Psycho with a machete at my front door (Long Post)

[punafish]

Oh man, so sad and disturbed to hear this. But also glad to see a responsible gun owner doing the right thing. By practicing restraint in the face of a scary situation (where you had the upper hand and moral right to protect your family), you demonstrated strength and good judgment. A lessor man might have pulled the trigger.

I wish you and your family the best.

[birdmove]

You did well, my friend. I had a very similiar thing happen on the night of my 22nd birthday. I'm now 61. About 10:00 at night in my house a crazy smashed hiw through my kitchen dorr and entered my house. I'd been born and raised around firearms, and had a ,357 magnum revolver, which I had in my hands about 3 seconds after I heard the door smash and a strange voice. I ascertained that he was 1.alone, and 2.u armed before I stepped out into the light and confronted him. I held him at gunpoint and had my roomate call the cops. They new the guy by name, and had already responded to a lady's house where he had done the same thing, smashed his way in, while she was in the shower.

It was in Washington State, and I knew I could have shot him the second he entered. In that state no way would I have been charged. But, I would have had to live with killing someone for the rest of my life.

I can tell you that if that dude would have been armed, I would have told him to drop the weapon. If he refused, or if he would have come at me with it, I would have fired with no reservation.

For sure get the restraining order, and if he comes anywhere near your place, call the police right away.

I have heard from people here, and on this forum, that, if someone even breaks into your house armed, you are expected to, in your case, tell the guy to plese wait, while you go put your gun down, and find YOUR machete, so you have like for like weapons. Then you can have that old time swashbuckling machete fight. Or, run from your house and hand it over to the crazy.

Put some thought into what YOU will do. I know what I will do. I learned about myself that night almost 40 years ago.

You did well. And, I'm sorry this had to happen to you and your family. I'm glad the police got him. Get the restraining order, and if he gets within x number of feet or yards of your, your house or family, call the police. From what I've heard about restraining orders, they get a call from you saying he violated, they arrest him again.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[Rattlestaff]

I don't know bout here, but usually you can call and see if a person is still on census in the jail or has been released, also court arraignments,hearings and such are on the court dockets which are public.
Also since he accosted you and your family you should be givin a case number with which you can call and get an update.

Sorry about what your family went through! Sounds horrifying!

[terracore]

Our neighbor two lots over would get all methed out every Friday and would continue through the weekend. He and his girlfriend would scream at the top of their lungs for hours. It sounded like insanity. Sometimes the police would come. One time an ambulance came and took the girlfriend away. I don't think she came back. A relative moved nearby and watches over him and I haven't heard the meth screams since. The guy who terrorized you was likely in a drug induced crazy. I doubt he even has a recollection of what happened.

Strangely, during the screams of insanity, I discovered that shooting a green laser over his property immediately silenced him. I can't imagine what his deranged mind thought it was. Aliens perhaps?

[Carey]

One more thing...that abandoned home... DEFINITELY get the contact the landowner (even the if you can only get a corp address off of the Tax ID Search) and send them a copy of the police report (also GET a copy of the police report... They do have liability if anything should happen on their property, and it sounds like this guy was close to causing them a liability issue...

go to this site & search by address ( if you do no know the address, you can even get the record if you enter your record from your Parcel Number, you can find their property on the map, then enter their parcel number for their record)
http://www.hawaiipropertytax.com/search.html

[peteadams]

Very glad you and your family are OK after this very scary incident. Glad that not only did you not feel compelled to shoot the guy, you also had a clear idea of your options and your bottom line (a good one, the front door). Finally, also super great that you sat down with your daughter and talked it through with her.

Drugs may have the problem here, with alcohol being the day to day favorite, but end stages of meth addiction and a few others like PCP can pretty directly lead to this sort of violent behavior. However, good old human endogenous psychosis can also easily account for an incident like this.

I spent two years working for a tri-county health department doing clinical evaluations for 72 hour civil commitment holds usually at the request of the police or family. The Washington State legislature changed the commitment laws in 1974 to require a professional evaluation for 72 hour holds rather than at anybody's request. I’m bothered when situations like this are identified with Puna or Hawai’i. This crazy guy’s behavior was awful but, believe me, this happens everywhere. The only real solution is intervention over the long term. Getting the TRO and contacting the abandoned house’s owner is a good start. Following up with the outcome of his arrest is also important. This person must have a professional psychiatric evaluation and the court should be guided by the results of the evaluation. Unfortunately, if his problem is drugs he may be back to a more stable state of mind for that evaluation. IMO, from your description, whatever his problem, he is too dangerous for simply probation and a promise to seek help. At best a period of confinement and required therapy might begin a turnaround. Otherwise, be careful and be aware. You’re not the first person in this situation. With luck maybe he will be sent away or just go away. Be glad he’s not a family member. Now there’s a real mess.

[malolo]

Don't pinpoint your precise location online... but what general area?

Glad, for you and your family's sake you didn't kill him, but wish to heck he'd fizzle soon of natural (or confinement-induced) causes, before he comes back for a visit or invades someone ELSE's home.

[JohnDW]

http://www.courts.state.hi.us/legal_refe...cords.html

I suggest everyone familiarize themselves with this resource. HJ computers are very old, so it takes a bit of getting used to, but the records are accurate and it gives you an idea of how to proceed.

Un Mojado Sin Licencia

[terracore]

Maybe nobody else wanted to go there, but based on your account of the story and assuming it's true, if he had busted through your door and you DID shoot him, I believe public opinion would be on your side. And if it wasn't, we'd be on the same side together. You did everything right- weapon properly secured, protecting the family, internal intellectual and moral debate as the events were unfolding... I would hope that if I were in a similar position that I would react in a similar manner that you did. Good job.

[oink]

Many places have a procedure that, if requested by the victim, mandate notification of the victim when/if the suspect is released. It would be worth checking to see if that is available locally. The procedure generally isn't mistake proof but does add some assurance. You handled the situation well. I'm not certain he would have faired as well at my house. Of course that would have been up to him.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.