Neighborly justice or murder?
01:39 AM CST on Thursday, November 15, 2007
Is it justice or is it murder?
Police said a man shot and killed two people he believed were burglarizing the house next door.
The two-suspected burglars were not armed.
And along Timberland Drive, this case is all neighbors were talking about.
Homeowners in the Pasadena community begrudgingly accepted a harsh reality Wednesday night.
“You think you’re safe. You think you’re in a safe neighborhood,” said one resident. “But it makes you aware that this can happen anywhere.”
Police said hours earlier, an elderly neighbor shot and killed two burglary suspects.
They say it happened after the man called 911 to report the sound of breaking glass coming from the home next door.
“The homeowner saw the suspects coming out of the backyard of the residence next door, confronted them tried to get them to stop and shot them both,” said Pasadena Police Capt. Bud Corbett.
“It was boom, boom, boom,” said Lacy Hernandez. Now, she and her neighbors are contemplating its implications.
“My kids run these streets, we leave our back door open, so for something like this to happen, it’s crazy,” she said.
Perhaps so. Perhaps just a sign of the times. A grand jury will determine what happens to the man who opened fire.
“I would just probably tell him you did what you had to do, and I think you did the right thing,” said Bianca Gracia.
LINKS:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f3d_1195171937
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4dc_1195205938
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/17/national/main3517564.shtml?source=mostpop_story
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou071114_jj_pasadenadeadlydoubleshooting.25c5bb2.html
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Neighbor who shot potential burglars ‘petrified’
04:51 PM CST on Friday, November 16, 2007
“This guy’s got a shotgun if we don’t get there he’s gonna shoot their asses,” the dispatcher radios to responding officers.
Too late.
On the 911 tape the distinct sound of a shotgun pumping and then a shot, then again and 10 seconds later one more shot. Three shots in all can be heard on the recording.
“The last thing Joe intended, knowing him the way I do, was to get in a violent confrontation with these people,” said attorney Tom Lambright, who is representing the man who fired the fatal shots. Lambright said his client, a good friend, didn’t want to kill anyone.
But the confrontation was violent. And it was fatal. Both of the unarmed men who were supposedly burglarizing the man’s neighbor were shot dead.
The shooting may become a test of the state law that allows someone to use deadly force to protect one’s property. But does that right extend to protecting the property of your neighbors?
“They were bad guys, they were doing a bad thing. But the penalty for that is not to be shot,” said 11 News legal expert Gerald Treece. “The penalty for that is not the death penalty. That’s what I’m saying. If law enforcement officials had shown up and done exactly the same thing these law enforcement officials would also have trouble.”
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou071115_tj_911call.7f804f1.html
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Man who shot 2 suspected burglars releases statement
12:07 PM CST on Saturday, November 17, 2007
Two days ago, a man in one Pasadena neighborhood told a police dispatcher exactly what he intended to do.
Caller: “Don’t move, your dead.”
Now, the caller has had time to think about it.
And for the first time Joe Horn, the man who fatally shot two suspects who were allegedly breaking into a neighbor’s home, is releasing a statement through an attorney. “The events of that day will weigh heavily on me for the rest of my life. My thoughts go out to the loved ones of the deceased.”
The identities of the men killed were released Friday.
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Joe Horn
They are Miguel Dejesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30.
Officials records show that each of them had a prior arrest in Harris County for drug offenses.
The woman who lives across the street from Horn says she has always seen him as a grandfather figure. “He is the guardian of the neighborhood. He takes care of all our kids. If we ever need anything, we call him.”
But according to Horn’s attorney and friend for more than four decades, he’s the one in need now. “He just needs everyone to know, he’s not a villain, he’s not a bad guy,” said Tom Lambright. He goes on to say that Horn voluntarily gave an extensive video statement to police immediately following the shooting.
Lambright says Horn acted in complete and total self defense and has nothing to hide.
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou071116_jj_timberlineshootingfollow.d0036e5.html
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RELATED LINKS:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5309288.html
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5766452
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This case is scheduled to go before the grand jury next week.
I will keep tabs on this case, and will give updates and my opinion on it when the grand jury renders its verdict.
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LINKS:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/pdf/SB00378F.pdf