I am curious what you or anyone else on the thread thinks should be done with this guy. Its an interesting case because it touches a number of bases. The guy killed two robbers who were stealing stuff from the house next door. As it turns out, both robbers were Colombian and in this country illegally. One had been deported ten years earlier. Pasadena, TX, the effected community, has had a number of burglaries in the past year which have dropped off since the robbers were killed. The shooter is white. He had called 911 when he saw them breaking in and said he had a gun. 911 told him to stay out of it and wait for the police. However, the shooter was afraid they would get away so he confronted them and killed them. I believe the robbers were unarmed. A grand jury has been convened. I believe TX law allows you to apprehend and shoot someone robbing your place. However, there is some question whether you can do the same for your neighbor. Apparently, this case has stirred up a hornet's nest in TX.
So what do you think should happen to the man who killed the two robbers?
Man Kills Suspected Intruders While Protecting Neighbor's Property
Shooter's Legal Right Questioned
Texans are debating if a man who said he was defending his neighbor's property when he shot and killed two suspected burglars was within his rights.
Texas state law allows people to use deadly force in order to protect their property. And so far, Pasadena, Texas, resident Joe Horn has not been charged in the shooting deaths of Manuel De Jesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, earlier this week.
Horn, 61 ran out of his house when he suspected the men were attempting to burglarize his neighbor's home. He called 911 to alert authorities of the situation, and the conversation has been preserved on tape.
Joe Horn: Hurry up man. Catch these guys, will ya? 'Cause I ain't gonna. I'm gonna be honest with ya. I'm not gonna let 'em go. I'm not gonna let them get away with this.
The dispatcher begged him to wait for police instead of taking any action.
Horn: You hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going.
911 Dispatcher: Don't go outside.
On the recording, Horn can be heard threatening to shoot the men if they move.
Horn: Move, you're dead.
Still, Horn's attorney insists his client is not an out-of-control vigilante.
"Joe is not a vigilante," said the attorney, Tom Lambright. "He's not a Rambo. He is exactly the opposite of that. He's a nice, loving family man."
But Ortiz's wife, Diamond Morgan, said she believes Horn used excessive force.
"[Horn] said that he feared for his life. But he made the 911 call. And the dispatcher kept telling him don't go outside," she said. "I feel he wanted to shoot them anyway."
Police said a grand jury will determine if what Horn did was illegal.
Meanwhile, he has expressed some regret about what occurred.
"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," Horn said in a statement to ABC News.
abcnews.go.com |
