Jury Holds Auto Lot Owner Liable for Fatal Shooting of Burglar, Rejecting Make My Day Defense

In 2009, Robert Johnson Fox and an accomplice broke into Southwest Auto Sales, a Colorado Springs car lot whose owner, Jovan Milanovic, had recently suffered a string of burglaries. Milanovic was at the property that night with two relatives, all armed. Fox was shot once in the chest with an assault-style rifle while standing inside a small storage shed on the lot. He died from the wound.

The El Paso County District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges and sent the case to a grand jury, which returned no indictment, clearing Milanovic of criminal liability. But Fox's family filed a civil wrongful death action in 2010 on behalf of his daughter, who was three years old at the time of his death.

At trial, plaintiffs' counsel Terry Rector argued that Milanovic and his relatives were not lawful defenders responding to an immediate threat but armed men who had set up a deliberate ambush rather than contacting police. Milanovic testified on his own behalf that he tripped and fell while chasing the intruders and did not realize the .45-caliber rifle discharged, striking Fox in the chest as he stood inside the shed. The jury did not accept that account.

The defense also raised Colorado's Make My Day statute, which grants immunity for use of deadly force against intruders. The court rejected that argument, finding that the law applies to dwellings, not commercial properties. A business owner does not enjoy the same statutory shield as a homeowner under Colorado law.

After a two-week trial, the jury found that Fox's death resulted from 'willful and deliberate' conduct by Milanovic, a finding that also defeated the accidental-discharge defense. The verdict of $269,500 was awarded to Fox's daughter. No appeal or post-verdict reduction has been reported in available records. The Gazette reported the award as 'nearly $300,000,' consistent with the jury figure before any adjustments.