Dramatic 911 call from right before shooting released (Audio at link)

KTRK ^ | 11/15/07 | KTRK

[tlb]

PASADENA, TX) - A dramatic 911 call from the Pasadena man who allegedly shot and killed two men accused of burglarizing his neighbor has been released. The dispatcher tried to talk him out of it.

At about 2pm Wednesday, Joe Horn called 911 from inside his Pasadena home. He says he saw two men break into his neighbor's house. Horn tells police that he is armed with a shotgun.

"Hurry up, man. Catch these guys, will ya? I ain't gonna let them go, I'm gonna be honest with ya," said Horn on the 911 call. "I'm not gonna let them go. I'm not gonna let them get away with this (expletive)."

Horn and the dispatcher spent more than seven minutes on the phone, much of that with the dispatcher trying to convince Horn not to go outside.

"I'm gonna shoot, I'm gonna shoot," said Horn.

"Stay inside the house and don't go out there, OK?" responded the dispatcher. "It's not worth shooting someone over this."

"I don't want to, but if I go out there to see what the hell is going on, what choice do I have?" said Horn.

"I don't want you to go out there. I asked if you could see anything out there," said the dispatcher.

Horn tells the dispatcher that he understands his rights and even makes reference to the September 1 expansion that gives homeowners greater protection from prosecution should they choose to confront someone breaking into their home.

Before he can be convinced otherwise, Horn tells police he sees the burglars coming out of his house.

"He's coming out of the window right now," said Horn to the 911 dispatcher. "I gotta go, buddy. I'm sorry, but he's coming out the window."

"Don't, don't , don't go out the door. Mr. Horn? Mr. Horn?" said the dispatcher.

"(Expletive), they just stole something," said Horn to the dispatcher. "I'm sorry. I ain't gonna let them get away with this. They got a bag of something. I'm doing it."

The dispatcher can't stop Horn, who takes the phone with him as he goes outside.

"Move, you're dead," Horn, who took the phone outside with him, could be heard saying to the suspects.

Then three gunshots could be heard.

Horn admits later on the 911 call that he did, in fact, fire those shots. The names of the two men shot have not yet been released pending identification and notification of their next of kin. Horn has not been arrested or charged with any crime. A police investigation is still underway. This case likely will end up in the hands of a Harris County grand jury.

[Thumper1960]

I guess their desire to avoid confrontation was foiled.

You win some, you lose some. Sometimes, the loss is very valuable.

[Lancey Howard]

Okay, finally listened to the audio. Joe Horn sounded more irate that burglars were getting away than anything else. He sounded nervous to me, but not scared. So he went out and killed the scum. Fine by me. The guy’s a good neighbor.

[Lancey Howard]

Police have not found the families of the dead men, who both are in their 30s.

Wow. You would think that after 22+ years of stealing, these guys would be more careful.

[kcvl]

In portraying Joe Horn as a victim of circumstances, lawyer and longtime friend Tom Lambright called the 61-year-old computer consultant “a good family man” who has been devastated by the Wednesday afternoon burglary and shooting.

Killed in the incident in the 7400 block of Timberline were Miguel Antonio DeJesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, both of Houston.

Each had a minor previous brush with the law. Records show DeJesus was charged with failure to identify himself to a police officer in July 2004. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. Ortiz was charged with possession of marijuana in July 2005, but it was later dismissed.

[Arrowhead1952]

I looked for this yesterday but missed it. Someone had posted the link on the Texas message board.

[Sudetenland]

I would love to live next-door to him. If all neighbors were as responsible and protective as this guy, crime would cease to occur.

Here in Texas, we understand that simple fact. Our Founding Fathers believed that the right to own property was the fundamental right and thus the right to protect that property is fundamental.

Criminals prey on the weak and those unable to defend themselves. That is why the crime-rate drops everywhere a right to concealed carry law passes. If a criminal thinks his victim might be armed, he is much less likely to commit the criminal act.

This man is my nominee for "Neighbor of the Year." He is a hero.

