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Teen Allegedly Broke Into a Couple's Home To Ask For Their WiFi Password, Police Say (washingtonpost.com)

A 17-year-old has been accused of breaking into a couple's home in Northern California and asking for their WiFi password, hours after he had asked nearby neighbors for theirs, authorities said. From a report: Police in Palo Alto said the teen, whose name has not been released, went to a home in Silicon Valley late Saturday and asked to use the residents' WiFi network "because he was out of data," before stealing their bicycle. Then just after midnight Sunday, police said, he broke into a nearby home, woke up a sleeping couple and asked them for their password. The male resident "pushed him down the hallway and out the front door of the house before calling police," police said in a statement. Palo Alto Police Sgt. Dan Pojanamat told The Washington Post on Friday that it's unclear whether the juvenile suspect was really seeking WiFi access or whether it was simply an excuse, saying that "the real issue is the fact that he entered a house that was occupied."

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  1. Re:Sounds like a good way... by slashmydots · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    You better have a damn good lawyer if you shoot and unarmed teen in the dark and just tell them to take your word for it that you thought you saw a knife or gun or something. You can only shoot someone in almost any state if they're threatening you, not just because they broke into your property. I will say though as a self protection expert, the victims made a huge mistake getting close enough to him to shove him multiple times. You have no idea if he has a weapon. The proper, recommended procedure is create distance, get to a safe, barricadeable area like behind a locked door, call 911, and acquire any improvised weapon you can find.
    And yeah, California is a disgrace to the constitution.