COLORADO SPRINGS — A Colorado Springs man will face second-degree murder charges after he allegedly shot and killed a man he found sleeping in the basement of his apartment in January, according to a news release from the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Patrick Thomas Rau, 28, was indicted by an El Paso County Grand Jury on Tuesday in the death of 37-year-old Donald Wayne Russell. He is charged with one count of second-degree murder, heat of passion, for the Jan. 19 shooting at his 219 N. Wahsatch Ave. home.
Police suspect Russell was homeless.
The case tests the limit of a which allows residents to use deadly force on intruders targeting an occupied residence. Under the Colorado Homeowner Protection Act, passed in 1985, a person may use lethal force on an intruder who enters a dwelling illegally if they believe the intruder intends to commit a crime against person or property. Under these circumstances, the person is immune from criminal prosecution and civil liability.
Colorado’s self-defense laws permit deadly force “only if a person reasonably believes a lesser degree of force is inadequate” and believes he, she or a third party is “in imminent danger” of death or serious injury.
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