Oakland County man charged in deadly shooting of teen burglar to appear in court

FOX 2 - The White Lake Township man charged with manslaughter after opening fire on a group of garage burglars is appearing in court Thursday.

The backstory:

Dayton Knapton shot and killed a burglar he caught breaking into his garage last year. Knapton, 24, is charged with manslaughter, assault with intent to murder, and several weapons offenses for the shooting last summer that killed a 17-year-old.

Today Knapton may learn if his case - which his attorney has argued was self-defense, will be bound over for trial.  FOX 2 will stream the hearing in the live player above when it begins at 3 p.m.

Police said Knapton spotted seven people entering his detached garage in the 9000 block of Mandon Drive on a security camera shortly after 1 a.m. July 8 and went outside. That's when he started shooting at the group as they left the garage, causing them to run away.

After the shooting, White Lake Township police were notified that a 17-year-old was near Huron Valley Hospital in Commerce Township, while another 17-year-old was at a second hospital. One victim died, the other who was wounded, recovered.

In a previous hearing on March 5th, outdoor home security video from Knapton's home appeared to show him firing multiple shots at the burglars as they ran away.  

A neighbor who heard the gunshots said it was the third time someone had broken into the garage. That witness believes the suspects were after dirt bikes. His attorney confirmed this during a court hearing, saying Knapton had added a motion detector to his property because of attempted burglaries.

Related:

• Oakland County man who fatally shot garage burglar in court for manslaughter, assault charges
• Teen killed in White Lake Twp. when homeowner opened fire during attempted break-in

Police officers testified in March that Knapton told them that he fired in defense, including Officer Mark Kas-Mikha.

"He said they came at him," Kas-Mikha said.

When asked by a prosecutor if that was what the video appeared to show, and he said: "No."

Another officer, Jessica Snow, said that she personally knew Knapton from when he was a teen and she was a student resource officer.

Snow reiterated a self-defense explanation offered by Knapton.

"He indicated that the suspect was coming at him," Snow said. "He said he fired on them to protect himself and his property."

Video shows deadly White Lake shooting during attempted break-in

In court, a White Lake homeowner charged with manslaughter after shooting at a group of teens and killing one of them after they allegedly broke into his detached garage. For the first time we’re seeing security video of the shooting.

Dig deeper:

When prosecutors charged Knapton months after the shooting, they said he shot into his garage through a windowless, locked door, and then allegedly fired five more shots as the burglars fled.

Experts have argued that, based on the facts currently known, he was not justified in shooting the intruders.

FOX 2 legal analyst Charlie Langton said that while the law does allow you to protect yourself with deadly force, that does not apply to property.

"The law is very, very clear - you do not have a right to use deadly force to protect your property," Langton said, noting that a person has to be in imminent danger to utilize deadly force. "The law says you can use deadly force to defend yourself, your body, against imminent physical harm or sexual abuse or in a vehicle."

White Lake homeowner fatally shoots teen after group breaks into garage

One teen is dead, another young adult is in the hospital after a homeowner in White Lake fired upon a group of seven individuals breaking into his garage early Tuesday morning.