Deadly Risk

Homeowner within rights in shooting of three teen burglars

Last week what would normally have been a news story that made headlines for a day or two became a national sensation.

On March 27, three teenagers broke into a Broken Arrow, Okla., home. Jacob Redfearn, 18, Max Cook, 18, and Jake Woodruff, 15, unlawfully entered the home armed with a knife and brass knuckles. Elizabeth Marie Rodriguez, 21, waited outside in what police say was the getaway car.

Maybe the burglars thought they were going to get some money or items they could sell for profit. But they got more than they bargained for. A lot more.

The homeowner’s son was there. He heard the intruders kick in the front door. He armed himself with an AK-47. He opened fire. All three young men were killed. Oklahoma has a “stand your ground” law. The Wagoner County prosecutor says the shootings were in self-defense. We think most readers would agree.

But Jacob Redfearn’s grandfather, Leroy Schumacher, has another view.

Schumacher, speaking to KTUL-TV in Tulsa, said there was no reason the three teens had to die.

He admits what they did was stupid, but says “brass knuckles against an AR-15? C’mon. Who was afraid for their life?”

Schumacher added that while he supports the Second Amendment and believes homeowners have a right to protect themselves, there should be limits on what they can do.

“There’s got to be a limit to that law. He shot all three of them. There was no need for that,” he said. He also said he hoped other kids would learn a lesson from this.

It was Schumacher’s comments that turned the story into a viral blaze. And the public’s reaction wasn’t pretty. Most took the man to task, some in very harsh terms.

We understand the emotions of a grieving grandfather. But the fact is these three young men took their lives into their own hands by breaking into the house. Anything that happens after that is on them, not the lawful occupant trying to defend life and property. There was no way to know for sure the teens’ intentions or whether they had guns.

As for alleged getaway driver Rodriguez, she fled the scene when shots were fired but police now have her in custody. They say she planned the whole thing. And since Oklahoma law says that if someone dies during the commission of a felony, all suspects can be held responsible, Rodriguez faces three counts of first-degree murder along with a burglary charge.

That’s another lesson.

Crime carries a lot of costs beyond mere dollars. It can cost you years of your life. Or it can cost your life. Is it worth the risk?