San Antonio Shooting

[GalaxyFE]

Not sure if he is a CHL, but doesn't matter. I love the cousin "he was in a wheelchair!" Well, maybe now he'll stay in it.

Icehouse owner fatally shoots burglar

Web Posted: 07/07/2007 10:51 PM CDT

Vianna Davila
Express-News

Jesse Elizondo had only meant to scare the intruder away.

He had spent the night lying in wait at his business, an icehouse just north of downtown, determined not to let another burglar on his property after a string of break-ins this year that cost him thousands of dollars and put his nerves on edge constantly.

He had been asleep well before dawn Saturday when he awoke to the sound of rustling outside the icehouse, followed by a loud bang. Then he saw a hand coming through a window.

Fearing for his life, Elizondo popped off one quick shot from his Beretta semiautomatic in the direction of the intruder's hand.

Then he heard a man moan.

"I knew I'd hit him," said Elizondo, hours after the man, identified as 24-year-old Michael Adam Eden, died from a gunshot wound to the chest in the icehouse parking lot.

Elizondo later learned the bang he heard was from a rock Eden had thrown through the front window.
KENS video

* Bar owner shoots intruder dead overnight

"I was scared," said Elizondo, who estimates burglars have broken into his business close to 20 times in less than a dozen years. "It could have been me laying there on the floor."

"It's still sinking in what happened," he said Saturday, staring off, his eyes wet and red. "I took a man's life."

The 4 a.m. incident at T.J.'s Drive-Thru Ice House, at Culebra Road and Colorado, followed four burglaries earlier this year at the location, a patio with blue picnic tables and signs that advertise beer, soda, ice and cigarettes.

Before Saturday, the most recent break-in was June 17, when someone swiped batteries and cigarettes and money from the jukebox, a police report said.

Police found Eden's body, his ankle still in a cast from a recent fracture, several feet from the front door of the icehouse.

Elizondo said that next to the door he spotted a wheelchair that one of Eden's relatives said the victim had been using to help him get around.

Police had not connected Eden to any other break-ins at the property, said San Antonio Police Department spokesman Joe Rios.

No charges had been filed against Elizondo.

Eden's cousin Victor Sanchez expressed outrage when he learned no arrests had been made in his relative's killing.

"He was in a wheelchair," Sanchez said. "How could he rob somebody?

"I know he (Elizondo) was trying to defend his place, but that's taking someone's life."

Texas law allows homeowners and business owners to use force to defend their lives or property. A recent bill signed by Gov. Rick Perry will expand those protections so victims no longer have to retreat before they can fire on intruders or attackers.

The new law, which will go into effect Sept. 1, will also protect property owners from civil lawsuits by the perpetrators or their families.

Elizondo said he plans to continue carrying his weapon. He hopes business will stay healthy and that the icehouse will maintain its reputation as a relaxed and quiet spot for families.

Though he maintained his right to defend himself, he wished he never would have had to make the choice at all.

"I wish I hadn't been here last night," he said.

[phddan]

Good shoot.

Dan

[flintknapper]

Elizondo said that next to the door he spotted a wheelchair that one of Eden's relatives said the victim had been using to help him get around.

Not again!

Will the media EVER figure out who the "victim" really is?

[Liberty]

Good shoot.

Dan

A Berretta., probably a 9MM nailed the BG behind concealment through a wall COM Single shot.

Excellent shot. The Gun, The Ammo, the shooter all did the job it was supposed to do.

[stevie_d_64]

The way the press reported that the bar owner was "lying in wait" reeks of negativity from here to Christmas!

So what! Its his property...

[HankB]

If the report is accurate, it's a good shoot.

Shows how persistent bad guys can be, to continue their criminal activity even with a fractured ankle . . .

[BrassMonkey]

"lying in wait" suggest pre-meditation

[longtooth]

Big difference in "Lying in wait" & "guarding my living" on my own property where the police have a resopnse time that lets all the previous 20 thieves steal & deprive my family.

[BrassMonkey]

agreed

[Roy D. Mercer]

I've never been much impresseed with the way the papers and TV people report these stories.

[Venus Pax]

"He was in a wheelchair," Sanchez said. "How could he rob somebody?

This kind of statement by the BG's family really irritates me, and it seems like we hear it in so many cases. Despite evidence that he was trying to break & enter, he still wasn't doing anything that should require the business owner to take action.

[pbandjelly]

He juss wanted some beer, ese'!
why chew gotta shoot him, eh?

Hmmm, quit committing crimes, and you'll quit getting shot!
There's an idea

[Texasdoc]

Good point PB&jelly , if they don't do the crime they don't got to die.

Doc

[Mage34]

We the people have the right to cower in fear, not do anything that might make the BG mad, and if we do respond we are just big meanie.....

This is according the the 4th branch of our government (the press).

I personally believe in first amendment rights, but I also think Constitutional rights trump fist amendment, The right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness. If someone practicing there first amendment rights interferes with my Constitutional rights then they loose by default.

(slide soap box back under desk)

[portsider44]

"I know he (Elizondo) was trying to defend his place, but that's taking someone's life."

I am sure he would think differently if it was him or his family under attack.