In February, I covered the case of Joe Horn, the man who shot dead two thieves who made the mistake of breaking into his neighbor's house. (Original post here)
At the time there was some controversy because he was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher who told him not to interfere. He did:
Horn fatally shot the burglars, two illegal immigrants from Colombia named Diego Ortiz and Miguel de Jesus. Stephanie Storey, De Jesus' fiancée, wants to see Joe Horn prosecuted.
"This man took the law into his own hands," she said. "He shot two individuals in the back after having been told over and over to stay inside. It was his choice to go outside and his choice to take two lives." - ABC News
Of course it was these two guy's choice to go and try to steal someone else's property. Now I disagree with the dispatcher who told Mr. Horn that nothing was worth being shot over. If it had been my stuff, I definitely would have shot the thieves, if given the opportunity. And one more thing, I would have also shot to kill. (Which is why when I decided on a first gun, I got a .45) Really, why risk these guys getting a stupid idea to try and come after you when/if they ever get out of jail/hospital.
Well today comes news that Mr. Horn will not be facing any criminal charges
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- A Texas man who shot and killed two men he suspected of burglarizing his neighbor's home was cleared in the shootings Monday by a grand jury.
Joe Horn, 61, shot the two men in November after he saw them crawling out the windows of a neighbor's house in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. - CNN
Sure it is sad that two people had to die, but at least it was the right two people. Nobody knows what might have happened had these two invaded a house that was occupied. Also, the police could have prevented this shooting had they gotten there a little quicker. (This is a common claim to leave it to the police) However, as quick as the police were, they would have just missed the robbers had Mr. Horn not intervened. Also, these two had long police records and were just pushing their luck for something like this to happen to them. One of them was sent back home to his country after serving only 5 years of a 25 year prison sentence. Had he been required to serve his full jail term, he never would have ended up in Mr. Horn's sights. It's doesn't matter if he was right or wrong, it was the wrong choice of the two robbers that then forced this man into a position of having to decide interfering or not.
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Never Push Your Luck II - 28 Feb 08
11 comments:
What a stupid person you are.
I can just see it - mindless gun toting racists running around shooting people who don't look like them and claiming - oh I felt scared for my life because a black/brown/non-white guy was hanging around suspiciously.
What if these two guys were workers asked by the owner to do some work on his house while he was away. How would your overzealuos bigoted pig have known.
In any event - Mr white killer has not gotten away with anything. He'll get his one way or another ...
I agree with the other annonymous commentor (or comentee), this guy killed 2 people over PROPERTY....
Thats what police are for, you call them and they catch the criminals. If they wouldve gotten away this time because the police didnt get there in time that sure sucks, but you dont just kill them preemptively! That guy who killed them is a murderer.
I also agree with the anonymous commentators above. Stealing is not an offense that is punishable by the death penalty anywhere, and the defendant is, for all intents and purposes, a murderer. The Texas law that says you can use deadly force to defend property is antiquated and should be dismantled as nobody with any whit of civilization would say that people should be killed for stealing. Why should some random guy with a gun be allowed to be judge, jury, and executioner? There's a reason why this country doesn't allow that anymore--it's not fair, individuals are biased and frequently make mistakes, and it's just not civilized.
white killer? is there more information on this case?
I don't believe the shooting was racially motivated, there is no evidence of that. But it was just plain wrong. The dispatcher clearly told Joe Horn to stay put. When the dispatcher said, 'you'll get yourself hurt', Joe Horn responds, 'We'll see about that!'.
This is an attitude some gun toters have, that a gun makes a person big and bad. He also shot them in the BACK, over property. Anyone who puts property over human life is screwed up and didn't have parents teach them properly.
Texas is a backward, screwed up state where they don't respect human life. (current presidential policies are further proof of this).
Living in Houston, this debate was and is a hot topic here.
I don't really feel like giving in opinion just a link to some more comments from our local newspaper:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5865080.html
or you can type chron.com (Houston Chronicle) and it will surely be on the homepage.
BTW - nice design of the blog. Is this a template or your own doing?
A long time ago in my Tennessee neighborhood, many homes were being loudly and violently broken into by thieves. One local man regularly sat up every night, all night long, in front of his closed front door, shotgun on his lap, waiting, just in case he was next. One night, thieves came, broke down his door, rushed in, and he was ready. He shot and killed them, and was not found guilty later. We all felt more safe and haven't had any robberies since. That was 20 years ago. When you break into a strange house with obvious force, any witness is going to assume you are a dangerous criminal and act accordingly. A life of crime is it's own reward, I think.
"What if these two guys were workers asked by the owner to do some work on his house while he was away. How would your overzealuos bigoted pig have known."
- Sorry, what kind of 'workers' climb out of a window with their arms full of the owners belongings? Thieves, that's who.
"this guy killed 2 people over PROPERTY"
- Property costs money. I am out about $800 from the last time some asses broke into my car when living in Washington, DC. Want to send me a check? If you do, please add another $400 for the stereo I had to buy for my wife to replace the one stolen out of her car. $1,200 might mean nothing to you, but it a lot of money for me.
"The Texas law that says you can use deadly force to defend property is antiquated"
- Actually, it is a new law that permits citizens to defend themselves without forcing a retreat.
"it's not fair, individuals are biased and frequently make mistakes"
- What kind of mistake did these two criminals make? Pick the wrong house? Wrong time? Come into the US illegally? Maybe it was the court system that made the mistake by not putting these guys in jail for longer periods of time, or keeping them there. One of these guys only served 5 years of a 25 year prison sentence. If he was safe in jail, this never would have happened. Instead, he learned that he could get away with crime. He was given the wrong message, by our Government.
"Anyone who puts property over human life is screwed up and didn't have parents teach them properly."
- and what about the parents of these two? They should have been taught to respect other people's property!
"When you break into a strange house with obvious force, any witness is going to assume you are a dangerous criminal and act accordingly. A life of crime is it's own reward, I think."
- Well put.
- Go read my original post on this shooting which covers the numerous mistakes these guys made prior to breaking into the house that ended up with them dead.
- Also remember, that it was their actions that prompted the shooter to act as he did. Whether shooting them was right or wrong, he was only forced to decide because of the illegal action of the thieves.
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Hey, where do you guys live? I am sure the criminals want to know. You all sound like safe easy targets, provided that your neighbor cares more about crime than you do. Really, at what point would you fight back? What if you wake up in the middle of the night and someone is in your house, but just interested in your property? Check google news, there are shootings like this all the time. This was made the news only because it happened in the yard and not inside the house.
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I have to agree here...
These were ILLEGAL immigrants..
Prior convictions
Jail Time
Drug charges
Now they are STEALING...
I mean, come on, you only get so many chances.
I applaud the bravery of this man.
Those two thieves got what they deserved.
The problem with our society is that no one wants to take responsibility for THEIR actions. Everyone is boo-hooing for the thieves. Those two men were stealing. They had no regard for the personal property of others. They were criminals. I'm sure they weren't nice people, so good riddance to them. I wish we had similar laws where I lived. Good on ya Texas
"Texas is full of redneck bigots"
^Is that not a form of bigotry in itself?^
You stupid fucking nigger lover. I am pretty fuckin sure he woulda shot them had they been white. Thieves get shot in texas. Dont like it? Live in the fuckin north.
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