. Drawing and firing are two VERY different things. Many times simply drawing is all it takes to thwart a robbery (or other crime).

 

[Bill of Rights]

glad to see it went down without any real incident. you did the right thing.

on a side note, you should have just yelled "I.N.S.!!!" and they probably would have booked it!

all kidding aside i am glad that you did not get hurt and hopefully these fools will think twice about robbing someone minding their own business

And if you want them to understand for sure, you can say that in Spanish as "Migra!" (pronounced "Meegrah!")


But yes, I agree with the other posters, you handled it well and I hope you made a police report. Possibly also told the store owner, so he knew to keep an eye open for them coming in to his store.

Nice job!

Blessings,
Bill

 

[Mgderf]

Better safe than sorry!
You're here to post about it, I'd say you did right!

 

[huntall50]

Like j706 said...I fail to see the threat...Because we carry people can't approach us? Sorry, my weapon is not my first line of defense when dealing with people. I see no need to even call the police in this situation.

 

[JetGirl]

Yes you did wrong.

Like j706 said...I fail to see the threat...

The threat was the fact that since he was essentially being surrounded, he had every reason to believe they were going to unlawfully enter his vehicle without invitation or consent.
See below:

He's two buddies are at the passenger side fender. He puts his hands on the edge of my door

Matter of fact you broke the law and committed a crime based on the way you described the incident.

Not from what I see here:

(2) does not have a duty to retreat;
if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person's unlawful entry of or attack on the person's dwelling, or curtilage, or occupied motor vehicle.

Maybe you should clarify just what law you think chubbs broke and just what crime you think was committed. I don't see it.

 

[Tommy2Tone]

Like j706 said...I fail to see the threat...Because we carry people can't approach us? Sorry, my weapon is not my first line of defense when dealing with people. I see no need to even call the police in this situation.

Really? wow...

Maybe you live in a nice safe small town and don't know what its like in a bigger city (didn't look at your location before writing) So you would let the 3 guys approaching you from two different directions just come up to your window and have a nice chat with them. No thank you, to me that sounds like you are an easy victim. I know i carry a gun because i REFUSE to be a victim. When your life is on the line (potentially) you HAVE to get the draw on someone. You need to wake up and realize the world we live in. There are bad people out there. Also it is how you perceave the treat, not their intentions. So if you think they are a threat they are and you have a right to act acordingly, now that doesn't mean shoot, but it might certainly mean draw.

To the OP if your exact situation i would have done the same thing, although i don't like the idea of being in the car with them on both sides even with a weapon drawn. I either would have tried to get there really fast and start and go or get near and turn around and draw and leave it pointed down at my side. If it where me my windows would have been up and i have keyless entry so i would have got in, locked it up and drove off.

 

[Tommy2Tone]

Originally Posted by Donnelly
(2) does not have a duty to retreat;
if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person's unlawful entry of or attack on the person's dwelling, or curtilage, or occupied motor vehicle.

Now i see why being in a car might be a good idea...

 

[melensdad]

Not that my voice added to chorus is going to change the tune, but yes, this was a justified reason to pull a gun.

If 3 "friendly" strangers approach, they are not going to 1) run up on you, or 2) approach you from different directions, or 3) when they reach you are not going to effectively surround you. You faced all 3 of the above, with them on both sides of your vehicle and coming up from behind and 1 leader with 2 followers from another angle.

Yes, it was reasonable to perceive it as a threat.

Now in reality if you can't speak Spanish the first guy might have just shouted out something like: hey, what time is it? But since we are trying to have a 'reasonable' discussion based on the facts you laid out, I doubt that was the case. If judged by 12, I'd have to say the vast majority would have considered that a very uncomfortable situation and one that was very likely threatening.