Re: California Veteran Charged With Murder Acquitted by Jury

On Sat, 25 Apr 2026 11:48:52 -0700, a425couple <[email protected]>
wrote:

>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


 He probably spent ~$50k on attorney fees defending his self in court.