TX: Dallas man goes back to bed after shooting burglar.

[philip964]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/poli ... ng-burglar

I think there have been threads about the importance of calling 911 after firing your gun.

This thread will emphasize the importance of doing it as soon as it is safe to do so, regardless of how early in the morning or how tired you are.

Probably a second point is having your attorney present when you talk to the police.

[WildBill]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/poli ... ng-burglar

I think there have been threads about the importance of calling 911 after firing your gun.

This thread will emphasize the importance of doing it as soon as it is safe to do so, regardless of how early in the morning or how tired you are.

Probably a second point is having your attorney present when you talk to the police.

Yes, the guy should have called 911 when it was safe to do so. It is also a bad idea to shoot a warning shot or "shot into the night".
I don't understand the murder charge. Maybe some of the physical evidence didn't match the story given by the homeowner ...

[03Lightningrocks]

Maybe he thought he missed since the bad guy ran away. I agree he should have called the cops after firing his weapon. At least there is one less bad guy. Too bad this old man is going to pay for it. He should be getting a reward instead.

[WildBill]

Maybe he thought he missed since the bad guy ran away. I agree he should have called the cops after firing his weapon. At least there is one less bad guy. Too bad this old man is going to pay for it. He should be getting a reward instead.

Maybe he did miss the guy, who then dropped the pickaxe and while running away was shot in the back [after he was no longer a threat]?

[Texas_Blaze]

Truthfully I think he should have called cops at the moment he saw someone fiddling with his shed lock & stayed in the house. Having a weapon is no reason to get out of the house & confront. I’ve heard of courage in a bottle but there is also courage in a barrel. Shoot over what? A lawn mower? A car? All that stuff will end up in a junk yard one day. Why kill over that? Why take a human life over some property? Just because the law allows it doesn’t make it right. Stay inside, and protect yourself if the person attempts to intrude your home. Some people need to consider what the firearm is for. It’s for the protection of life.

[narcissist]

Truthfully I think he should have called cops at the moment he saw someone fiddling with his shed lock & stayed in the house. Having a weapon is no reason to get out of the house & confront. I’ve heard of courage in a bottle but there is also courage in a barrel. Shoot over what? A lawn mower? A car? All that stuff will end up in a junk yard one day. Why kill over that? Why take a human life over some property? Just because the law allows it doesn’t make it right. Stay inside, and protect yourself if the person attempts to intrude your home. Some people need to consider what the firearm is for. It’s for the protection of life.

In no way or shape or form do I agree with you at all. If some/anyone is on my property trying to break into something and has a weapon, im going to take my best Defense Weapon and if need be put it to use.

A lawn mover is most the time worth over 500 dollars aka: felony amout of theft and he had a deadly weapon, you dont know if the guy had other smaller safes/cheap ones that the guy could of got ahold of. The circumstances of "whats" in that shed could of made it even worse but who knows.

Guns are also for protection of property also bye the way. As [ 03Lightningrocks ] said this guy needs a award. I'm thinking of buying him one, something like the world cup but not in pure silver im to cheep. Or maybe comisari if he is convicted.

[narcissist]

Plus if the guy went back to sleep you know he felt he did nothing wrong, yes call 911 to cover your keester.

[rotor]

Truthfully I think he should have called cops at the moment he saw someone fiddling with his shed lock & stayed in the house. Having a weapon is no reason to get out of the house & confront. I’ve heard of courage in a bottle but there is also courage in a barrel. Shoot over what? A lawn mower? A car? All that stuff will end up in a junk yard one day. Why kill over that? Why take a human life over some property? Just because the law allows it doesn’t make it right. Stay inside, and protect yourself if the person attempts to intrude your home. Some people need to consider what the firearm is for. It’s for the protection of life.

We can argue about whether it is alright to steal someones property (at night and from a senior), but when you approach someone who has confronted you with a pickax while committing a crime, are warned not to come closer and still do, then the use of lethal force is justified. I don't know why there was a delay in calling the police but if the only thing holding the guy in jail was the delay he should beat the rap. I don't know where in the law it says that after use of legal deadly force the police must be notified immediately.

[narcissist]

Truthfully I think he should have called cops at the moment he saw someone fiddling with his shed lock & stayed in the house. Having a weapon is no reason to get out of the house & confront. I’ve heard of courage in a bottle but there is also courage in a barrel. Shoot over what? A lawn mower? A car? All that stuff will end up in a junk yard one day. Why kill over that? Why take a human life over some property? Just because the law allows it doesn’t make it right. Stay inside, and protect yourself if the person attempts to intrude your home. Some people need to consider what the firearm is for. It’s for the protection of life.

I don't know where in the law it says that after use of legal deadly force the police must be notified immediately.

Good point! I'm guessing they "Expect" it. Still would like to know though if it's mandatory.

[Texas_Blaze]

Truthfully I think he should have called cops at the moment he saw someone fiddling with his shed lock & stayed in the house. Having a weapon is no reason to get out of the house & confront. I’ve heard of courage in a bottle but there is also courage in a barrel. Shoot over what? A lawn mower? A car? All that stuff will end up in a junk yard one day. Why kill over that? Why take a human life over some property? Just because the law allows it doesn’t make it right. Stay inside, and protect yourself if the person attempts to intrude your home. Some people need to consider what the firearm is for. It’s for the protection of life.

I don't know where in the law it says that after use of legal deadly force the police must be notified immediately.

Good point! I'm guessing they "Expect" it. Still would like to know though if it's mandatory.

I’m willing to bet he wishes now that he would have stayed inside and simply called the police before going out and shooting.

My views are informed by my faith (not to make this into a Sunday sermon but I consider how would Jesus want me to respond) and don’t expect that anyone should agree with me without first understanding that part.

Legally I don’t think the fella did anything wrong in regards to discharging his firearm based on what was written in the article.

[philip964]

I’m figuring this falls under the “your involved in a car accident that was not your fault, but you drive off and fail to render aid”.

The burglar’s injuries may have not been fatal, but failure to report it to the police in a timely manner, caused him to die.

I also suspect he may have said things to the police that caused him to be charged.

[03Lightningrocks]

I’m figuring this falls under the “your involved in a car accident that was not your fault, but you drive off and fail to render aid”.

The burglar’s injuries may have not been fatal, but failure to report it to the police in a timely manner, caused him to die.

I also suspect he may have said things to the police that caused him to be charged.

It would not surprise me.

[rotor]

Or, as I believe one commentor mentioned, he wanted to talk to his attorney first.

[srothstein]

And the charges might have to do with something else mentioned in the comments. After the shooting, the man cleaned up his brass and threw them out. That is destruction of evidence and would tend to make the police think he had done something wrong or not told them the truth.

There are lots of old saws about moving the body inside the door if you shoot someone. The truth is the evidence will always be analyzed and the truth found out. Don't mess with the crime scene ever.

[Chaparral]

Just guessing, but it is likely that the physical evidence was inconsistent with what the man told police. This, combined with the delay in reporting, and the suggested tampering with evidence, might be enough for the investigators to doubt his story of self defense. Don’t buy the “hero” a trophy, just yet.