'Make My Day' law applies to a Colorado Springs man who shot and killed someone, according to Colorado Supreme Court - KKTV 11 News

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The Colorado Supreme Court is backing up a decision by a 4th Judicial District judge that a Colorado Springs man should not face charges tied to a deadly shooting.

The shooting was carried out in January of 2017 in the basement of a home in the 200 block of N. Wahsatch Avenue. At one point the shooter, Patrick Rau, was suspected of second-degree murder. However, a judge ruled that the charges should be dropped in September of 2018 under Colorado’s “Make My Day” law. The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed that decision on Monday. Prosecutors believe the part of the structure where the shooting occurred was not covered under the law.

Rau had shot and killed 37-year-old Donald Russell ( known as D.R. in court papers) in the basement of an apartment building. Early in the investigation, police said it appeared Russell may have wandered into the home uninvited, and that the suspect and victim may not have known each other. Court papers state Rau gave the intruder a five-second countdown. The warning was ignored, and the intruder reportedly started to yell and throw things, and that’s when Rau fired the gun.

Part of the opinion from the Colorado Supreme Court details what occurred when Rau entered the basement of the structure, thinking someone was in there who shouldn’t have been.

“Rau nudged D.R. with his foot in an attempt to wake him up,” part of the opinion reads. “As Rau did so, he told D.R. that D.R. wasn’t supposed to be there and needed to leave immediately. D.R., who at that point was only about five feet away from Rau, rose to his knees, became aggressive, began yelling unintelligibly, and proceeded to throw things around. Rau believed that D.R. had used drugs while in the basement and was under their influence. As D.R.’s behavior escalated, Raun became scared and warned D.R. multiple times that he had a gun. None of the warnings altered D.R.’s behavior, however, so Rau said he would “count to five” and if D.R. hadn’t left when he finished counting, he would shoot. Rau loudly counted to five. Not only did D.R. refuse to leave, his menacing and intimidating behavior continued. Fearing that D.R. was going to charge at him, Rau fired his gun. D.R. died from the gunshot wound.”

You can read the full opinion at the bottom of this article.

There was debate over where the shooting had occurred and if it applied to the “Make My Day” law. The law makes it so that a person can use deadly force on an intruder who enters a “dwelling” illegally and is reasonably believed to intend to commit a crime against a person or property.

Read the full opinion below:

source: https://www.kktv.com/2022/01/11/make-my-day-law-applies-colorado-springs-man-who-shot-killed-someone-according-colorado-supreme-court/

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