OCGA 17 -4 -60 A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge . If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion .” OCGA 16- 11- 126 ) Any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun or long gun may have or carry on his or her person a weapon or long gun on his or her property or inside his orher home, motor vehicle, or place of business without a valid weapons carry license. (b ) Any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun or long gun may have or carry on his or her person a long gun without a valid weapons carry license, provided that if the long gun is loaded, it shall only be carried in an open and fully exposed manner.” OCGA 16 - 3 - 21 Use of Force in Defense, once confronted with a deadly force situation an individual is allowed to use deadly force to defend themselves or others OCGA 16 - 3- 23 . 1 Georgia' s No Duty to Retreat Law , an individual is not required to back away from or submit to an attack; OCGA 16 - 3- 24 [b ] The use of force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to prevent trespass on or other tortious or criminal interference with real property other than a habitation or personal property is not justified unless the person using such force reasonably believes that it is necessary to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. OCGA 16 - 3- 24 .2 A person properly and legally defending themselves is immune from prosecution
Here are the valid GA statutes governing the situation as listed in the links I posted on page 4 of this thread. These are straight out of the DA's recusal letter. The shooter's problem is 16-3-24 and the prosection's problem is 16-3-24.2. No force whatsoever was used until the decreased ran from the right side of the road directly at the individual on the left side of the truck and tried to take the weapon from him. Had they not been following him, nobody would have been shot. Had he not insitigated the physical confrontation and they just rolled up on him and shot him on the side of the road, then it would be open and shut. But that is not what happened. Because the deceased insitgated the phyisical confrontation, it is now a "chicken and egg" situation IMO.
