ALBANY, N.Y. (WNYT) — A Hudson Falls man faces a trespass charge after state police said he entered a South Glens Falls home and was shot by the homeowner.
State police said this happened just before 4:40 a.m. at 46 Main Street in South Glens Falls. Troopers responded to a home invasion call and found the intruder had already been shot.
Police arrested 20-year-old Hunter Jarvis of Hudson Falls. He is charged with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, and remains at Albany Medical Center Hospital recovering from a gunshot wound.
Jarvis is due in Moreau Town Court later this month. The case also raised questions about what rights people have inside their homes under New York law.
Attorney Greg Rinckey, founding partner of Tully Rinckey’s law firm said, “So if someone enters your home you have the right to what we call it’s your home castle doctrine which means you have the right to shoot and as this homeowner did it was a reasonable action there’s no duty to retreat in your house.”
“If it happened outside the house in New York you have a duty to retreat, some states don’t have that but New York does. But in your house the Castle Doctrine you have no duty to retreat and you can shoot and if you think it’s a violent felony that’s going to happen like in this case you can shoot to kill if it’s reasonable.”
What is reasonable?
“You can shoot to kill if they come into your house and you think they’re going to commit a violent felony in your house, yes,” Rinckey said.
He also explained how New York differs from some other states. Rinckey said, “Well, in New York, we have what’s called a duty to retreat.”
“So if you’re fighting over a parking spot and someone’s coming running at you, you have a duty to retreat if you can safely. Your responsibility is to back up, not to engage,” he said.
He said there is no duty to retreat in every case. “I mean, obviously, if someone’s coming at you with a knife, there’s no duty to retreat. You can pull out a gun and shoot them,” said Rinckey.
Rinckey said New York is stricter outside the home but not inside it.
“When New York is more strict outside of the house, meaning that you have a duty to retreat, in other states there’s no duty to retreat. You can just stand your ground. However, there’s no duty to retreat in New York in your home as we saw with this homeowner,” said Rinckey.
How courts decide
Rinckey said courts look at whether a homeowner acted reasonably.
“If someone is stumbling into your house and you can pretty much tell, hey, they’re in my house accidentally, they’re not going to threaten me, and you shoot to kill, you’re probably going to be prosecuted,” said Rinckey.
“But if you don’t know, you hear breaking glass, and now someone’s in your house, and they’re coming up the stairs where your kids are, you can shoot to kill,” he said.
Rinckey also said the protection generally applies to other people staying in the home. “It’s pretty much the same if you’re within the home and you’re sleeping in that home and it’s happening at night. Yes, it’s still protected.”
