A homeowner “crossed the line” when he fatally shot a burglary suspect as they fled, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has said.
Dayton Knapton, 24, of White Lake, now faces a manslaughter charge in the death of Sivan Wilson, 17.
Knapton was arraigned on Friday, Nov. 7, on that charge along with charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and two counts of carrying a firearm in the commission of a felony tied to the reported break-in and shooting at his home, online court records show.
Neither he nor his listed attorney could be immediately reached for comment.
Also facing charges are one adult and four juveniles, all accused in the reported break-in ahead of the shooting, according to a news release from the prosecutor’s office.
The adult break-in suspect was named by the prosecutor’s office, but according to the 52-2 District Court, he had not yet been arraigned as of the afternoon of Nov. 7.
Officials previously said that a group of suspects broke into Knapton’s detached garage about 1 a.m. on July 8 in the 9000 block of Mandon Drive in White Lake Township. A video surveillance system alerted Knapton to the situation.
Prosecutors say Knapton then took a 9mm semiautomatic handgun outside and fired two shots into his garage through a windowless, locked door.
Knapton is said to have then fired five more shots as the burglary suspects fled, then went back into his home, reloaded, and went back outside again.
Both Wilson and another individual were shot, with Wilson believed to have been shot through the locked door, prosecutors said.
After fleeing, Wilson was not taken to medical care for another 30 minutes and died, prosecutors said.
McDonald, in a statement, appeared to allude to the right to defend oneself in their home without the need to retreat, as described in Michigan’s Self-Defense Act. Knapton’s actions allegedly went beyond that, according to her description.
“The rights to own firearms and protect one’s family and home are fundamental,” she said. “Those important rights also come with profound responsibility. … We believe the evidence demonstrates this defendant crossed the line by firing outside his home at fleeing persons. His actions not only took a life but potentially endangered the surrounding community by firing his weapon into the night.”
Knapton was given a $200,000 cash or surety bond at his Nov. 7 arraignment and immediately posted it as a surety bond, according to online court records.
He is due back in court later in the month.
Manslaughter, the most severe of the charges Knapton faces, is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and $7,500 fine.
The charge the adult break-in suspect faces, breaking and entering, is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oakland County homeowner charged in shooting death of fleeing burglary suspect
Reporting by Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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