Make My Day Law Upheld in shooting of Intruder in Supreme Court Colorado
A 2017 case against a man who shot an intruder has come to dismissal.
Patrick Rau had been charged with one count of second-degree murder-heat of passion for the death of 37-year-old Donald Russell. Russell was shot to death in a home in the 200 block of North Wahsatch on Jan. 19, 2017, kktv reported.
Colorado’s “Make My Day” law, section 18-1-704.5, C.R.S. (2021), addressed the justified use of force against intruders in the home.
The statute provided immunity from criminal prosecution for the use of physical force (including deadly physical force) against an intruder when certain specified conditions are met. The issue this case presented for the Colorado Supreme Court’s review was whether defendant Patrick Rau was in a dwelling when he shot and killed an intruder in the basement of a house….
Colorado Supreme Court held that the basement was part of Rau’s dwelling because it was part of the building that he used for habitation. “And just as some of the usual uses of the garage in [Colorado v. Jiminez, 651 P.2d 395, 396 (Colo. 1982)] were incidental to and part of the use of the residence itself, some of the usual uses of the basement in this case were likewise incidental to and part of the use of Rau’s residence. Accordingly, we affirm the division.”
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