San Antonio man acquitted of murder/manslaughter charges
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 11:50 am
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That article does not have a lot of detail, if you are interested search on the homeowner's name.
Short course. Four years ago almost to the day, homeowner shoots drunken college student from out of town outside of home, in wee hours. Homeowner's place is next door to student's sister's house, where he was staying.
Homeowner says student entered house, woke wife up screaming, homeowner (naked with wife's "laser-sighted" pistol) chased student out front door, student jumped out from behind bushes at end of driveway and lunged at homeowner, homeowner shot him five times from his driveway. Student dead in street. Other neighbors testify that someone was rattling door knobs late at night, and (I believe I read this in another story) police had contact with student over this prior to shooting).
Prosecutors say homeowner was mad about noise next door and shot the student out of anger. Prosecutors say student never entered house and at most got confused (because he was drunk and in a strange neighborhood) and tried the wrong door looking for his sister's house, and that the entire shooting happened in the street, not in the driveway, since all the shell casings were found in the street. Also say only shot to travel parallel to the ground entered the student's back, ergo first shot was in the back.
Homeowner was originally tried in March for murder only, but mistrial because a juror looked up definition of manslaughter on his own. Homeowner's lawyers threatened to sue juror for their fees, but dropped it later.
Trivia: One of the prosecutors used to lecture on the legal use of deadly force for a San Antonio area CHL instructor.
I think this was a very close call for the homeowner.
p.s. the fact that the pistol had a laser sight was mentioned repeatedly in the articles. Don't know how this played to the jury.
That article does not have a lot of detail, if you are interested search on the homeowner's name.
Short course. Four years ago almost to the day, homeowner shoots drunken college student from out of town outside of home, in wee hours. Homeowner's place is next door to student's sister's house, where he was staying.
Homeowner says student entered house, woke wife up screaming, homeowner (naked with wife's "laser-sighted" pistol) chased student out front door, student jumped out from behind bushes at end of driveway and lunged at homeowner, homeowner shot him five times from his driveway. Student dead in street. Other neighbors testify that someone was rattling door knobs late at night, and (I believe I read this in another story) police had contact with student over this prior to shooting).
Prosecutors say homeowner was mad about noise next door and shot the student out of anger. Prosecutors say student never entered house and at most got confused (because he was drunk and in a strange neighborhood) and tried the wrong door looking for his sister's house, and that the entire shooting happened in the street, not in the driveway, since all the shell casings were found in the street. Also say only shot to travel parallel to the ground entered the student's back, ergo first shot was in the back.
Homeowner was originally tried in March for murder only, but mistrial because a juror looked up definition of manslaughter on his own. Homeowner's lawyers threatened to sue juror for their fees, but dropped it later.
Trivia: One of the prosecutors used to lecture on the legal use of deadly force for a San Antonio area CHL instructor.
I think this was a very close call for the homeowner.
p.s. the fact that the pistol had a laser sight was mentioned repeatedly in the articles. Don't know how this played to the jury.