Having to act in self-defense is a harrowing situation for anyone to go through.
But the worst happened to one man after he was thrown a nasty curveball.
And a crime victim was arrested for this shocking reason after acting to save himself.
Elderly man arrested for shooting a burglar in self-defense for not having a concealed carry license
Vincent Yakaitis shot 40-year-old Dennis Powanda late at night while he tried to rob a property that he owned in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania.
When police arrived, Yakaitis – who is in his mid-70s – said that he had a series of break-ins at the property.
And he told the police that he shot Powanda after he charged him.
Now both men are being charged with a crime.
Prosecutors found that Yakaitis acted in self-defense in the shooting but are charging him for carrying a firearm without a license.
He faces two misdemeanors, while Powanda is being charged with felony burglary, criminal trespass, theft, possessing an instrument of crime, and possession of stolen property.
The Beretta 92FS 9mm handgun he used in the shooting was turned over to police along with a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .45 handgun that he had on him.
Yakaitis’ alleged crime carries a punishment of up to five years in prison and a potential $25,000 fine.
He told police that his concealed carry license expired more than 10 years ago.
Pennsylvania law has an absurd error that punishes law-abiding citizens
The elderly man is having the hammer dropped on him because of Pennsylvania law.
Most states don’t require a gun owner to have a concealed carry permit on property they own.
Under Pennsylvania law, gun owners can only legally carry a firearm without a permit in their “place of abode or fixed place of business.”
Carrying a weapon on another property outside of a gun owner’s home without a concealed carry permit is a misdemeanor under state law.
Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael O’Pake is moving forward with a criminal case against Yakaitis under this outrageous oversight in state law.
The elderly man is a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record.
He’s facing potential prison time for legally defending himself because he doesn’t have a government-issued permission slip to exercise his Second Amendment rights.
To get a concealed carry permit in Pennsylvania, he would have had to pay a $20 fee and submit an application to his local sheriff’s office.
If Yakaitis is convicted, he would likely lose his Second Amendment rights for the rest of his life because he would be placed in the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as a prohibited person.
Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Amy Swearer suggested that lawmakers in Pennsylvania change the penalty for carrying without a permit for otherwise eligible residents.
“Give eligible persons a 30-day grace period to seek and obtain a permit after being charged, then automatically drop charges and expunge record once obtained . . . remove the criminal penalty entirely. Make it a fineable infraction if you want, like driving w/o a license,” Swearer wrote on social media.
Vincent Yakaitis’ tragic situation is another reminder of why Pennsylvania needs a constitutional carry law so citizens don’t need a government permission slip to exercise their constitutional rights.
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