Re: California Veteran Charged With Murder Acquitted by Jury

On 4/25/26 11:30, slothe wrote:
> A California man who spent 24 years in the Air Force is a free man today
> after a jury in San Bernardino County acquitted him of murder and
> manslaughter charges.
> 
> 52-year-old Patrick Dull maintained all along that he was acting in
> self-defense when he fatally shot 25-year-old Ryan Dazzi early one
> morning last February, and it appears that the jury concurred after
> deliberating the facts in the case.
> 
> Dull and Dazzi were acquainted with one another through family
> friendships, according to defense attorney James McGee, who represented
> Dull.
> 
> On the night of the shooting, Dazzi showed up at Dull's home twice, he
> said. On the first visit, at 1 a.m., Dazzi threw a rock through the
> window of the house. Dull was not home at the time, although family
> members were. It was not clear why Dazzi was angry with him.
> 
> Dazzi returned to the home about 2:15 a.m., after Dull had returned home
> and was boarding up the broken window, according to the defense.
> 
> Dazzi approached Dull from behind, made threatening statements and then
> charged toward Dull on the front porch of Dull's home, the attorney
> said. Dull fired a single shot, striking Dazzi, then reported the
> shooting to police.
> 
> Dazzi was found to be unarmed, but Dull had no way of knowing that at
> the time. All he knew is that an acquaintance was threatening him, and
> had already caused damage to his home. Once Dazzi ran towards Dull, I
> think it was reasonable to think that Dazzi intended to harm him, and
> perhaps his family members too.
> 
> According to the Daily Press, Dull’s trial lasted more than two months,
> though it looks like the news of his acquittal was the only press
> coverage that it received. I wish the paper’s report had detailed what
> evidence the prosecution presented to support charging the veteran with
> murder, because based on the sequence of events that was described I’m
> confused about why Dull was ever charged to begin with.
> 
I agree.
I'm confused as to why?
Perhaps, just, this is California, we are anti self empowerment.

> As his attorney noted, Dull was on his own property when he was
> attacked, and though California’s Castle Doctrine only applies once
> someone has entered a domicile (not merely stepping onto someone’s
> property), the state’s common law also recognizes that there is no duty
> to retreat when someone is threatened, so long as they have a legal
> right to be there.
> 
> Dull most certainly had the legal right to be on his own property, so
> I’m wondering what led to police arresting him and prosecutors accusing
> him of murder.
> 
> Dull’s defense attorney did tell the Daily Press that he was “thankful
> that the jury took into consideration [his] client's PTSD from his
> military service, the effect it had, in him defending his home," so
> there’s likely more to the story than what the paper presented.
> 
> Regardless, a jury of Dull’s peers sat through a two-month trial and
> then unanimously concluded that he was acting within his rights when he
> shot Dazzi. They have access to far more information than I do, and I’m
> going to assume that they made the right call when they acquitted him of
> all charges.
> 
> https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2026/04/24/california-veteran-charged-
> with-murder-acquitted-by-jury-n1232336