Georgia man, 69, accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old who drove into wrong driveway

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Phillip Sailors

/ Gwinnett County jail

(CBS/AP) LILBURN, Ga. - A 69-year-old suburban Atlanta man faces a murder charge after authorities say he shot and killed a 22-year-old man who had mistakenly driven into his driveway.

An arrest warrant states that Rodrigo Abad Diaz of Duluth, Ga., was fatally shot in the head Saturday as he tried to drive away from Phillip Sailors' home in Lilburn, northeast of Atlanta.

According to Diaz's friends, who were in the vehicle at the time of the incident, the 22-year-old had received incorrect directions from a GPS device which led him to Sailors' driveway, the Atlantic Journal-Constitution reports. They were in the area to pick up a friend.

Sailors' attorney, Michael Puglise, tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was home with his wife late at night, and assumed the young man arrived to commit a home invasion. Puglise says Sailors was defending his home and maintains his innocence.

Gwinnett County Jail records show that Sailors was being held on a murder charge.

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by freegeg February 4, 2013 4:45 PM EST

The people in the car stated they were going to go ice skating, There are two ice rinks within 20 miles of the home. Both closed at ten. The incident happened after 10pm. The car is a Mitsubishi 3000. They stated they were on their way to pick up a 5th person yet that car has only 4 seats. I don;t think they were there picking anyone up. They were there to burglarize that home.

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by Holli_Hollister February 4, 2013 5:40 PM EST: So, let's get this straight the driver is guilty till proven innocent. It really doen's matter what you think. I daresay if this creep had murdered a friend of yours you'd be singing a different tune.


by lewac February 4, 2013 6:01 PM EST: you seem to know the area. what time did this event occur? if the driver really was attempting to retreat this is at the very least manslaughter. he was in retreat. however if the alleged bad guy was standing ground the owner has the right to shoot him... at least in FL he does. and the survivors story doesn't add as you've eluded to. thus they were probably not there to present a good guy image. basically what happened is this guy vs that guy. what was the shooter doing? waiting up for these guys? no. dogs barking & not normal noises in the early morning hours is time for investigation. go get my gun be right back that sorta thing. and another thing. 69yo people are no match for a carload of 20 something males. these guys were up to no good. I would've waited though for any signs of retreat... perhaps he did and did not feel there was any (I'm 70 and carry concealed here in FL). I would NOT have warned them though. also as a concealed holder we do NOT actually need to see a weapon. if we (or anyone else in our presence) feels threatened we can take the initiative regardless.

personally I'm pro-gun for the average citizen to carry. however i'm vehemontly against assault type weaponry and high count magazines. if you can't stop a situation with 5 well placed shots you should not own a firearm. one other note. if its a home invasion or looks like one call 911. leave the phone open you don't need to say anything. did this guy do that? he should have (CYA if something goes amiss afterwards). remember also that nowadays technology can pick up background noise over an open phone that wasn't possible just a few years ago. make that call.


by gottasay2u February 4, 2013 3:01 PM EST: guns don't kill, gps do it!; Reply to this comment


by syslmod February 4, 2013 8:48 AM EST: Tryem
Convictem
Offem; Reply to this comment


by tvwatcher5345 February 4, 2013 7:14 AM EST: fire a warning shot, not a bullit into the guys head with your first shot, call the cops, shoot a tire, and stop listening to rush and glenn beck; Reply to this comment


by spacengin February 4, 2013 6:26 AM EST: A terrible tragedy for all involved.

Guns are tools which can be perceived as the solution to some event. Then afterwards, one would realized the gun was not the desired solution. "If all you have is a hammer, the hammer is always the solution." So here we have a vet with a gun who is approaching 70 years old who has been primed for a fearful response by a nearby event as elderly people are often targets. The gun and "mental spring" were loaded and the unfortunate young man triggered the event.

