You ever go jiggle a door at 1 am for the second night in a row?
On May 27, 2020, around 1 a.m., Bratcher was at the grow operation warehouse when Daniel Hardwick, a 42-year-old white man, allegedly attempted to break into the business for the second consecutive night. Video from that night reportedly shows Hardwick park his car at the rear of the shop, walk to the business’s door and jostle with the door handle, attempting to gain entry.
Maybe that's one of the reasons Brachter was expected to make $100K in improvements to his operation? I mean if you're sitting on "$1.5M" worth of controlled substance in a warehouse and someone can break in and steal it by merely jiggling a door, that's what I'd call a sign. What's more expensive, making $100K in improvements? Or being in felony violation of state law when you shoot some poor addict through a door because he swiped a few plants, thereby losing your entire nut AND your freedom?
I guess I just can't think like that. As soon as I knew I needed to make those improvements, I'd either secure short term funding or negotiate with the regulatory agency for temporary relief. If I was in violation, I'd be willing to do whatever they said to come into compliance. I damned sure wouldn't be setting up in my warehouse to shoot a thief while I was in felony level violation of the law. Hell it would be easier to let the guy get a plant or two every damned night than kill him and go to jail.
I've worked to make my home and possessions secure. If someone was breaking into my home, I wouldn't be shooting through doors to stop them. I'd call 911, warn the person that I was armed and would use it if they broke in, then wait till they either left, or broke through to before I shot. I certainly wouldn't go out into the night to defend my property that's locked into my shop. After all, the thief may be armed and ambush/shoot me. Best to let LE respond and assume the role of searching that building. That's what I pay taxes and insurance for.