NKyTribune staff report
Covington Assistant Chief of Police Brian Steffen said a Covington woman who shot two intruders will not be prosecuted because she feared for her safety.
Police say Charlene Dietz shot Michael Miller and Jonathan Lovell, both of Covington, after they entered the 2531 Warren Street residence illegally. It is believed Miller was attempting to return to home to retrieve some of his possessions after he was legally evicted from the home earlier in the day.
Under Kentucky’s “Castle Doctrine,” a person, is immune from prosecution if it is determined they used defensive forth that could cause bodily harm or even death, in protection from imminent peril, while in their home.
In September 2012, 92-year-old Earl Jones of Verona shot and killed a man who was attempting to enter his home and rob him in the middle of the night. Citing the Castle Doctrine, prosecutors declined to charge Jones and he was considered a hero by many for protecting his home, despite his advanced age.
The Covington Police Department issued the following statement regarding the Warren Street incident:
On February 2, 2016 at 2140 hrs, Covington Police responded to 2531 Warren Street for a report of a shooting. Responding officers located the property owners, Charlene and Melvin Dietz, at the scene.
Charlene Dietz, 61, informed officers she had shot two intruders with a handgun. The couple was able to identify one of the intruders as Michael Miller, 34, of Covington) who she knew to be her former tenant at the same residence.
Charlene Dietz also stated that at the time of the shooting, she feared the men were there to do harm to her and her husband. Subsequent investigation identified the second man shot as Jonathan Lovell, 34, of Covington.
Miller was struck in the leg. Lovell was struck in the shoulder. Both Miller and Lovell are expected to survive their injuries.
“A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another,” KRS 503.055.
Further investigation by Covington Police detectives indicates Miller was legally evicted from the property by the owners. Legal possession of the residence had been returned to the property owners earlier in the same day by the Kenton County Sheriff’s Department.
Detectives believe Miller had failed to remove all of his personal property from the residence and returned to collect it. Because the locks were changed when legal possession was returned to the owners, Miller was unable to gain access via key.
Investigators believe Miller broke into his former residence by removing a piece of wood from the entry door, allowing him to reach in and unlock it. Upon Miller and Lovell entering, they were shot by Charlene Dietz, who is not a convicted felon and was legally in possession of a handgun. Melvin Dietz, 62, is not believed to have been armed with a gun.
Lovell is believed to have been at the scene to help Miller remove his belongings. There is no evidence Lovell was aware that Miller no longer had legal access to the residence.
Accounts of exactly what may have transpired in the moments between Miller and Lovell entering the residence and when the shots were fired differs between the parties involved.
Regardless of which version of events is correct (or more correct), Charlene Dietz is entitled to immunity from arrest and prosecution by Kentucky’s “Castle Doctrine” found in KRS 503.010 thru 503.120 .
Under this law, “a person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another (KRS 503.055).”
While there are a few exceptions to this protection, none of the exceptions are applicable to this case because Miller was unlawfully in the residence after having been legally evicted.
After reviewing the case with Covington Police detectives and administration, Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders declined felony charges against Charlene Dietz and Melvin Dietz because of this “Castle Doctrine” protection under Kentucky law.
Felony charges are not being filed against Lovell or Miller either. The Commonwealth’s Attorney and police detectives had considered burglary charges.
Under Kentucky law, a burglary occurs when a defendant enters or remains unlawfully with the intent to commit a crime. There is no evidence to suggest Lovell knew he was in the residence unlawfully.
While Miller knew, or should have known, he was in the residence unlawfully, witnesses and evidence suggest it is more likely Miller was there to remove his own property.
While Charlene Dietz maintains Miller and Lovell intended to do her harm, conflicting accounts of the events from everyone involved result in a case that is not prosecutable because it would never result in proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors are ethically prohibited from pursuing cases when the prosecutor knows the proof fails to rise to the necessary standard for a conviction.
While Miller and Lovell maintain they did nothing to cause Dietz to fear for her safety or the safety of another, Kentucky law, as previously stated, gives her the presumption that she did, in fact, reasonably fear for her safety.
Thus, she is immune from arrest or prosecution regardless of whether police and prosecutors believe her version of events is correct (or more correct).