3 Boxes of BS

How many other states would offer up a list of thugs who were killed trying to commit their crimes.

First up is the recent case we talked about here

Relatives of the homeowner involved in the latest shooting told the Star-Telegram that the home in the 4400 block of Shackleford Street had been repeatedly burglarized and vandalized over the year that they have lived there.

Before noon Nov. 6, police say, two men apparently intent on burglarizing the home kicked in the front door. The homeowner, who relatives say had recently lost his job, was at home and opened fire.

One of the suspects, 27-year-old Jonathan Cruz, was shot in the head. He collapsed on a street and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second, 24-year-old Juan Juarez., ran to the suspects’ Ford Explorer, where the homeowner fired at him again, reportedly after seeing him reach under his seat as if going for a weapon. Juarez died that night at a Fort Worth hospital. Police have since said that no weapon was found in the Explorer.

Unfortunately, the second criminal made a mistake and it cost him dearly. Of course if he hadn’t tried a home invasion….this wouldn’t have happened, right? Guess the criminals can control to an extent if they live or die.

The second case is one I missed:

Pierre Bullock, 24, fatally shot by a homeowner May 31 after the homeowner heard a sound in the back yard, went to investigate and spotted Bullock standing there. Police said their investigation found that Bullock and a 16-year-old had gone to the home to confront the homeowner about an earlier conversation he’d had with the 16-year-old’s adult girlfriend. Investigators say they found evidence that Bullock had unscrewed light bulbs outside the home and that a screen had been removed from a window before Bullock jumped the back fence.

A Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict the homeowner.

Guess we can rule out the spur of the moment defense by  two thugs, eh?

Case number 3:

Michael Vela, 21, fatally shot May 9 outside an east Fort Worth nightclub that he and friends had been kicked out of for causing a disturbance. Witnesses told police that Vela had pointed a gun at an unarmed security guard when one of the club’s owners fired at him. The district’s attorney’s office plans to present the case to a grand jury to determine whether any charges will be sought, Rousseau said.

Having a firearm at your place of business isn’t paranoid or unreasonable. People break the crime anywhere. This is another case of defensive gun use but notice that few if any news papers would use that term.

That brings up a question: Has anyone seen the term “defensive gun use” in the media?

And case number 4:

Kenneth Richardson, 17, fatally shot May 5. Police say Richardson, armed with a gun, kicked in the door of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and was shot by her new boyfriend. The case is still under review by the district attorney’s office, Rousseau said.

Great quote from the movie Roadhouse: ““Those that go looking for trouble are no match for those that are prepared for it. I suppose it has always been that way.”
Another defensive gun use or will some of our gun control advocates try to claim the new boyfriend set this up so he could gun down the ex-boyfriend?

Case number 5:

Derek Splawn, 18, fatally shot April 28. Police say Splawn, armed with an aluminum bat, forced his way inside the apartment of a teen with whom he was upset and was shot by the teen. Rousseau said the case will be presented to a grand jury.

Texas law allows (don’t you just love how the state gives people “permission”) to have access to firearms if those firearms are needed to defend their lives. The teen in this case didn’t break the law by having access to the firearm.

Also notice that the thug didn’t follow the gun control advocate’s play book. The thug brought the baseball bat. The kid was supposed to have the bat and try to defend himself against someone with a gun intent on harming them. Of course, gun control advocates will probably try to claim that the thug only wanted to set up a pick up game of baseball, eh?

What really impressed me about the paper? These paragraphs:

Under Texas law, people are justified in using deadly force when immediately necessary to protect their own lives or another’s life, or to prevent the commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery or aggravated robbery.

The state, as most states, recognizes there are two types of violence: predatory and protectionary. The use of violence to save lives or stop a crime isn’t the same as violence to rape, murder or rob. We need to encourage people to be ready and able to use protectionary violence. The evidence (statistics, convictions, etc) all show that trusting law abiding people with the right to keep and bear arms is a safe thing to do.

The Texas Penal Code says deadly force can be presumed reasonable if the person knew or reasonably believed that a suspect had entered, or tried to enter, illegally and with force the person’s occupied home, vehicle or place of business.

This is important and this is why I’m proud of the Star-Telegram for including this.
A home or businesss owner can reasonably conclude that a thug isn’t there to talk politics if a thug is breaking in. This is just common sense and hopefully more criminals will be aware of this. Even more importantly, I hope that more law abiding folks will be aware of it and act appropriately.

A 2007 law updated the so-called castle doctrine, making it clear that property owners have no “duty to retreat” before using deadly force against an intruder in their homes, cars and workplaces. The law stipulates, however, that the building or vehicle must be occupied at the time and that the person using force cannot be involved in a crime or provoke the attacker.

“There’s a very strong tradition of the Texas legislation backing the right of self-defense and the defense of property,” Rousseau said. “That’s the state we live in.  . . .  If you’re shot trying to take somebody’s property, there are an awful lot of laws protecting the people’s right to protect their property, so you’d better be careful.”

Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney, my hats off to you Sir. I like the fact that he is warning the criminals not the home or business owners. An ADA telling thugs to be wary and a newspaper willing to print it.

Just another reason that I’m glad I live in Texas.

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