Myths are a part of any field of interest and shooting and self-defense are no exception. In fact, a number of myths have been repeated so often they’re treated as fact by a lot of gun owners and self-defense-minded people. Don’t fall into a legal trap and know what you can legally do and not do.
Myth: If you shoot someone in your yard, drag them into the house.
“This is a terrible idea!” attorney Gilbert Ambler says. The Pennsylvania and Virginia practicing barrister continues, “Many states have equal or near equal protection for self-defense outside the home. In these states, you gain nothing, but risk additional charges in the form of tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice (and even potentially abuse of a corpse). Even in states where there is additional protection for defense inside the home, it is a terrible idea to move a body.”
“Forensics have gotten very good, and investigators will figure this out,” Ambler adds. “This is fairly classic evidence of “consciousness of guilt,” which the prosecutor will gleefully use to tell the jury that you KNEW you were wrong when you acted outside the home, which is why you tried to cover up this fact by dragging a body inside. This is one of the fastest ways to turn a legal, defensive shooting into an illegal shooting.”
Famed New Jersey gun rights attorney Evan Nappen agrees 100 percent.
“Never ever do that,” he says. “Never mess with the scene. Leave them alone and stand on your rights and let your attorney do the talking. The last thing you want to do is mess with the scene. The way criminal investigation goes today, they’ll know. It could lead to more criminal charges.” It could even lead to criminal charges where none were initially expected.
And never, shoot, shovel and shut-up as one recent TTAG commentor suggested. With forensics, phone location data, cameras everywhere and the mere opportunity for witnesses, particularly in a neighborhood or urban setting, the odds of you being caught and arrested for wrongdoing in something you may have originally been justified and vindicated from are just too high.
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