Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Joe Horn No Hero


A true tale from Pasadena, Texas

Just over two miles from me, behind the very large Second Baptist Church, is a relatively new subdivision. In this subdivision lived an old man. And his shotgun.

He heard something going on in the house next door one day. It sounded like glass breaking. He thought his neighbor was gone.

He did a smart thing. He called 911. He reported a burglary in progress. That was the last smart thing he did.

He stayed on the phone for six minutes. The police still hadn't come. One of the legacies of Mayor Manlove is a reduced police force.

While on the phone he worked himself up. He told the 911 operator he had his gun and he would stop those burglars. He wouldn't let them get away.

She told him no. Wait for the police. Don't go out there.

When it seemed like they were leaving he told her I am going to stop them. Kill them. She said don't do that.
"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 re-dialed 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."

Diamond Morgan, Diego Ortiz's wife and mother of their 8-month-old son, told TV station KTRK that she was stunned by Horn's comments on the 911 call.

"It's horrible," she said. "He was so eager, so eager to shoot."

But Horn "literally went to pieces" after the shooting, Lambright [Horn's attorney] said. He issued a statement a few days later saying the events would weigh heavily on him for the rest of his life.
Only after the shooting did the police show up. They questioned him and released him. Charges may be filed later.

Suppose the two men had had guns. Suppose the police thought Joe Horn was one of the men. Suppose he had just taken a description of the men and their vehicle to give police. There are many supposes.

In this case the two burglars were the only ones dead. He shot them leaving. His lawyer says they came toward Joe Horn, a large heavy-set man pointing a gun. This is the only legal defense against murder charges. His lawyer must say that Joe Horn was afraid for his life.

The matter has been referred to the grand jury. He could face murder charges. There is no law that says you have the right to kill people who robbed your neighbor in daylight and are going away. Since this is Texas, I expect the old man will be charged with a minor crime or no-billed.

Harris County is already the legalized murder capital in the country. Maybe Harris County or Texas will make an example of the old man. Support him as someone who should be a model for all citizens. Why put the burden on the state and use our tax dollars to kill criminals? Authorize all citizens to be the police, judge, jury and executioner. If you see any crime being committed - shoot. Sure would save a lot of time.

I used to go over in Pasadena to feed my ex-wife's cats when she was away. I don't think I would do that now. No telling if some other old man with a gun would think I was a burglar.

There was a demonstration and counter-demonstration in front of his house. Some people think he is a frightened, confused murderer. Some people think he is a racist. Some people think he is a hero.

Joe Horn is not home now. He has gone out of town and is trying to recover from killing the two. I am not sure he thinks what he did was right. There are plenty of people around here who do.

If I was a burglar I think I would make sure and take a gun next time.

GunGuys: License to murder.

Falkenberg: Self-Defense Unclear.

Leahy: Pasadena Protest heats up.

Lawyer: Pasadena man shot suspects out of fear

Chron: 911 tape

11 comments:

Gary said...

The libertarian argument; Texas could save a lot of money if it authorized all citizens to be the police, judge, jury and executioner for anyone they see committing any crime. We could even get rid of the police and the entire legal and prison system.

Liberal argument: Why do we have the rule of law and the legal system if any person no matter how incompetent can take the law into their own hands and execute people for minor crimes?

Anonymous said...

Some people think he's a racist? He didn't do a very smart thing; that doesn't make him a racist unless of course the argument is that because he's white, he's a racist?

I don't know where all of this is going to end, but if the Liberal argument is that white's don't have the right to protect themselves or their families I think we're headed for a lot of trouble. This case doesn't even fit that situation however, in my opinion he should have remained indoors and let the burglars get away with the stolen goods as they most likely would have done.

Bluzy said...

The two slimeballs were criminal illegal aliens. The weren't black. They shouldn't have been in the country. They had already been busted for crimes. They should have been deported back to the rathole they came from. Joe is a hero. I'd kill 'em twice..

Anonymous said...

"In this case the two burglars were the only ones dead. He shot them leaving. His lawyer says they came toward Joe Horn, a large heavy-set man pointing a gun. This is the only legal defense against murder charges. His lawyer must say that Joe Horn was afraid for his life."

Mr. horn stepped outside his house, condronted the men, ordered them to stop. (Don't move or your dead). Reports claim they were on his property. Police are investigating..

Why don't you get all your information straight and wait for the law to address if before passing judgement instead of being a hypocrite.

Anonymous said...

Screw the facts, Gary. You're moral certainty and superiority will keep you warm.

Gary said...

There was a demonstration because some people think he was a racist.

Some people are convinced that the two robbers were on his property headed toward him. There is no evidence that has been released yet that shows this.

Anonymous said...

Latest chron.com article (linked below) says that there was a plain clothes police officer who arrived earlier on the scene and witnessed the entire event.

The robbers ignored Horn's warning and tried to rush him just like Horn said on the 911 tape. Bad decision on their part.

Quanell X, a convicted felon and full time race baiter, tried his best, with the help of fellow liberals, to make a sensationalist racial issue out of a situation in which race was not a factor by leading a protest before the evidence was even presented.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5362232.html

Gary said...

The article says Joe Horn shot both men in the back.

It also has this statement: "Corbett said one man ran toward Horn, but had angled away from him toward the street when he was shot in the back just before reaching the curb.

"The detective confirmed that this suspect was actually closer to Horn after he initiated his run than at the time when first confronted," said [Pasadena police officer] Corbett. "Horn said he felt in jeopardy."

Was he running toward Mr. Horn or not?

Bay Area Houston said...

"They were coming at me. So I shot them in the back."

I guess Joe Horn has Mike Tyson's lawyer.

Anonymous said...

Gary... did you actually read the article?? I started off as "shot in the back"...reading further on shows how the liberal media just wants to trump up ratings and readership.. the plain clothed officer was watching these two.. If there was any doubt, isn't it fair to say the officer would have reported this already to his commanding officer. & qx was trying to turn this into something it wasn't. Two thieves...simple and to the point!

Gary said...

Two men come out of a house carrying items they stole. There is a large man pointing a shotgun at them. He says stop. The two men run. They get shot in the back. A plains clothed police officer witness, scared that he might be shot by Joe Horn, says one man ran toward Joe but angled away.

Has anyone commenting but me and a friend at work actually taken gun safety and the law classes or read the materials?

Shooting these two thieves in the back would get any police or security officer fired and charged with at least manslaughter.