Grants Pass, Ore. — No charges will be filed against a man who shot and killed another man in Grants Pass on July 14th.
Josephine County’s Chief Deputy District Attorney, Lisa Turner, said Charles Buckman shot Matthew Durbin after Durbin tried to break into his West Park Street home in Grants Pass. The Buckman’s called police reporting Durbin was banging on the doors and windows of their home, ranting, and yelling at them to let them in.
“He felt like he was being hunted, like they were being hunted,” Turner said. “Like they were fish in a bowl because from his perception the knocking and banging kept occurring through the house and he wasn’t leaving.”
Turner said Durbin was trying to get into the home by banging on the sliding glass door. Threatened and afraid for his wife and two kids, Buckman took matters into his own hands. He grabbed his gun and shot through the glass, killing Durbin.
He will not face charges.
“The state felt it was appropriate not to file charges based on his, in his mind, reasonable use of self defense which in this case was deadly use of force,” Turner said.
Turner said under Oregon law a person can use deadly force when he reasonably believes another person is attempting to burglarize their home. But she wants to be clear, every case is different and fact specific.
“Not every time someone is on a property is deadly use of force going to be allowed. It’s just going to be a fact specific inquiry each and every time,” she said.
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