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07/01/2008: "Texas man cleared of shooting dead two illegal immigrants stealing from his neighbor"
A Harris County grand jury on Monday ended the rancorous seven-month debate over Pasadena resident Joe Horn's decision to gun down two illegal immigrant burglars in his front yard, concluding the act was a justifiable use of deadly force and not murder.
The grand jury heard two weeks of testimony from witnesses, including Horn. They likely also heard his breathless 911 call, during which the increasingly frustrated retiree ignored a dispatcher's pleas to stay inside and out of harm's way. The Nov. 14 call ended with the sound of Horn racking a shell into his 12-gauge shotgun's chamber followed by three gunshots that killed Colombians Diego Ortiz, 30, and Hernando Riascos Torres, 38.
Each man was shot in the back. They had taken about $2,000 in the burglary.
Horn's defense hinged on his assertion that he fired out of fear for his life, making the shooting justifiable under Texas law. The law also permits the use of deadly force to protect property under some circumstances.
[ Of course some group representing Hispanics feels aggrieved at this decision. This group chose to bring ethnicity into it, thus undelining the connection between such crimes and non-whites and giving the impression that non-whites should be given some kind of allowances when committing crime. ]
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5864151.html