I am not a lawyer, just a gun dealer. I believe what I am about to say is true, but I may be off on some of the finer points.
In Texas, you are allowed to use force on someone who is trespassing. However, that is not deadly force. So, pulling a gun on someone simply trespassing would not be a smart move.
Now if they are stealing property, you are allowed to use deadly force to recover said property. However, this is predicated on the perpetrator already having your property and you not having any other way of getting it back because they are fleeing.
Do you hunt? If so, think back to the first time you killed an animal. It changed you. Taking a human life, especially one that is not directly threatening your or a loved ones life is going to change you. Is that something you want on your conscience? It's easy to say that it was a bad person so what's the problem? I hear this weekly in my store. However, I don't believe that. From talking to those that have had to kill someone, I'd rather not unless I had to. And that's what I teach in store.
You're mad. You have every right to be. However, I think you need to take a step back and think of this in non personal terms. If the ****head comes back, and you shoot him before he takes anything, do you really think a jury will acquit you? Do you really want to pay for the defensive lawyers, possibly both civil and criminal to defend you? And keep in mind, even if you do everything according to the letter if the law, all it takes is a district attorney that wants to make a name for himself or a family member of the perp to realize that you are a possible pay day for them to sue you and for you to be out thousands and thousands of dollars because you killed someone over a $500 lawn mower.
On top of all that, if you go out to confront him, what if he is armed? What happens it he kills you instead?
These are things I discuss in store with people daily. Just because you can do certain things with a firearm, didn't mean that you should.
Again, I may be off on some of the finer points here. If your handle means you are a dentist, I assume you have a relationship with a lawyer. You need to talk to him or her about this to get into the details.
Owner of Texian Firearms:
Dealer in Firearms, Optics, Night Vision and other shooting accessories.
US importer/distributor of Rudolph Optics
Supporting bad financial decisions since 2015