My reaction to this is that the NRA sells gun rights/2nd amendment rights through the idea of fear. As in the Sailor case, you then have the loaded gun with the loaded mentallity which yields the tragedies throughout America today. People with guns and this mentallity are about 20 times more likely to kill/seriously hurt/end up in prison or with terrible haunting tragedies for the rest of their lives. A better approach is to get rid of the guns bought to respond to some perceived future home invasion and focus on alternative solutions. Guns for sport should be locked up and difficult to quickly get...to give time for thinking of alternative solutions.; Reply to this comment


by Patrickdh10 February 1, 2013 1:52 PM EST: C'mon all you big strong men the NRA wants a gun in your hand. Be the first one on the block to shoot some innocent with your glock. Put down your nook and pick up a gun we're gonna have a whole lot of fun. So tell St Peter at the pearly gates it was a friends ricochet from his 48. But it's okay cause in this state the lead is flying at an incredible rate. And it's 1,2,3, what am I shooting for don't ask me I'm not real sure, just heard wars at my door. And it's 5,6,7,lets load the 38. Don't ask my why guns are pie in the sky but a lot of people are gonna die. Adapted freely from Country Joe and the Fish. Poets well ahead of their time.; Reply to this comment


by MIO42 January 31, 2013 8:44 PM EST: Always shoot first
Even before
Hi ,how are ya; Reply to this comment

by bwestbroker January 31, 2013 12:30 PM EST

Wonder if there's ANY possibility that this man DID in fact prevent a robbery?Doubtful that anyone else in the car would admit that they were there to rob him.Going to wait until the facts come out..like whether this kid has a criminal history?

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by townlaw January 31, 2013 4:33 PM EST: Well, if you shoot everyone that turns around in your driveway you are going to prevent those people from getting inside your house and robbing you. Just shoot and find out if they are bad people later. If they're not, well what the hell! I'm sorry. Another mistake.


by Magic-Sky-Daddy January 31, 2013 8:33 PM EST: Diaz had no criminal record. He was in the car with his girlfriend and brother.

This was a terrible tragedy.


by MiscAdverts February 1, 2013 5:11 AM EST: This seems to be another "Ooops" situation. Interesting since a police chief in another state just went on record encouraging everyone to get a gun since the police have been cutback and there aren't enough cops to respond to 911 calls. Expect more "ooops" situations as long as everyone gets to have a gun lying around, just in case.


by MajorMigraine February 3, 2013 5:20 PM EST: I think that had BOT TO BE the most bigoted comment posted here thus far! Why would they be likely to have been robbers? Because they had hispanic last names? Idiot...

by stopkillingourwilderness January 30, 2013 8:27 PM EST

Hmmm. Name one sane person who would not just call the cops if a strange person pulled into their driveway. It's not like the kid was lunging for him or trying to break open the door, or inside the house. He was in the damn driveway, TRYING TO DRIVE AWAY. Sorry, this was an act of aggression, not defense.

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by bwestbroker January 31, 2013 12:34 PM EST: We don't actually KNOW what happened..whether this young man WAS outside his car..why don't we wait until they release the WHOLE story?SOunds like the homeowner was not some crazy,mad man so I have to believe there MIGHT have been some justification for what he did.

by shurch4truth January 30, 2013 6:11 PM EST

It's come down to people with guns feel obligated and emboldened by all the excessive talk to support guns and the right to defend oneself to the point that these people are shooting others because they think they are supposed to. It's like "As a responsible gun owner and protector of the 2nd amendment I will shoot anyone who I have the slightest suspicion might be posing a threat to me, such as, turning around in my driveway".

It's certain that people in other countries are looking that U.S. and shaking their heads. We ARE our own worse enemies.

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by hawkman1001-2009 February 1, 2013 7:18 PM EST: You are right. People in other countries (I live in Canada) are shaking their heads at the completely insane obsession with guns in the U.S. In Canada, people must go through background checks to get a hunting rifle. Handguns are very difficult to get. Assault rifles are just not available. We have about 200 gun killings a year, compared to 10,000 in the U.S. There have been 5 gun murders this year in our area, and all of them were gangsters. All of their handguns are illegal and smuggled in from the U.S.