Case Law for the Castle Doctrine

As anyone that knows me will attest, I am an ardent supporter of the 2nd amendment and believe that the Castle Doctrine law was an awesome piece of work.
The law lays out in clear terms that you have no duty to retreat in your home, place of business, or car, and that you have the right to stand your ground and protect yourself and your property. It was developed primarily because of escalating violence and the need to protect innocent victims of violent crimes from being prosecuted for murder.  The edict codifies the law as prohibiting any civil action against a person who must use deadly force in protection of themselves or their property.
So, this prohibits the stupid ass thug's family from suing me because I shot him while he was trying to carjack me, break in to my home, or rob my business. One has no duty to retreat in their auto as you have a legal right to be there to protect yourself and your property. Simple and very sound reasoning.

South Carolina is a Castle Doctrine and a Concealed Weapons Permit state.
In SC, you do not need a permit to own a gun or have a gun in your home, place of business or in a closed compartment of your car. You need a permit if you want to carry it on or about your person and concealed from public view, while in the normal wear of clothing.
Now if I was working a night job that required me to drive around in some not so nice 'hoods, I'd have a gun with me too. And remember, I don't need a permit if it's in a closed compartment, console or trunk.

Case in point...a man who owns his own auto towing company drives around at night doing repos and towing cars from various places for whatever reasons, has a gun with him.

Story goes that on Christmas Eve 2010, Preston Oates booted a minivan that was parked outside a home in a modest neighborhood with one of those hateful homeowner's associations. Supposedly, Oates was contracted to tow illegal cars from the subdivision. However, the HOA will not confirm or deny this claim and has refused to speak with the news media. The owner of the minivan, Carlos Alberto Olivera, and several of his friends confronted Oates about the booting. Oates told Olivera that he would remove the boot for $300.00.

A crowd of neighbors and family gathered around Oates and things began to escalate. Olivera allegedly showed the tow truck driver that he had a concealed weapon. (Olivera also had a concealed carry permit)
Oates states he returned to his truck by way of the driver's side and made some futile attempts to calm people down. He supposedly removed his .40 cal from the glove box and put it on the seat beside him as a precaution.
Oates claims he heard someone in the crowd speak of getting a shotgun and that he heard a weapon cocking. Things are a little fuzzy from this point, but Oates shot Olivera a total of 6 times. 4 times in the back, once in the head and once in the arm. Olivera never had a chance to pull his own weapon and in fact, his gun was found some 18 feet from where his body lay. It is highly possible that the gun was moved before police arrived.

Law enforcement arrived to the scene of the shooting and Oates immediately claimed self defense and that his life was in jeopardy. He was separated from the crowd by officers at the scene and was quoted as sarcastically saying, "Feliz Navidad" to the crowd.

It wasn't until several days later that the local Solicitor's office and law enforcement decided on a course of action.They did not see a claim of self defense. Interestingly enough, one of the neighbors had a surveillance camera outside their home and much of it was recorded. This information had not been released to the public and was recently presented during his preliminary hearing.
Even though Oates had no duty to retreat while in his car, (tow truck) legal minds rejected Oates' claim of self defense. He was subsequently charged with Manslaughter and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.

Oates was then incarcerated in the Beaufort County jail with no bond based on the Manslaughter charge.

Preston Oates, 27

This is his mug shot. He appears rather fiendish, don't you think?

In March of 2011, Oates must have gotten a bit stir crazy and tries  to escape from jail. A corrections officer caught him attempting to cut a small window with a door face plate.  He succeeded only in doing about $2000. worth of damage to the door. He's later charged with the damage to state property and attempted escape. He was moved to a higher security facility. Not the brightest bulb in the bunch, is he?

Let's compare some notes;

Olivera had a concealed weapon permit. He had taken an 8 hour gun safety course, passed both a written test and firearms qualifications test. His only criminal history was a seat belt violation, 1 moving violation and a  city ordinance fine for having a junked vehicle in his yard.

Oates, on the other hand, has an interesting history.  He was charged with Discharging a firearm in to a dwelling, assault and battery with intent to kill and, the manslaughter charge with the weapons violation, followed by damage to state property and attempted escape. The assault charge alone is enough to warrant or reject his eligibility for a permit. The discharging of a weapon is icing on the cake.
If he was convicted of the assault charge, classified as a violent crime, that would make him a convicted felon and he is prohibited under law from owning or possessing a firearm.

This is going to be an interesting precedent for the Castle Doctrine as Oates' attorney plans on using that as his primary defense. Shooting someone in the back just doesn't seem like self defense to me.