You shouldn't need to break the law to be protected by the law. (And tampering with a crime scene doesn't seem like a good idea and I don't each watch the CSI programs.)

The point is in the situation outlined above, I don't think the home owner committed any crime. He should have been given a medal from the city, and then he'd unfortunately have to deal with the personal, internal hell of experiencing such a trauma.

And you'd have to wonder what kind of jury would find him guilty of anything.