Prosecutors Decline to Charge Woman Who Shot and Killed a Suspected Burglar

(KNSI) — Prosecutors in Hennepin County are declining to charge a woman and her son after one of them shot and killed a man who was trying to break into their house and approached them in a threatening manner.

The woman had surveillance cameras set up on her Minneapolis property and told police on February 22nd; she saw 30-year-old Martin Johnson jump over a six-foot privacy fence and enter her backyard. The 53-year-old woman says Johnson allegedly tried breaking into the home through the patio door. She said she thought he may have left the property, but, as a legal gun owner, she armed herself. She told her 26-year-old son to do the same and get a rifle from the basement just in case Johnson could get in through a basement window. The woman says she saw the service door to their garage was slightly open and realized Johnson was still there, so she fired warning shots, and the two yelled at him to leave.

He allegedly came out of the garage but refused to leave the backyard and started walking toward the woman and her son as they stood at the threshold of the patio door. That’s when the woman said she shot Johnson in the chest.

The son called 911, and the two spoke with police and handed over the surveillance camera footage. Investigators say they could not determine who fired the shot that killed Johnson, but the woman reportedly told police she fired when he approached while he was reaching into his waistband.

Investigators say Johnson was unarmed, but prosecutors say the woman and her son did not have a duty to retreat as they were inside their own home and have valid self-defense claims. A press release says, “All of the surrounding circumstances show that their fear of bodily harm was subjectively real and objectively reasonable.

“The homeowner and her son were reasonable in thinking that a potential burglar, undeterred by warning shots and advancing toward them, could pose a significant danger. While this case is tragic, there is not sufficient proof that the homeowner and/or her son are guilty of a crime.”

An attorney we spoke with that is not connected to this case says that Minnesota does not have a stand your ground law but does apply castle doctrine, which removes the duty to retreat if someone is threatened in their own home.

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