Sarissa Montague explains if self-defense law could be used in recent Portage stabbing

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Markou Montague Levine Defense Partner Sarissa Montague spoke with WWMT and FOX 17 about whether Michigan’s self-defense law could be used after a man was stabbed and killed by a homeowner during a struggle in Portage.

Portage Department of Public Safety responded to an assault at a home near Cedarcrest Avenue and Claremount Street on Sept. 30 just before 3:15 a.m. A 54-year-old homeowner told PDPS someone came onto his driveway and tried to break into his car, according to PDPS Police Assistant Chief of Strategic Services Michael Collier.

When the homeowner came out to confront the person, a 51-year-old Kalamazoo man, pulled a knife on him and the two struggled, ending when the homeowner stabbed him with the same knife, Collier said. Someone else inside the home called 911 during the initial struggle.

First responders pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The homeowner is being interviewed by detectives about what happened.

“Any time that there's a death of some sort, it's up to law enforcement to investigate that death,” Montague told WWMT. “It is not uncommon in a situation like this for somebody to be taken into custody immediately. Somebody did die.

“Whether you're in the house, outside the house, or anywhere that you're allowed to be, then the Michigan self-defense statute might coveryour actions.”

In Michigan, the claim of self-defense is measured against a number of criteria.

According to the Michigan Self Defense Act, a person may use deadly force against another person if they are "not engaged in the commission of a crime" and are in a place where they have "the legal right to be with no duty to retreat."

“Self-defense is what we call an affirmative defense,” Montague said during her interview with FOX 17. "What affirmative defense does is provide a legal justification.

“It's really about the fear of death, great bodily harm or sexual assault,” she added. “When law enforcement shows up (at the scene), what do they see? They see a dead person. How did that person die? Well, it appeared as if they died at the hands of another person.”

Montague said Kalamazoo Public Safety officers were allowed to arrest the homeowner if they had probable cause to believe a criminal offense had taken place.

Self-defense has not been established in this case as investigators still have to determine exactly what happened during that struggle.

“That's what's taking place right now,” Montague told FOX 17. “All of the different parties are doing a thorough job in investigating what's taken place and are making a diligent decision about how to proceed.”

Watch the full interviews: WWMT and FOX 17.