Indeed, it's VERY important to know local laws, and whether or not you have a woke Soros DA. The criminal in the first case had broken into a SUV to steal the stereo in the wee hours of the AM, the homeowner was awakened by activity in his carport, stepped out with his shotgun and nailed him square in the back which fleeing up the driveway. Unknown about whether he had the car stereo in hand when nailed, however I don't think actually seeing the thief with stolen goods in hand is a pre-requisite to doing a service to the community (I think the law says something law says something like 'a reasonable person who reasonably believes' a thief is making off with one's stuff between the hours of sunset and sunrise - NOT legal advice, DYODD! Remember: shooting a bad guy who deserves it is easy, the aftermath is the problem, which is why deescalation is important as is creating distance.)