God bless Joe Horn
11-19-2007, 05:21 PM
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Elderly man shoots two suspected burglars at neighbor's home
PASADENA, Texas — A grand jury will decide if an elderly man who shot and killed two men he believed were robbing his neighbor's home acted within the limits of the state's self-defense laws.
The man, who is in his 70s, shot the two suspected burglars Wednesday afternoon in a quiet subdivision of the city southeast of Houston. He confronted the men as they were leaving through a gate leading to the front yard of his neighbor's home.
Just before the shootings, the man called 911 to say that he heard glass breaking and saw two men entering the home through a window, Pasadena police said.
"The man told the dispatcher: "I'm getting my gun and going to stop them. The dispatcher said, 'No, stay inside the house; officers are on the way.'," said police spokesman Vance Mitchell. "Then you hear him rack the shotgun. The next sound the dispatcher heard was a boom. Then there was silence for a couple of seconds and then another boom."
The telephone line then went dead, but the man called police again and told a dispatcher what he had done. He said he confronted the suspected burglars and asked them to stop, but they did not.
The man then fired twice, striking one of the suspected burglars in the chest, and the other on the side. The shooter's name was not released.
When police arrived, they found one dead man across the street, and the other two houses behind a bank of mailboxes in the Village Grove East subdivision.
The suspects' names were not released, but police said they had documentation from Puerto Rico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
Under state law, Texans are allowed to defend themselves with deadly force to protect their own property. The person using deadly force must believe there is no other way to protect their belongings.
Defense attorney Tommy LaFon, a former Harris County prosecutor, said the gunman may be on safe legal ground if the neighbor whose home was burglarized tells police he asked the man to watch his property.
"If the homeowner comes out and says, 'My neighbor had a greater right of possession than the people trying to break in,' that could put him (the gunman) in an ownership role," LaFon said.
According to the state penal code, a person can use force or deadly force to defend someone else's property if he reasonably believes he has a legal duty to do so or the property owner had requested his protection.
PASADENA, Texas — A grand jury will decide if an elderly man who shot and killed two men he believed were robbing his neighbor's home acted within the limits of the state's self-defense laws.
The man, who is in his 70s, shot the two suspected burglars Wednesday afternoon in a quiet subdivision of the city southeast of Houston. He confronted the men as they were leaving through a gate leading to the front yard of his neighbor's home.
Just before the shootings, the man called 911 to say that he heard glass breaking and saw two men entering the home through a window, Pasadena police said.
"The man told the dispatcher: "I'm getting my gun and going to stop them. The dispatcher said, 'No, stay inside the house; officers are on the way.'," said police spokesman Vance Mitchell. "Then you hear him rack the shotgun. The next sound the dispatcher heard was a boom. Then there was silence for a couple of seconds and then another boom."
The telephone line then went dead, but the man called police again and told a dispatcher what he had done. He said he confronted the suspected burglars and asked them to stop, but they did not.
The man then fired twice, striking one of the suspected burglars in the chest, and the other on the side. The shooter's name was not released.
When police arrived, they found one dead man across the street, and the other two houses behind a bank of mailboxes in the Village Grove East subdivision.
The suspects' names were not released, but police said they had documentation from Puerto Rico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
Under state law, Texans are allowed to defend themselves with deadly force to protect their own property. The person using deadly force must believe there is no other way to protect their belongings.
Defense attorney Tommy LaFon, a former Harris County prosecutor, said the gunman may be on safe legal ground if the neighbor whose home was burglarized tells police he asked the man to watch his property.
"If the homeowner comes out and says, 'My neighbor had a greater right of possession than the people trying to break in,' that could put him (the gunman) in an ownership role," LaFon said.
According to the state penal code, a person can use force or deadly force to defend someone else's property if he reasonably believes he has a legal duty to do so or the property owner had requested his protection.
11-19-2007, 06:01 PM
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For sure the criminal and civil cases will be a battle. Let this be the first shot(s) in the battle making the phrase "property ain't worth dying over" mean more to the bad guys than to a fed up public.
Remember, when seconds count the LEO's are mostly minutes away.
Remember, when seconds count the LEO's are mostly minutes away.
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11-19-2007, 06:23 PM
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For sure the criminal and civil cases will be a battle. Let this be the first shot(s) in the battle making the phrase "property ain't worth dying over" mean more to the bad guys than to a fed up public.
Remember, when seconds counts the LEO's are mostly minutes away.
Remember, when seconds counts the LEO's are mostly minutes away.
11-19-2007, 07:05 PM
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i say good job...not like the deaths of those two thugs is a big loss to society. its unfortionate that they had families and friends, but the lure of an easy pay out was apparantly more appealing that getting an honest paycheck
brett
brett
11-19-2007, 07:19 PM
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Maybe the sign on the front door should read: "If you inted to break in to this home, please bring a legible form of identification so your nest of kin can be notified when you are killed" Thank you come again !
11-19-2007, 07:33 PM
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"yo gee, this is the downlow. ifs ya plannin on hittin this hiz-ows, ya need to scribble down what hommies and babys momma's we need ta educate...fo real!"
brett
11-19-2007, 07:48 PM
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I'd be interested to see what was in the 'bag of loot" Mr Horn defended. The dark side of me hopes a Scarface DVD was among the booty. Those two devils learned the hard way not everybody in suburbia is an anti-gun do as your told type.
Joe Horn is a hero and welcome to live next door to me.
Joe Horn is a hero and welcome to live next door to me.
11-19-2007, 08:32 PM
#13
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When I was a youngster in Concord Ca back in the early 70s an old gentelman named Mr McFarland shot a couple kids he caught slashing his horses with razors. even as a kid of ten or so I could not believe when he was convicted and sent to prison. Some times there is no Justice esp out here on the Left Coast..
11-19-2007, 09:24 PM
#14
I say good job and I am a LEO. Too often the victims are treated secondary or forgotten. In this case I say chalk one up for the good guys.
I think he will be fine. You have to remember Texas leads in death peanalty cases and Harris county (his) leads the state.
If this gets past the grand jury then he will be tried by a jury of his peers. In Houston that typically meand a group of people who given the right circumstances would dl the same. Not to mention his age. No jury (At least none I have ever seen here (Harris County) wants to sentence an elderly person.
Same rules in a civil trial.
I just hope they acquit him. If he were my neighbor, I promise he would have been asked to watch my home.
I think he will be fine. You have to remember Texas leads in death peanalty cases and Harris county (his) leads the state.
If this gets past the grand jury then he will be tried by a jury of his peers. In Houston that typically meand a group of people who given the right circumstances would dl the same. Not to mention his age. No jury (At least none I have ever seen here (Harris County) wants to sentence an elderly person.
Same rules in a civil trial.
I just hope they acquit him. If he were my neighbor, I promise he would have been asked to watch my home.