Results show head injuries killed burglar

The Odessa American ^ | 8/2/2002 | Naomi Watts

[NerdDad]

Autopsy results for an Odessa man found bleeding on June 16 a block away from Mama’s Kitchen on Eighth Street died two days later from head injuries, according to an autopsy report made public Thursday. Police say the man apparently was attempting to burglarize Mama’s Kitchen at 1534 Eighth St. when he suffered a somewhat mysterious fatal injury. The man, Emiterio Rico, 36, suffered severe cuts on his arms and head, said Ector County Medical Examiner B.J. White. But the primary cause of death was blunt injuries to the head and extremities, White reported. “That means his head came in contact with some blunt object,” White said. “My only guess is that it was from a fall. Whatever happened to him, he was the only one at the location. We have to speculate it had something to do with the window. We have no evidence to suggest anything else.” Rico, who died on June 18, apparently broke a window at Mama’s Kitchen and tried to enter the restaurant after hours, said Odessa Police Cpl. Sherrie Thompson. In the process, Rico cut himself on both his arms and his head, White said. A silent alarm sent OPD officers to the location, where they found the broken window and a trail of blood. He did not manage to take anything from the restaurant, Thompson said. “He never actually got in the building,” Thompson said. Officers followed a blood trail for about 1,700 feet from the business, she said. “He had circled around the business. He was lying on the ground, and they called a medic.” Lab results taken before surgery in the emergency room at Medical Center Hospital report that Rico had a blood alcohol level of .12, White said. The legal limit is .08, Thompson said. Rico did not have drugs in his system, White said.

[NerdDad]

Please forgive me for posting an article that carries little or no national significance but this one has a Darwinian flavor to it that has to be shared.

Having read the article a number of times (and based on personal experience) I think I can help the Odessa PD out with some details. Here's my idea. The silent alarm was triggered only by glass breakage or the door opening. No motion sensors. (That's how it was in the restaurants I worked in.) I can't help but see the surprise on the burglar's face when he crawled through that window to find "Mama" or one of her managers on the other side wielding a baseball bat. The article all but says that he was beat about the head and shoulders with a club. This one sounds like a snicker, wink, nudge from the cops to tell the batter 'good job'. "Well, gee, looks like he might have fallen and bumped his head. We can't find anybody to tell us different. Yep, that's what must have happened. Damn shame, the guy was so drunk he got half in the window and then fell back out, missed the ground entirely with his feet, and hit his head. Guess he just picked the wrong place to break into and his luck ran out."

I managed a restaurant in the same part of the world for a few years and it was not unusual for me to close the place down and send the employees home then sit in the office to do paperwork. There was always a 'blunt instrument' around the office intended for the same purpose. Thankfully, it was never used.

[maica]

Mama might wield a mean frying pan, too.

[NerdDad]

You guys read this article and tell me if you think he found somebody with a club on the other side of the window? I always had a 3-foot length of sucker-rod with the connector box attached sitting by my desk for just such a need. It was easily accessible from any rig or pulling unit and it was easily disposed of if necessary. Besides, I didn't want to ruin one of my good ball bats.

[sidegunner]

That solution works for me.....the Tree of Life is self-pruning!!!

[MissAmericanPie]

Isn't being a restaurant manager fun? I use to be one, every other manager was robbed but me, I always did my bookwork with a 9mm on the desk. Funny how the robber's knew that.

[xJones]

Your conjecture that the drunk was beaten with a bat by an employee or owner certainly sounds possible, and I'm glad to see that no charges have been filed. The idiot got what he had coming, one way or the other.

[csvset]

Maybe he "used his head" to break the window.

[NerdDad]

Quite true. And in those parts, they are all cast iron. No wimpy alloy need apply. I just can't help but see that dude from a few months ago who stuck his head through the hole he kicked in the cockpit door and found the 1st officer swinging the fire axe. WHHAAANGG! Ha.

[woofer]

I have another theory. One that doesn't implicate "Mama".

After the perp broke through the window, where he suffered many deep cuts about his arms and head, he staggered into the cooking area where Mama keeps her iron skillets hung from the ceiling. In the great tradition of the Three Stooges, this "fourth stooge" walked beneath this impromptu gauntlet successively getting his head bashed by each implement in turn.

[libertylover]

One of the strangest cases of suicide I've ever heard of.

[NerdDad]

Yeah. I just loved those 80-90 hour weeks on a 40 hour salary. It was fun in a way. I made some great friends and learned a ton. BUT, the only think I miss 10 years later is the graft and corruption. It was not so prevalent in the fast food business but once I graduated to a real restaurant the salesmen were constantly giving me freebies to try at home. When I got out of the business my food bill jumped considerably.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I think you nailed it........the police know good and well that someone inside "Mama's" took care of this guy, but "they see no evidence".....lol

Gotta love it...........

[WellsFargo94]

In the great tradition of the Three Stooges, this "fourth stooge" walked beneath this impromptu gauntlet successively getting his head bashed by each implement in turn.

OH TOO FUNNY!!! What a great image!!! Thanks for the humor!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Charley T., a friend of mine owned a bar/restaurant in Urbandale, Iowa, in the mid 1980's. The place had been held up a couple of times before he bought it so when he took over, he kept a loaded 9 mm handy just in case.
One evening at closing time, Charley observed a fellow getting out of his car at the front door wearing a ski mask. Charley sliped out the back and emptied the pistol at Mr. Ski Mask, missing the guy but thoroughly ventilating his car. Ski Mask got back in his car and tried to drive away just as Charley let go with his second clip. The robber ran into a utility pole at the edge of the lot and was knocked unconscious as the 13th and 14th round went through the trunk.
The would-be robber went to prison for being a felon in possession of a handgun. Charley got an invitation to practice his marksmanship from the Urbandale police.

[SwatTeam]

Usually in an article such as this the reporter will quote the manager or owner or worker. The ommission of any such quote is glaringly obvious, isn't it? People is west Texas take care of business and it looks like that is what happened here.

[NerdDad]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Not a word from the violated party. And wouldn't a key holder have been called to the scene to reset the alarm system? Curious. I noticed another thing missing from the article. An address for the burglar. We know how small town West Texas papers are. Everybody's address gets published. Have a fender bender on Mulberry and the world knows you live on North Pine. Mama's is on Eighth street (not a particularly savory part of Odessa as I recall) but where did Mr. Rico live? [end sarcastic rhetorical question].

[NerdDad]

Oh, that is too funny. Sounds like me trying to shoot a possum out of a tree at twilight once. My wife tells everyone the damn thing finally fell out of the tree laughing and waddled away.
I bet word spread quickly through the robber community that Charley T was not to be trifled with.

[LibKill]

Texas is a very bad place for a burglar to make a living.

Our state law allows the use of deadly force to prevent theft under cover of darkness.

For instance, you can use deadly force to stop someone from stealing your car, as long as the sun has gone down.

[FITZ]

Yes Texas is very nice that way. You don't have to drag corpses into your house before you call the police. If they are on your property at night and you think they might be up to no good, you can shoot to kill. It keeps things safer.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Sounds like one of those "one foot on the floor" rules in pool.