The Saga Of Joe Horn: Texas Man Cleared In Shotgun Shootings

Bravissimo!

Another Victory In The Continuing Battle Of The Right To Bear And USE
Firearms In The U.S.A.

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
-------------------------------------------------------------

Texas man cleared of shooting suspected burglars
By JUAN A. LOZANO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
1 July 2008

HOUSTON -- Ever since he fatally shot two men he suspected of burglarizing
his next-door neighbor's home, 62-year-old Joe Horn has been both praised
and vilified for his actions.

Horn called 911 and told the dispatcher he had a shotgun and was going to
kill the intruders. The dispatcher pleaded with him not to go outside, but
a
defiant Horn confronted the men with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot both in
the
back.

Some community activists wanted Horn to face charges for the deaths.
Sup****ters of the retired grandfather said what he did was justified under
the law.

After listening to evidence in the case, including testimony from Horn
himself, a grand jury on Monday cleared him of the shootings.

"He wasn't acting like a vigilante. He didn't want to do it," said Tom
Lambright, Horn's attorney.

Lambright said Horn was not a "wild cowboy" who took the law into his own
hands after he saw the two suspected burglars, with bags in hand, crawling
out of windows from his neighbor's home on Nov. 14 in the Houston suburb
of
Pasadena. The neighbor was out of town at the time.

Instead, Horn was a frightened retiree who tried to defend his neighbor's
property and when the two men came onto his yard and threatened him, Horn
defended himself, Lambright said.

"He was scared. He was in fear of his life," he said.

Grand jurors had to consider two issues in the case: the intentional
killing
of another person and whether the killing was justified either by
self-defense or the defense of property, Harris County District Attorney
Kenneth Magidson told re****ters.

"I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's
conduct," Magidson said. "The grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn's use of
deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense."

Texas law allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves if it is
reasonable to believe they are in mortal danger. In limited cir***stances,
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.

Frank Ortiz, a member of the local League of United Latin American
Citizens
chapter, said he hopes federal authorities investigate the case further.

"That's amazing that they would no-bill him with so much evidence against
him," Ortiz told the Houston Chronicle in Monday's online edition. "This
was
no more than a vigilante."

Horn did not speak with re****ters 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.

The two suspected burglars, Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz,
30, were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia. Torres was de****ted
to
Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction.

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.

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 going to
get
yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what
you
think."

"You want to make a bet?" Horn answered. "I'm going to kill them."

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."