Charges dropped against Minneapolis firefighter in shooting death

It is pathetic and extremely disappointing that these charges were dropped. According to Wisconsin law, you cannot use deadly force unless you are confronted with deadly force. John Peach did not confront with any weapon! Kyle killed him! He broke the law! It is incredibly disgusting that the judge in this case did not follow what the law says and convict a murderer!

I know I would not want Kyle Hugget fighting any fires in my neighborhood, wouldn't feel safe!

ain't that just peachy

Jodi wrote:

It is pathetic and extremely disappointing that these charges were dropped. According to Wisconsin law, you cannot use deadly force unless you are confronted with deadly force. John Peach did not confront with any weapon! Kyle killed him! He broke the law! It is incredibly disgusting that the judge in this case did not follow what the law says and convict a murderer!
I know I would not want Kyle Hugget fighting any fires in my neighborhood, wouldn't feel safe!

Where do you get your faces. Wisconsin law like any other state allows deadly force if that person feels their life is in danger. Due to the face Hugget was in his own home he does not have a duty to retreat and was justified in using deadly force. Hugget did us all a favor by kill the scumbag.

facts not faces

seems lately if you're in law enforcement, you can shoot and kill anyone you please.

White tiger:

Please do not confuse an off duty fireman with law enforcement. Big difference between firemen and cops.

white tiger wrote:

seems lately if you're in law enforcement, you can shoot and kill anyone you please.

Yeah, cops and firefighters are just roaming the streets in gangs doing drive bys. Give me a break, more like give THEM a break. Would YOU do their job? Obviously not. This kind of thing happens in Texas every other week, some idiot gets shot for breaking into somebody's house or business and the home/business owner gets off EVERY TIME as it should be. Don't want to get shot? Don't break into people's shiite.

Jodi wrote:

It is pathetic and extremely disappointing that these charges were dropped. According to Wisconsin law, you cannot use deadly force unless you are confronted with deadly force. John Peach did not confront with any weapon! Kyle killed him! He broke the law! It is incredibly disgusting that the judge in this case did not follow what the law says and convict a murderer!
I know I would not want Kyle Hugget fighting any fires in my neighborhood, wouldn't feel safe!

Wisconsin has the "Castle Law" that all other states have. If you are in your home, and someone forces entry,(as in, not invited in), and you feel your safety or the safety of others is threatened,, you are permitted to use deadly force.
Kyle Hugget did nothing wrong.
If Peach sent voice mails threatening him and his girlfriend, then he had a justifiable reason to feel threatened when Peach broke in.
The police made the error by not saving the messages.
Without those messages, you can't say for sure how serious the threat was.

The only disgusting thing here is, you are willing to side with someone who broke into another house, after threatening him.
If you are so outraged by the supposed breaking of the law by the homeowner, where is your vitriol at the criminal?

This all boils down to one simple fact. John Peach would be alive today if he had not broken into someone else's house.

That's not the judges fault, that's not Kyle Huggets' fault.
That is entirely, 100% John Peaches' fault.

white tiger wrote:

seems lately if you're in law enforcement, you can shoot and kill anyone you please.

He was a fire fighter. Fire fighters aren't law enforcement.

Jodi wrote:

It is pathetic and extremely disappointing that these charges were dropped. According to Wisconsin law, you cannot use deadly force unless you are confronted with deadly force. John Peach did not confront with any weapon! Kyle killed him! He broke the law! It is incredibly disgusting that the judge in this case did not follow what the law says and convict a murderer!
I know I would not want Kyle Hugget fighting any fires in my neighborhood, wouldn't feel safe!

You are authorized to use deadly force if you have a reasonable fear of great bodily harm or death to your self or others. A drunk man with two friends broke into his home after making threats against him and his girl friend. You do not think that is a reasonable fear of great bodily harm or death? Add into that home invasion is judged on a vastly different scale then if you are just walking down the street.

white tiger wrote:

seems lately if you're in law enforcement, you can shoot and kill anyone you please.

and firefighters can just roam the street putting out fires as they see fit! It angers me how little accountability there is with firefighters putting out fires.

How do we know he broke into the house, he was dead? Maybe he was invited it and then shot in anger. The police and prosecutor must have had some pretty good reasons to bring the charges because bringing such charges is not a crowd pleasing decision And how do we know there really were threatening voice mails? Sounds like a costly police error.

This has to end now! Pretty soon criminals will no longer feel safe breaking into houses.

Well I guess that's the pits for mr. peach.

white tiger wrote:

seems lately if you're in law enforcement, you can shoot and kill anyone you please.

Anyone you please DOES NOT equal a man who broke into his home. Not even close.

As if you wouldn't defend yourself if someone broke into your home...LOL

Here is the original story:

DANBURY, WIS.- Shot twice in the chest Sunday night after forcing his way into his ex-girlfriend's house, John Peach turned and ran about 30 feet, fell into a friend's arms and then onto the frozen earth.

The man suspected of shooting him, Minneapolis firefighter and emergency medical technician Kyle Huggett, grabbed a pair of leather work gloves, ran to Peach, took his pulse and attempted to perform CPR, authorities said.

