Abducted man shoots carjackers, police say

[Paladin]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 01058.html

"May 28, 2006, 6:21AM
Abducted man shoots carjackers, police say
The Richmond police heard shots and came running


By ERIC HANSON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

RICHMOND - Two teenagers who police said tried to steal a Rosenberg man's luxury car picked the wrong person, the wrong place and the wrong time.

After abducting the man, who was able to stash his own pistol in a pocket, the teens drove him to a vacant lot Friday that just happened to be a few hundred feet from the Richmond police station, where officers were changing shifts.

When McRon Thompson, 23, opened fire on the would-be car thieves, police heard the shots and came running. The teens, who were both wounded, were captured.

"Obviously, they didn't know where they were, close to the police station and during a shift change. They didn't have a clue," said Sgt. Lowell Neinast of the Richmond Police Department.

Neinast said the teens are from Brookshire and detectives do not know why they chose the Fort Bend County town as a place for a carjacking.

The two, 18-year-old Joshua Payne and a 15-year-old whose name was not released because of his age, are facing aggravated robbery charges.

No charges are expected against Thompson, Neinast said.

Thompson had stopped at a carwash in the 1400 block of Jackson about 1 a.m., after finishing work at the nearby Richmond Foundry.


Vehicles looked suspicious

Neinast said Thompson was washing his customized Cadillac when he noticed three vehicles drive slowly through the carwash parking lot. The cars left but returned a few minutes later, again going slowly through the parking lot.

After the three cars passed by the second time, Thompson retrieved a .40-caliber pistol from his car, loaded it and then put it in his pocket.

A few minutes later, one of the cars returned to the carwash and stopped.

When Thompson peered around the wall of a carwash stall, he found himself staring at the end of a pistol held by a young man wearing a bandana over his face.

The gunman forced Thompson into the back seat of the Cadillac while another person got behind the wheel and began to drive away.

Neinast said the pair drove to the 500 block of Calhoun, just a block away from the Richmond police station, an imposing brick building that served for many years as the Fort Bend County Jail.

The teens ordered Thompson out of his car and told him to lie down on the grass. While Thompson was complying, a second vehicle, one that he had seen earlier at the carwash, arrived and stopped.

Neinast said as the teens were getting ready to leave in the Cadillac, Thompson managed to pull his pistol and open fire.

Payne was hit in the back by a bullet that exited his stomach. The other teen was struck in the right shoulder.

Police officers, standing in the parking lot of the station, heard the shots and were on the scene in seconds. Officers spotted the teens running, then caught them. Police also recovered a semiautomatic pistol allegedly used by the 15-year-old, Neinast said.


Both teens hospitalized

Payne was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital and the 15-year-old to Ben Taub Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available.

Other suspects are still at large.

Neinast said Thompson's Cadillac was in "immaculate condition," and the suspects were probably just driving around town looking for a target.

"Then they spotted him in the carwash," Neinast said.

eric.hanson@chron.com"

[Venus Pax]

Wow. That's something.
I'm glad no one is pressing charges against the victim. I hope he doesn't get slapped with a civil suit.
(What would be most appropriate is if HE slapped the 15-year-old's family with a civil suit for not keeping control of their child.)

[Photoman]

What would be appropriate is for them all to do 20 years in the can.

[spud]

Good job on his part, little bastards had it comming. Just dont mess with a mans car.

[waffenmacht]

Glad to see the good guy won this time. However, he might reconsider stopping to wash his car a 1 am next time.

[flintknapper]

Good job on his part, little "buggers" had it comming. Just dont mess with a mans car.

Fixed for ya!

[longtooth]

Thanks Flint. Let's all encourage Spud with better grammar & a smile.

[crankshaftkid]

Used to never think twice about being at a car wash in the middle of the night but that was many moons ago. IMO, don't put yourself in a position to be a target and these days being at a car wash with a custom car at 1am is doing just that. On the other hand, if I found out my 15 year old was out at 1am, his butt would get tanned!

[Paladin]

"Thompson had stopped at a carwash in the 1400 block of Jackson about 1 a.m., after finishing work at the nearby Richmond Foundry"

I guess he works late, and 1 am was when he had the chance to go to the car wash? ... Although it is kinda weird to be washing your car in the dark...

I don't go looking for trouble, but just the same I like to live my life... so I don't hold it too much against Thompson.

[jbenat]

Wonder if the victim is a CHL holder? That back shot could come back to haunt him in a civil court. But in any case +1 for the good guys!!!