This could make for a more interesting tort case than criminal case. It appears that Epstein was upset that Dane’s people had put a a metal boot on a van parked behind Mamacitas, belonging to the restaurant. The security company said that it was on property belonging to one of its customers. Epstein disagreed and showed up with bolt cutters and a taser.
Dane said that Epstein threatened him with the bolt cutters and Epstein said that Dane threatened to shoot him. That’s when the tasers came out.
Under the common law, you cannot protect property with force calculated to cause serious bodily injury or death. You can use such force to protect your own life — so long as it is not excessive.
If the fight was over the van, it would go badly for Epstein — if he was the first to draw. Yet, Epstein is already claiming self-defense, which would increase the range of permissible actions. The fact that Epstein appeared with bolt cutters could work against him if he did not call the police. Should be interesting to watch.
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