In a case that highlights the potential perils of taking the law into your own hands, a Colorado jury on Friday awarded almost $300,000 to the daughter of a burglar who was shot and killed in 2009 while breaking into an auto lot.

Here's a report on the verdict from the Colorado Springs Gazette. (Hat tip: Jonathan Turley's Res Ipsa Loquitur blog).

The suit alleged that Jovan Milanovic, the owner of the lot, and two relatives were vigilantes who plotted a deadly attack rather than let authorities deal with a string of burglaries, the Gazette reports. The suit was filed by Phillip and Sue Fox, the parents of the burglar, Robert Johnson Fox.

Rob was in the wrong place doing the wrong thing, but the punishment didnt fit the crime, Sue Fox told the Gazette after the verdict was rendered. I cant excuse his actions, but he didnt deserve to be executed.

The suit was brought on behalf of Robert Fox's 3-year-old daughter. The jury awarded $269,500 in damages for loss of companionship and loss of future earnings, and the plaintiffs also will recover some of their legal costs, according to the Gazette.