NEDROW, NY (WSYR) — A Nedrow man is continuing to recover after an early morning home invasion landed him in the hospital with a skull fracture. The suspect 33-year-old Raysean Broadwater is still behind bars. But neighbors are still on edge, with some wondering what to do if they come face-to-face with an intruder.
“It was either fight or flight. I just gave it everything I had,” said Steven Martin of Nedrow.
40-year-old Steven Martin still can’t find the words, after being attacked inside his home on Bailey Drive early Monday morning.
“I opened up my eyes and I see this guy standing over me with the back of the toilet,” said Ondraya Kunai, girlfriend of Steven Martin.
Martin says he did everything he could to fight off Broadwater who believes was there with the intent to kill. Martin was rushed to the hospital, after suffering a skull fracture during the attack.
A scary situation may have some homeowners wondering what legal rights they have in New York State when protecting themselves and their families.
“When you’re in your household, we do have what’s called the Castle doctrine. So what that means is, if you’re in your home, you don’t have the duty to retreat, so long as you’re not the initial aggressor. So as long as you don’t initiate it then there is no duty for you to retreat in your household,” said Matt Winchell, associate attorney at Tully Rinckey PLLC.
But what if the intruder isn’t inside your home, but still on your property?
“If they are outside of your house in your backyard, in your driveway, in your front yard, you’re not allowed to use deadly force,” said Winchell.
