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2 shot in Pasadena here illegally
1 man had been deported in '99; officials looking at possible ties to a burglary ring
By ROBERT CROWE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
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Pasadena protests collide Two burglary suspects shot by a Pasadena homeowner last month were illegal immigrants from Colombia, and one man had been deported nearly 10 years ago, authorities said Thursday.
Authorities also said they are investigating whether Diego Ortiz, 30, and Hernando Riascos Torres, 48, were part of a crime ring linked to burglaries and the use of fake immigration documents.
The two — killed by a Pasadena man Nov. 14 after he said they were trying to steal his neighbor's property — were in the country illegally, according to Leticia Zamarripa, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Joe Horn, 61, shot Ortiz and Torres, who went by the alias Miguel Antonio DeJesus. Horn called police after hearing breaking glass. He ignored an operator's warning to not go outside with his gun.
Pasadena Police Department Capt. A.H. "Bud" Corbett said Torres was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction. He was on parole until 2017, Corbett said.
Police found a Puerto Rican identification card on Ortiz. He had two aliases.
Torres had identification cards from Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. He had three aliases.
State and federal authorities are investigating whether the two men, who lived in southwest Houston, were involved in the crime ring, Corbett said.
Police found almost $2,000 in cash in a white bag the men allegedly took from the home in the 7400 block of Timberline before Horn shot them.
Investigators also are trying to determine whether the men knew about the home or family before burglarizing it.
"I don't believe the victim was a random choice ... but there's no evidence of a relationship either," between the homeowners and suspects, Corbett said.
Horn told the operator that he did not know his neighbors well. Neighbors said the family moved into the home next to Horn's house about four months ago.
"I can't comment," a woman at the home said over the phone Thursday night.
A source told police that Ortiz and Torres burglarized the home, in part, because the homeowners were immigrants.
"They targeted foreign-born people," Corbett said. "They felt they were easier victims."
Little is known about the homeowners, who have Vietnamese surnames.
Neighbors said they own a small business near their Village Grove East subdivision.
Records filed with the Office of the Secretary of State of Texas show that the family owns a dry cleaning business on Fairmont Parkway.
Horn has received an outpouring of support from some neighbors, friends and strangers, but the incident also has outraged activists and other neighbors.
Activists and Horn supporters clashed Sunday when they staged dueling protests outside his home. The homeowners association is trying to prevent more protests from being held in the subdivision.
Chronicle reporter Susan Carroll contributed to this report.
robert.crowe@chron.com
