whats done is done. just dont ride on his property anymore. he did handle the situation poorly though.

 

You did alright transam... and tahoe... I doubt if you can prove anywhere in a Texas law books that you can KILL someone for driving on your property. So, since we're all perfect and never fracture any laws, we can start riding cruisers. I mean, why do we need sport bikes if all we ever do is the posted speed limit. so what's the difference of us breaking the speed limit or someone riding on an open field that has been abandon for some time.

I road in the dirt from the time I could walk. I couldn't count the times that my friends and I were riding in wooded (mostly power line trails) and heard **** fly by us in the woods and hearing a gun shot a few seconds later. Old people didn't like us riding any where that they could hear us. What gives anyone the right to use lethal force (guns or cars/truck) to stop people from doing something? My first post was backing transam saying that the land owner should have used diplomacy to inform you that you are trespassing and he wants you to stop. Not try to kill or scare you off.

Ok, everyone shake hands and get along please.… this isn’t church, we’re not hear to judge each other.

 

No, this is the Church of the Painful Truth Just remember, that which does not kill you makes you stronger. You learned a valuable lesson -- dude that owns the land is a *****. If I was the dude that owned the land I'd have handled the situation differently but hey, **** happens and you move on. Glad nobody got hurt. Now let's move along ... nothing to see here[8D]

 

What are you the town's mayor, give the guy some slack man. Hey, you come at me with a truck and I'll do the same thing. It's all in the aproach.

 

Nope, I'm the deputy ... and I was cutting him some slack. I have people ride on my property all the time. As long as they don't act stupid I have no problem with it. I never said the dude in the truck acted appropriately. In fact if transam dude wanted to he could press charges of assault with a motor vehicle. All the other guy could come back with is trespassing (only if it is posted) which is maybe a $100 fine for first offense.

 

You can shoot for trespassing in Texas, and I would of done the same thing. Trespassing is no excuse for trying to run you down.

 

I have also heard that Texas is the only state where you can use force to "protect private property". Though I've got to believe that the law is not so liberal as to allow some one to shoot you for stepping on or even riding on their land. My bet is that the law goes back to the cattle rustling days when that kind of aggresive defense was required.

Come on someone in Texas has to be a member here to answer this question with some credibility. I'm to lazy or I mean busy to research it myself.

 

I am a texan. It's a law to my knowledge. The way I understand it is they have to be on your property when you shoot them and it has to be for a reason. The person must also be on your property when the cops arrive.

 

Maybe there is more to the story. Maybe he has been riding on this guy's property for a long time. Maybe the guy has tried to talk to him in the past, but just got dusted as some trespasser blows by him on his dirtbike trying to get away. Possibly he was at his witts end. You never know.

 

keep lugnuts with u at all times, street or dirt, they tend to solve those kind of problems