[Smokin' Joe]

It was not 30 seconds after the shots were fired that the dispatcher was telling the guy that he 'has several officers out there, some not in uniform and did not want any of his officers to get shot'

Where were these guys when the shooting went down, and why did the dispatcher not inform the property owner that they were on the scene, if they in fact were?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

The only time I saw was the 911 call where the dispatcher kept him on the phone for over 7 seconds.

Pasadena police used to be a lot faster and meaner.

[Smokin' Joe]

Seven Minutes!

I listened to the audio, and in the feed it was less than a minute after the shooting the dispatcher was going on about his officers outside and not to shoot them.

If that was real time and unedited, there was little time between there being 'a number of officers outside on the scene, some not in uniform'.

If he really wanted to prevent the shooting, all he had to do was identify an unmarked unit and tell the guy they were going to follow the thieves to break up a ring of thieves, or tell the guy he had people on the scene--he did neither.

[from occupied ga]

Sometimes, the loss is very valuable.

At least to the rest of the community ;-) Just hard working hispanic immigrants trying to chase the American dream.

[SwinneySwitch]

“Documented illegals?”

DOZENS OF ARRESTED ON SALE AND USE OF FRAUDULENT IDENTITY DOCUMENTS[from Puerto Rico]

BorderFire Report ^ | November 16, 2007

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1927169/posts

[SwinneySwitch]

“Police have not found the families of the dead men, who both are in their 30s.”

Post #51 might explain, Lancey.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.
“...he fired instantly so i suggest that he wanted
to kill those burglars anyway.”

There was a short pause before he fired. It was a very short pause, but there, nonetheless. I suggest the bad guys were stupid bad guys and they moved. They were also unlucky since the citizen was together enough to fire three aimed shots rather than spraying and praying. Tough for them.

Michael Frazier

[Syllojism]

You don't think the neighbor was in lawful possession of the property in his house?

The wording of the law is such that the owner of the property, under specific circumstances, may use deadly force to protect his own property. It says nothing of ones legal right to use such force in the defense of another's property.

The statute allows deadly force "to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property."

It allows reasonable force. He would have to demonstrate that resorting to deadly force was reasonable under those circumstances, and being recorded as saying he's going to shoot before he even confronts them is going to look very bad.

[FreedomCalls]

The wording of the law is such that the owner of the property, under specific circumstances, may use deadly force to protect his own property.

9.42 indeed says that.

It says nothing of ones legal right to use such force in the defense of another's property.

This is where you are wrong. 9.43 applies the same provisions to the use of deadly force to the defense of someone else's property as along as 9.41 (and 9.42) is adhered to, that is as long as the property is rightfully owned -- i.e. not stolen.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

I’m not sure how this case will be resolved in court. Even if the Texas court acquits, the feds may step in with a federal charge (remember Gilmer Hernandez, who was cleared by the Texas Rangers but then Sutton stepped in and prosecuted anyway?)

OTOH, there is some concern that under other circumstances innocent people may be shot. Suppose that you tell me to watch your house while you are gone, but forget to tell me that some people are coming to pick up something. They start to carry it out and I point a shotgun at them and order them not to move. They run — maybe they think I am a random lunatic — and I kill them. I honestly believed that they were stealing from your house, pretty much like the neighbor in this story, but in my case I was mistaken about what they were doing.

My question is not what Texas law says, but what the law should be.

[FreedomCalls]

OTOH, there is some concern that under other circumstances innocent people may be shot.

That's covered in §9.05 of the Texas Penal Code too:

§9.05. RECKLESS INJURY OF INNOCENT THIRD PERSON.
Even though an actor is justified under this chapter in threatening or using force or deadly force against another, if in doing so he also recklessly injures or kills an innocent third person, the justification afforded by this chapter is unavailable in a prosecution for the reckless injury or killing of the innocent third person.

[tstar423]

Suppose that you tell me to watch your house while you are gone, but forget to tell me that some people are coming to pick up something. They start to carry it out and I point a shotgun at them and order them not to move.

I agree with what you are trying to say, but in this case, it was clearly evident that it was a burglary with the broken window and all. If it wasn't for the breaking of the window, would horn have known they were there at all?