One part of the story here that I saw is this:
When the father’s wife and son arrived home, the suspects fled, the report said. As they were fleeing, the son retrieved a gun and shot one of the suspects in the head, reports said.
Ooooo…. that’s not good.
It doesn’t matter if they pistol whip your dad and abuse your sisters in a closet, you can’t shoot them when they are running away.
The wording has varied depending who reports is, the Houston Chronicle describes the encounter this way:
The son grabbed a gun and went around the back to check on his father. Eventually, the son confronted one of the suspects in the street, and a gun battle ensued.
That’s better.
None of the news reports have indicated that no charges will be filed, I guess the police are still investigating.
I don’t know what the details are, so I am not going to armchair lawyer this one right yet.
What I can say with certainty is that Texas is better off with one less home invader in the state.
Also, I hope that the benefit of the doubt falls on the side of the son and not the criminal. I’d hate to see the son go to jail given the facts that we know right now.
One plus is that Texas is a stand your ground state
I hope it goes wel for the son, too. I worry since Houston is badly infected with leftism.
Fortunately Texas has a “catch all” provision in deadly force law.
Sec. 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or tangible, movable property:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.41; and
(2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A) to prevent the other’s imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or
(B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and
(3) he reasonably believes that:
(A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
Since the suspects were fleeing with unknown property AND the cars of the home owner, I doubt Houston PD or DA will bother to file charges. And the chance any grand jury will indict is very, very, very small.