HOUSTON, June 30, 2008
No Charges For Man Who Killed Burglars
Grand Jury Clears Texas Man Who Shot Two Men Who Allegedly Broke Into His Neighbor's House
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This undated photo released by Lambright & Lambright law office in Houston, shows Joe Horn who allegedly fatally shot two suspected burglars on Nov. 14, 2007. Horn, 62, was cleared by a grand jury Monday, June 30, 2008, for shooting to death two men he suspected of burglarizing his neighbor's home. (AP PHOTO)
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Police outside of crime scene where 911-caller Joe Horn shot two burglary suspects on Nov. 14, 2007. (KHOU)
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Joe Horn, 62, 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, carrying bags of the neighbor's possessions.
Horn, a retired grandfather, called 911 and told the dispatcher he had a shotgun and was going to kill them. The dispatcher pleaded with him not to go outside, but Horn confronted the men with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot both in the back.
"The message we're trying to send today is the criminal justice system works," Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson told reporters at the courthouse.
Horn's attorney, Tom Lambright, said his client was relieved by the grand jury's decision and never wanted to hurt anyone.
"He wasn't trying to take matters into his own hands," Lambright said. "He was scared. He was not playing cowboy."
Horn did not speak with reporters on Monday.
A large red sign with the words "No Trespass" on it blocked the path to his front door and a handwritten sign on the door said "Please no media" "No Trespassing" and "Do not knock or ring bell." A couple of neighbors also had signs on their doors asking media to leave them alone.
A few police cars patrolled the area near Horn's home.
Lambright reiterated to reporters that Horn believed the two men had broken into his neighbor's home and that he shot them out of fear for his life when they came into his yard and threatened him.
"He wasn't acting like a vigilante," Lambright said. "He was well within his rights to do what he was doing."
The two suspected burglars, Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia. Torres was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction.
The incident touched off protests from civil rights activists who said the shooting was racially motivated and that Horn took the law into his own hands. Horn's supporters defended his actions, saying he was protecting himself and being a good neighbor to a homeowner who was out of town.
"I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's conduct," Magidson said. "The use of deadly force is carefully limited in Texas law to certain circumstances ... In this case, however, the grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense."
The city of Pasadena, where protesters and defenders of Horn engaged in counter-demonstrations, pledged to keep its police force staffed enough to protect its citizens.
"The obvious lessons that can be drawn from (the Horn case) are that criminal activities are inherently a dangerous lifestyle, and the prevention and pursuit of those involved in criminal actions are best left to the police," said the statement issued by city spokeswoman Jennifer Banks.
Magidson said nine of the 12 grand jurors would have had to vote in favor of an indictment in order for Horn to be charged.
Grand jurors had to consider two issues: the intentional killing of another person and whether the killing was justified either by self defense or the defense of property, Magidson said.
Horn testified before the grand jury for about 1½ hours last week, Lambright said.
Keith Hampton, a Houston attorney not connected with the case, said he didn't expect Horn to be indicted.
"This is a real conservative county," he said. "A lot of folks in Houston and Harris County are saying this man was doing a good thing."
In the 911 call, a dispatcher urges Horn to stay inside his house and not risk lives
"Don't go outside the house," the 911 operator pleaded. "You're gonna get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think."
"You wanna make a bet?" Horn answered. "I'm gonna kill 'em."
After the shooting, he redialed 911.
"I had no choice," he said, his voice shaking. "They came in the front yard with me, man. I had no choice. Get somebody over here quick."
Lambright said the 911 call gave the public the wrong impression about Horn and what happened that day.
"It's a very sad thing that occurred," Lambright said of the shootings.
Texas law allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves if it is reasonable to believe they are in mortal danger. In limited circumstances, people also can use deadly force to protect their neighbor's property; for example, if a homeowner asks a neighbor to watch over his property while he's out of town.
It's not clear whether the neighbor whose home was burglarized asked Horn to watch over his house.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 703 CommentsIf one of my sons had chosen to live a lawless, criminal life, I would be devastated to think I brought such a person into the world. I would feel terrible knowing he was living a life detrimental to his community, instead of contributing his strengths or skills to his neighbors with honest labor. I would feel the same way if he wasted his life as a drug addict, and probably, if he were a thief, he would be a substance abuser.
But if he did violate people''s homes and get himself shot or get put in prison after killing someone while DUI, I would not blame anyone but my son.
Joe Horn did what a lot of Houstonians want to do because they are fed up with the crime. while civil rights groups are on the side of criminals, something has to protect law abiding citizens like the right to keep and bear arms.
Posted by Justice_4_U
"JUST" stealing xboxes? JUST??? oh, and so if the shoe was on the other foot and these illegal convicted drug dealers were breaking into *YOUR* house- endangering you and YOUR family I''d bet things would be vastly different!
What if the thugs had broken in and raped/killed the homeowner in the process of their "just stealing"?
How did or would anyone know that maybe someone in the house was asleep home sick with the flu or something when the thugs broke in, was surprised by them and stabbed to death?
Posted by SharonKent
There''s that VIRUS site again, reporting as spam now, it''s nothing but a phishing spam.
Just have to play the race card don''t you ? What if he had been black and they had been white, what would you be saying. I don''t care what any of the races were that were involved. He erased two scum from society that shouldn''t be ther inthe first place. Yes times are getting hard and you will see tough justice coming back in the near future.
Would people be calling him a hero. He went outside to kill.
Carma is a ***
I think Texas sent a clear message to the relatives that their chance of winning a civil suit in Texas is as much likely as a snow ball in hell.
In Texas, a citizen witnesses a crime. It is not a combat zone, and the suspect is not commiting a crime against the witnesses property, but in this case, the witness declared their fear justified their right to use deadly force against two suspects.
The law in Texas practically declared the entire state is a combat zone and every citizen can use deadly force to stop any crime, simply because the citizen has fear.
While the criminals can''t sue the shooter, the neighbor can, and so can the relatives of the shooter. In Texas, the property owner being robbed can be sued by the relatives of the burglars and the relatives have a very winnable case, since the shooter deprived the burglars access to counsel before killing them. The shooter can be sued in civil court and be forced to pay for wrongful death judgement. A civil court won''t extend protection to the shooter as a criminal court would.
I am afraid the shooters problems have not begun to stop over the incident.
He may have stopped the crime, but the problems will haunt him for years. There will be no peace in that man''s life if he has only half a conscience.
The shooter will be more than willing to change places with those wanting to give him a medal.
Have you ever had someone confront you with a weapon ? If not then you cannot say how you will react.
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