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Awoken by glass breaking at 2 am. Power had been cut to the condo project by a fire. Homeowner decided to stay in unit to protect his property. Burglar decided it was easy picking. Sent to a grand jury.

Grand jury for what? The guy came in his house to steal, kill, or whatever else was on his mind. They should be patting the guy on the back instead of treating him like a criminal.

I believe all shooting go to the Grand Jury. In the end he will probably be No Billed

Gameover wrote:Grand jury for what? The guy came in his house to steal, kill, or whatever else was on his mind. They should be patting the guy on the back instead of treating him like a criminal.

That a case goes to the Grand Jury does not necessarily mean an arrest was made or that the District Attorney has an intent/desire to prosecute.

For felony charges, Article I, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution requires prosecutors to go to the grand jury to seek an indictment before filing criminal charges. It is the policy of most if not all (IMO) police departments to refer any homicide to their DA; they won't just freshen your ammo supply and tell you that nobody needs to find out, even if they think it was a righteous shoot. If they have reason to believe a violation of the Texas Penal Code has been committed, under law they have to report it to "some magistrate" (Code of Criminal Procedure), which may be the DA, city secretary, mayor, etc.

It is the policy of most (again, IMO) DA offices to refer any homicide case to the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury, after considering the evidence, can choose to "true-bill" or "no-bill." A "no-bill" means that fewer than nine of the 12 Grand Jurors voted to indict and the case is terminated. If "true-billed," then the case goes back to the district, an assistant DA is assigned, and the case is investigated for further action or prosecution. A Grand Jury isn't determining guilt or innocence, only whether the district is allowed to pursue a determination of guilt or innocence.

So referral to a Grand Jury does not mean that prosecution on charges is being sought by anyone involved. It's really a check-and-balance system to ensure objectivity, to safeguard against unwarranted prosecution. Following that system means the responding LEOs can't be accused of making an arbitrary decision of guilt or innocence, and that the DA can't play cronyism and charge or ignore whomever he feels like.

Just my two cents, and since I'm not a lawyer or judge, take it as opinion only.

Skiprr wrote:

Gameover wrote:Grand jury for what? The guy came in his house to steal, kill, or whatever else was on his mind. They should be patting the guy on the back instead of treating him like a criminal.

That a case goes to the Grand Jury does not necessarily mean an arrest was made or that the District Attorney has an intent/desire to prosecute.

For felony charges, Article I, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution requires prosecutors to go to the grand jury to seek an indictment before filing criminal charges. It is the policy of most if not all (IMO) police departments to refer any homicide to their DA; they won't just freshen your ammo supply and tell you that nobody needs to find out, even if they think it was a righteous shoot. If they have reason to believe a violation of the Texas Penal Code has been committed, under law they have to report it to "some magistrate" (Code of Criminal Procedure), which may be the DA, city secretary, mayor, etc.

It is the policy of most (again, IMO) DA offices to refer any homicide case to the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury, after considering the evidence, can choose to "true-bill" or "no-bill." A "no-bill" means that fewer than nine of the 12 Grand Jurors voted to indict and the case is terminated. If "true-billed," then the case goes back to the district, an assistant DA is assigned, and the case is investigated for further action or prosecution. A Grand Jury isn't determining guilt or innocence, only whether the district is allowed to pursue a determination of guilt or innocence.

So referral to a Grand Jury does not mean that prosecution on charges is being sought by anyone involved. It's really a check-and-balance system to ensure objectivity, to safeguard against unwarranted prosecution. Following that system means the responding LEOs can't be accused of making an arbitrary decision of guilt or innocence, and that the DA can't play cronyism and charge or ignore whomever he feels like.

Just my two cents, and since I'm not a lawyer or judge, take it as opinion only.

Thanks for the info. I like the" freshin your ammo supply " hopefully the guy pulls through and can move on with his life.

Look on the bright side. A grand jury returning no true bill can only help the defense when Quanell X brings stuff to town to sue the victim.

Happily Ever After wrote:Look on the bright side. A grand jury returning no true bill can only help the defense when Quanell X brings stuff to town to sue the victim.

If I am not mistaken texas law now states that the "victim" cannot be sued because the deceased was in the comission of a felony crime

All felonies and some misdemeanors go to grand juries. As do subpoenas for medical records for criminal cases etc.

gigag04 wrote:All felonies and some misdemeanors go to grand juries.

and even some events that are neither!

According to the article, sending the case to the grand jury is "per protocol".

The homeowner warned the burglar, but he continued to enter the apartment. That's when he took one to the head. I can't imagine this would lead to an indictment. He was in his residence. He warned the burglar before shooting him. He didn't fill him full of lead.

Gameover wrote:Grand jury for what? The guy came in his house to steal, kill, or whatever else was on his mind. They should be patting the guy on the back instead of treating him like a criminal.

The police didn't treat him like a criminal - they didn't arrest him.

Grand jury referral is routine.

Gameover wrote:Grand jury for what?

I dunno... to officially proclaim the CHL'er a hero? or send him an attaboy gift basket?