People v. Quesada

Opinion

GRODIN, J.

Defendant’s house was burglarized during the night while no one was at home. Two days later, under circumstances we shall describe, defendant shot and killed the burglar. In response to charges of murder with use of a firearm, defendant claimed justification under Penal Code section 197, subdivision 4, which provides that “[h]omicide is.. .justifiable. . .When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed,...” By case law, that justification exists “only where the felony committed is one which threatens death…