"That would just be reactionary, I would think," said Burnett County Sheriff Dean Roland, adding that EMTs are trained to wear gloves when working with bleeding victims.
But Peach, 29, lay dead on the rural Danbury land Huggett shares with his pregnant girlfriend, Amy Kerbel -- Peach's ex-girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Peach and Kerbel's 5-year-old son slept in the back bedroom of Huggett's modest mocha-colored house.
Huggett made his first court appearance in Burnett County District Court Wednesday morning, ankles shackled, where bail was set at $50,000. Huggett was ordered to stay away from alcohol, firearms and weapons. He posted bail and was released before noon.

District Attorney Ken Kutz said Huggett was not a flight risk. He will be allowed to leave Danbury, about 105 miles northeast of Minneapolis, for work, although it's uncertain if he'll be allowed back at Fire Station 21 while authorities continue their investigation. Huggett has not been charged.

"He cooperated fully with the sheriff's office," Kutz said.
The incident began with a phone call and then volatile text-message exchanges involving Peach, Huggett and Kerbel over two to three hours, said Kutz and Roland.

'continued in next post...

Authorities said Huggett and Kerbel had been drinking while watching Sunday's Giants-Packers game.(Their blood-alcohol concentration is not yet available.) It was about an hour after the game ended that Peach, who also lives in Danbury, went to Huggett's house with two friends in tow.
Authorities said one friend stayed in the car while the other stood outside as Peach rammed the door with the shoulder of his 5-feet-9, approximately 200-pound frame.
He had texted that he was coming over and there would be "trouble," Kutz said.

Huggett and Kerbel had a plan of their own: When Peach arrived, Kerbel would go into the back bedroom where her son was sleeping and call 911.

After an unarmed Peach broke through the front door about 9:52 p.m., Huggett allegedly shot him with a .38-caliber revolver, authorities said. Peach's two friends fled after he stumbled outside.

About three city blocks away, Huggett's neighbors Willie and Linda Jorgensen were watching television when their police scanner began crackling. Kerbel had been on the line with a 911 dispatcher from the very beginning. Linda Jorgensen, an EMT, rushed over.

Huggett told authorities it was self-defense, but Wisconsin law only allows the use of deadly force when an individual is faced with deadly force, Kutz said. "When you have somebody who's unarmed, as Mr. Peach was in this case, you can't shoot them," he said.

Authorities said they don't know what the men were fighting about. Peach's friend, Jennifer Frazee, said Kerbel and Huggett had been fighting and Kerbel called Peach to intervene.

Court records show that both men and Kerbel have had run-ins with the law. All three have drunken-driving convictions. Peach also has a conviction for battery from 2002.

That same year, Kerbel filed a restraining order against Peach, telling authorities that he drank nearly every night, had threatened to kill her, shot a hole in his living-room wall and was verbally and physically abusive.
A relative at Peach's home declined to comment.
More investigation is needed before charges are considered, Kutz said, adding that in the worst-case scenario Huggett would face second-degree intentional manslaughter. Authorities have until Huggett's next court appearance, Feb. 27, to file charges.
Authorities are in the process of obtaining the contents of the text messages

Authorities said Huggett and Kerbel had been drinking while watching Sunday's Giants-Packers game.(Their blood-alcohol concentration is not yet available.) It was about an hour after the game ended that Peach, who also lives in Danbury, went to Huggett's house with two friends in tow.

Authorities said one friend stayed in the car while the other stood outside as Peach rammed the door with the shoulder of his 5-feet-9, approximately 200-pound frame.

He had texted that he was coming over and there would be "trouble," Kutz said.

Huggett and Kerbel had a plan of their own: When Peach arrived, Kerbel would go into the back bedroom where her son was sleeping and call 911.

After an unarmed Peach broke through the front door about 9:52 p.m., Huggett allegedly shot him with a .38-caliber revolver, authorities said. Peach's two friends fled after he stumbled outside.

About three city blocks away, Huggett's neighbors Willie and Linda Jorgensen were watching television when their police scanner began crackling. Kerbel had been on the line with a 911 dispatcher from the very beginning. Linda Jorgensen, an EMT, rushed over.

Huggett told authorities it was self-defense, but Wisconsin law only allows the use of deadly force when an individual is faced with deadly force, Kutz said. "When you have somebody who's unarmed, as Mr. Peach was in this case, you can't shoot them," he said.

Authorities said they don't know what the men were fighting about. Peach's friend, Jennifer Frazee, said Kerbel and Huggett had been fighting and Kerbel called Peach to intervene.

Court records show that both men and Kerbel have had run-ins with the law. All three have drunken-driving convictions. Peach also has a conviction for battery from 2002.
That same year, Kerbel filed a restraining order against Peach, telling authorities that he drank nearly every night, had threatened to kill her, shot a hole in his living-room wall and was verbally and physically abusive.

A relative at Peach's home declined to comment.

More investigation is needed before charges are considered, Kutz said, adding that in the worst-case scenario Huggett would face second-degree intentional manslaughter. Authorities have until Huggett's next court appearance, Feb. 27, to file charges.

Authorities are in the process of obtaining the contents of the text messages.

Sorry for the duplicate second post.

The dead guy had a battery conviction and a restraining order against him by Kerbel. Obviously an abusive past. I'm glad the guy got off. Sounds like he did what he needed to.