YAKIMA — No criminal charges will be brought against three Yakima residents involved in a violent home invasion that led to the death of two suspects last weekend.
“It is clear that the homeowner in this horrific event was defending himself and his family from intruders who had unlawfully entered his home and were attempting to rob him at knifepoint,” Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Brusic said in a news release Friday.
More details about the home invasion and deaths of Chase Rogers, 24, and Brian Perez, 31, also were revealed in the release.
Shortly before 4 a.m., Perez and Rogers kicked in the door of a home in the 1900 block of South 64th Avenue, where they thought Perez’s girlfriend was, Brusic said. Perez was armed with knife that had a 10-inch blade, Brusic said.
The father in the home, who was armed with a sheathed knife about 12 inches long, told the men to leave, but Perez demanded money from him and stabbed him four times, according to the release.
The home’s three residents and the two suspects then started to fight, according to the release.
“When the adult male homeowner saw his wife and son beaten and stabbed, he unsheathed his knife and defended himself with lethal force,” the release said.
After the homeowner substantially wounded the men, they attempted to leave in their vehicle but were unsuccessful, left it and ran away.
There is no duty to retreat in your home in Washington. Reasonable deadly force can be used if the homeowner believes they’re in imminent danger of a suspect committing a felony, inflicting injury or killing them. For these reasons, Brusic said he decided not to seek charges.
