A young Michigan homeowner charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting a teen burglary suspect acted in self-defense and "didn't have a choice," his attorney told Newsweek.
Dayton Knapton, 24, of White Lake, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted in the July 8 death of Sivan Wilson, 17, who was shot after breaking into a detached garage along with six other suspects, authorities said.
Knapton, who was charged earlier this month, left his home after getting an early morning alert from his security system and allegedly fired two shots into the garage through a windowless locked door, prosecutors said.
As Wilson and the other suspects fled, Knapton allegedly fired five additional shots before going back inside his home, where he reloaded his 9mm handgun and returned outside, prosecutors said.
All seven suspects fled on foot, including Wilson and another who was shot in the leg, according to the White Lake Township Police Department. Wilson, who was not taken for medical care for 30 minutes, later died from his injuries.
Investigators later determined Wilson, of Pontiac, had been struck by one of the bullets Knapton fired through the windowless locked door, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced earlier this month.
But Knapton -- who has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felony firearm -- clearly acted in self-defense while protecting his home following two prior burglaries, attorney Dov Lustig told Newsweek during an interview Monday.
"So, his alarm goes off at 1 in the morning, he turns to his girlfriend and says, 'Honey, call the police,'" Lustig recalled. "He gets his gun. He walks outside."
The first-time homeowner then heard a "huge commotion and ruckus" inside the detached garage and fired two shots into a side door, Lustig said.
Knapton then saw the suspects, some of whom were masked, "commando-crawling" while exiting his garage, which had been previously burglarized in October 2024 and April, Lustig said.
The suspect who was shot in the leg at Knapton's home was taken to a hospital by his cousin, Matthew Grinage, 21, who was later charged with breaking and entering in the July incident, Lustig said.
Knapton said Grinage had been previously connected to the burglaries Knapton reported to White Lake police last year, Lustig said.
"It's the same people for the third time coming to terrorize this guy at his home," Lustig said. "It's awful."
Grinage's name appears in police report connected to a third-party who bought the stolen dirtbike last year, Lustig said.
"This is not a guy running down the street, chasing someone, shooting after them," he continued. "This is the purest example of self-defense. You're allowed to, frankly, shoot at fleeing felons -- but they're not even fleeing. The only thing they're fleeing is his garage; they're exiting this building that's right next to his house in the middle of the night."
The suspects were still on Knapton's property when he opened fire while stricken with "fear, adrenaline and panic," Lustig said, adding that he believes his client will be protected by Michigan's so-called Stand Your Ground law.
"He was confronted by seven masked, hooded individuals exiting his property in the middle of the night, mere feet from him," Lustig said.
Knapton, who has posted $200,000 bond, is due back in court on Friday. He works at an auto dealership, has never been previously arrested prior to the incident and lives just blocks away from his father, who helped him install a security system following April's reported burglary, Lustig said.
"Dayton's a regular guy," Lustig said. "He's a young man who works his butt off, didn't ask for any of this and he's so responsible that he can actually afford his own home. He works 60 hours a week fixing cars at a dealership and he minds his own business. It's so brutal that he has to now be the focus of this. It's really unfair."
Police in White Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. McDonald announced charges against Knapton, Grinage and four juveniles suspected in the July incident on November 7.
"The rights to own firearms and protect one's family and home are fundamental," McDonald said in a statement. "Those important rights also come with profound responsibility."
McDonald said evidence shows Knapton "crossed the line" by firing outside his home at fleeing suspects.
"His actions not only took a life but potentially endangered the surrounding community by firing his weapon into the night," she said.
Relatives of Wilson, meanwhile, insist Knapton should be charged with murder.
"It doesn't make sense that it wasn't done out of malice and for them to charge him with manslaughter when everything in the report suggests that it was malicious intent," Wilson's sister, Armani Madden, told WDIV.
Wilson's father, Shawn Madden, said his son was wounded while fleeing the scene.
"Sivan was running away and got shot," Shawn Madden told the station. "I never heard anything about him getting shot in the garage."