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Thanks

I thought that might be the answer, and I'm curious to know something further.

If he used my gun to commit another crime, could I be held liable by any means?

Agreed!

But here's a good hypothetical to grind your gears on.

If this same situation takes place, but as in my instance on the first page, the thief takes your gun, would it be justifiable to shoot him?
Same time of day, same non-assaulting act. It is still only a theft committed during the day. But now, he has a deadly weapon... YOURS. And he is hot-footing it for all he is worth in the opposite direction. If 3(b) is now met, but not 2, is it justifiable to shoot him with your backup?

Yes, technically you are correct, but TXI is not wrong either.
He just added an additional obstacle that you would have to overcome if this path were followed.
I made the point about 3(a) or (b) and he made the point about time of day.

In short, the deck would be highly stacked against you.

Cool, thanks guys.

Just curious TXI, what constitutes theft as opposed to robbery? What is the difference? If theft must happen "during the nighttime" as stated in the law, what would make it an all out robbery?

§ 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is
justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or
tangible, movable property:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the
other under Section 9.41; and
(2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the
deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A) to prevent the other's imminent commission of
arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the
nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or
(B) to prevent the other who is fleeing
immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated
robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the
property; and
(3) he reasonably believes that:
(A) the land or property cannot be protected or
recovered by any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to
protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or
another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.


Straight from the Penal Code.
If 3(a) or 3(b) are not met, you CANNOT SHOOT!!!
We don't get to pick and choose which sections of the law we want to follow.
If you shoot a fleeing suspect while he is no longer a threat to you or anyone else(threat being defined here as capable of deadly force) and he is only in possession of easily recoverable items, you will be prosecuted and spend a long time in a concrete box.

Now, conversely, if he stole your gun (because he saw a flash of it in the store, or whatever) and was fleeing with it, YES you would be completely justified in shooting him with your backup.(you do have a backup, right) This is allowed because he now meets 3(b) and is a deadly threat to society, and he has YOUR GUN. You are responsible for that gun and he may cause great harm with it. It would then be your duty to ensure that he cannot do so.


Sorry, I know crow tastes bad, but your friend was right. Your wallet is not worth taking the life of another.
I would HIGHLY advise you to read through the Texas Penal Code to ensure that you understand the law to the best of your ability. Especially the sections dealing with the use of deadly force. It WILL be used against you in court, therefore you should try to know it through and through.


EDIT: Oh yeah, Welcome to the forum