Today's journalism is so awful, reports like these raise far more questions than they inform. How did the burglar open the garage door? Was it locked? The sound of the garage door opening woke them? Does the wife keep her purse in the laundry room? If not then perhaps the burglar was searching for it throughout the house. Who knows? Also, links to their own articles list several arrests for various crimes from this individual over a number of years, do they report any follow ups? Not that I see.

Question
 

Sometimes, you just don’t know what an intruder is up to. Rape, robbery, murder, drug dazed trip? It isn’t about the death penalty. It may be about personal protection. Intruders have to know, it isn’t OK. Not every intruder falls under the more nefarious acts like Charlie Mansons tribe, but some do.

Garage door open is an easy fix using today’s technology. I had smart WiFi garage doors that alerted based on settings, open, closed or door has been open for x time and alerts phone, it could also be set to auto close if you did not want to bother, etc. The link for the news article did not work for me. I am not sure why someone would waste time entering an occupied home when there are so many empty ones.

Sometimes I wonder how some folks have lived as long as they have. Lucky, I guess. Even in the most liberal law states, you have the right to defend yourself and others in your home. I do not agree with those that think that someone breaking into their home while they are sleeping, will result in a mere TV theft. Unless you are telepathic, and can read someone's mind and intent, you do not know what the burglar's intent is when he violates your home security. Sure, maybe an alarm will scare the would-be thief away. But, why is it OUR responsibility to scare them away? As far as I am concerned, anyone that breaks into my home, can not expect a passive response. Kind of hard to tell the emergency responders "but I thought he only wanted my TV" after you stood back and allowed the criminal to enter your home, and harm your family. Wake up, these animals know that they are violating the law and can expect the ultimate penalty. I believe in security devices to protect you, but I also believe in personal protection. Someone that has to force their entry can not expect sympathy. Enough with the attempt to try to understand the reasoning behind a criminal's intent.

If you enter my house, I guess you expect that I'm supposed to know your intentions? Rob, harm or murder me? Do you ask, are you just here to steal my TV, if so go ahead...No sorry it doesn't work that way. I'm gonna just lay there while you invade my private home and hope for the best.. Wow I have heard it all...

The castle doctrine says we have the right to use deadly force to anyone breaking into our home if we feel threatened. Florida is one of the states that 100% supports this!

We have an electronic alarm system but it is the backup. Our primary alarm is a 60 pound Walker Hound who sleeps on the foot of our bed. At the slightest sound, she is up standing in the bedroom door barking.

You have to get too close to use your slugger and have to hit hard enough and in the right place. The picture of the intruder and his previous criminal convictions are against you. It only takes one good punch from a much stronger bigger person to knock you down and your head hit floor to be dead especially if they then start kicking and stomping on you. What if they have partner outside or in another room or they have a hand cannon? Have alarm system, Call police and be prepared to defend yourself from 10 ft away while waiting 5-10 min for police (which is enough time to be sexually assaulted to the lady who wanted to let them have whatever they wanted).

“Wilbanks was arrested in 2021 after allegedly punching his father. Wilbanks had been arrested in 2018 in another family dispute. He served time in prison after that arrest and was released Dec. 31, 2019.”

how about a motion sensor light instead?

How many AK-47s will you need?

One for me, one for my wife, one for my dog and 2 spare-----5

The Villages is not immune to societal decay and so all are on the same page and would be intruders understand, FL doesn't play...

776.013 Home protection; use or threatened use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.—
(1) A person who is in a dwelling or residence in which the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use or threaten to use:
(a) Nondeadly force against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force; or
(b) Deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.
(2) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using or threatening to use defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used or threatened was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and
(b) The person who uses or threatens to use defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.
(3) The presumption set forth in subsection (2) does not apply if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force is used or threatened has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or
(b) The person or persons sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force is used or threatened; or
(c) The person who uses or threatens to use defensive force is engaged in a criminal activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further a criminal activity; or
(d) The person against whom the defensive force is used or threatened is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using or threatening to use force knew or reasonably should have known that the person entering or attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.
(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.
(5) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Dwelling” means a building or conveyance of any kind, including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night.
(b) “Residence” means a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited guest.
(c) “Vehicle” means a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, which is designed to transport people or property.
History.—s. 1, ch. 2005-27; s. 4, ch. 2014-195; s. 1, ch. 2017-77.
Copyright © 1995-2024 The Florida Legislature

I once had a sheriff’s deputy come to my house for a security inspection. I mentioned that I had replaced the striker plates screws with 3.5” ones in the of both my front door and bedroom door, which I lock at night. If someone comes into my house, that will give me time to crawl out my window and call for help. He said “Don’t do that! Florida is a stand-your-ground state!” 😡

I don’t know about you gun owners, but I could never live it down if I killed someone who was just a thief who had never hurt anyone or a neighbor with dementia who wandered into the wrong house.

I find it amazing that so many people are terrified of things that are extremely rare, yet do little to improve their chances of survival for things that happen often. I’m 73 and have never been in a situation where my life was threatened and I needed a gun. I don’t even know anyone who has ever needed a gun. I expect that applies to almost all of you.

Want to increase the odds of having a long life? Put down the phone when you are driving. It’s simple to do and costs exactly nothing.

Not Terrified
 

I’m afraid of nothing. In fact, I become quite methodical when confronted by most anything. It’s in my DNA, face and confront the problem. Most of us were raised that no one else is going to step in when a snake a bat, an intruder are present. What are you going to do, call for help? It’s up to you to get it done. At least speaking for myself, I’m not gonna wait 10 or 15 minutes for the police to arrive.

It’s the criminal who should be afraid, and I’m here to make sure of that.

How do you know what they might do?
 

If they are drugged up they are capable of extreme violence, not just stealing. So what would you do, sit him down for an interview? Maybe offer him a cup of coffee to discuss his intentions?
Like they say, "when seconds count, the police are just minutes away".
smh...