Intruder banging door killed by homeowner

Houston Chronicle ^ | Jan. 2, 2004, 10:58PM

[Nayt2]

A homeowner fatally shot an intruder who refused to leave his northwest Houston home after repeatedly banging on the door.

The victim, shot in the shoulder and chest, died at Ben Taub Hospital. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office identified him as Arthur Coronado Jr., 54, of the 20400 block of Finat.

The 52-year-old homeowner heard loud knocking on his front door in the 8900 block of Lomax around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, saw the unidentified man outside and told him to stop. But the intruder ignored those warnings and kept banging on the door with enough force to nearly open it. The homeowner grabbed a pistol.

When the intruder disregarded another request to leave, the homeowner fired several shots through the door. The intruder then walked a short distance down the street and collapsed.

[calvin sun]

It sounds like the homeowner killed the door, and then an intruder started banging on it. Newspaper folks are becoming illiterate.

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story recently about a ten-year-old girl who had been hospitalized after being shot. The shooting followed a snowball fight. After spending some time in the hospital, the girl was released from the hospital, and the Inquirer ran its story about her being released. The headline read as follows:

"Girl, 10 Shot After Snowball Fight Leaves Hospital"

[Jim Noble]

IMHO he had every right to defend his property and his life if he was in fear of losing it.

I think there needs to be a standard for being in fear in order for you to kill someone.

I think the standard is met after your door is broken down.

I think the standard is NOT met by a knock on the door (and I live at the end of a dirt road in the country, a knock on my door after dark would be very scary).

In between the knock on the door and the perp in your house, there are a million shades of gray, and I would want the DA to inquire after the facts if someone I cared about was dead.

[DB]

I basically agree.

If the door is broken open then the perp can be killed on the spot. Give the homeowner a medal.

I doubt a criminal would knock on the door long if it were their intention to break in. They’d simply break the door in. For most of us that wouldn’t likely take more than one try.

[eastforker]

I just did a google on where this homeowner lives, just off of Jensen and Tidwell.Lots of drug and crime activity in that general area. Not the best place in Houston to live.There has been a rash of home invasions lately where occupents have been murdered.

[CPOSharky]

This is Texas, one of he few states where property rights include your land and other property, not just inside your home. I doubt any criminal charges will be filed against the home owner. Check out the "after dark" provisions for use of deadly force.

[DH]

I can see by the responses you have been making that you don't know much about real life...even more about protecting yourself.

You assume that the person beating your door down just might have an emergency even though the shooter was told to quit beating the door. Why do you figure that if he heard the homeowner shouting at him he could not do the same and relay his message to the homeowner....a deaf man with an emergency you say?

The other thing that is very telling about you is the naive fact that you think that when you shoot someone they instantly drop dead to the floor just like the movies you have watched. Well, I hate to inform you that it takes a minimum of 11 seconds to kill someone if they are shot in the heart. I seriously doubt that the homeowner in a panic would have both the steadiness of nerve and hand to shoot a charging man at a full run at him directly in the brain.

You need to have some real life experiences and quit believing everything you hear from the movies. Real life is a totally different show.

What do you really think the homeowner should have done?
1. Unlock and open the door to talk to the guy?
2. Ask him if he wanted to hurt him?
3. Ask the guy if he had a knive or gun?
4. Unload his gun so that it would not accidently fire?
5. Ask the guy if the reason that he wanted in so badly was due to having to use the bathroom really bad?

I love people like you who stand back and say what you think you would do if you were in that situation, while having no idea if it really happened to you. In your case, we would be reading about you in the morning obituary.

[kjam22]

What he should have done was call the cops, and be prepared to take action until they got there.

True story. I used to work nights and my wife called me at about 3 am one morning because a guy (black man) was trying to get our bedroom window open. She had the gun pointed at him and would have killed him except I kept her on the line talking her out of it while a friend at work called the cops. I wouldn't let her shoot until the guy broke the window. After a couple of minutes he left without breaking the window, and the cops picked him up down the street about 5 minutes later. He was "dead" drunk.

[kjam22]

You need to have some real life experiences and quit believing everything you hear from the movies. Real life is a totally different show.

Personally, I think you're the one that needs some real life experiences to impact your thought process.

[Petronski]

"Girl, 10 Shot After Snowball Fight Leaves Hospital"

Wow, the Snowball Fight was Hospitalized? And who was shot, a Girl and ten others?

LOL

[phugg]

Isn't one of the rules of using a firearm is that one should/must be sure of their target before firing? How could he be sure of his target if it was behind a door? IMHO the homeowner was premature in his use of deadly force.

"With great power comes great responsibility"—Uncle Ben Parker

[Flightdeck]

The tone of your reply seems a bit unnecessary and defensive. People here have made perfectly legit arguments that shooting and killing someone banging on your door should not be legal. If the only qualification necessary to kill is fear for one's life, we could have paranoid schizos running around legally killing everybody. As with every other situation, it should be judged on a case-by-case basis, and in this case a full investigation is warranted.

FYI, I've shot at, and been shot at, so don't respond assuming I'm some sheltered ninny who doesn't know what "the real world" is like.

[Who dat?]

A bit thin for life and death choices.

That’s one of the reasons you better be careful in Texas at night messing around on someone else’s property. The laws may have been revised since I left Texas in 1985 but at that time you could use deadly force to protect life *or property*.

There was no requirement that you be in imminent danger. Not that I was aware of anyway.

There were also laws dealing with trespassing after the sun goes down.

Essentially you had the lawful authority to stop and detain anyone on your property at night. If they want to fight or flee or are uncooperative you could do whatever you had to do to stop them – including killing them. Again, there was no requirement that you be in danger or feel endangered.

But you’re right, once he kills the guy he can say whatever he wants. That’s one reason to stay home on your own property at night. Roaming around hell-raising and being a nuisance can get you killed. Seriously.

[DB]

Your "real life" is la-la land.

[Redleg Duke]

"Apparently you can't, but I can stand 10' back from the door and fill whatever breaks through with holes without having to do it before the door opens."

Your position obviously is that you will bet your family's lives on your rapid shooting skills...I won't. That is your call...but your call only.

[richmwill]

Wow- I wonder if this worries Jehovah's Witness groups in Texas? lol.

Seriously, though- I think the homeowner was justified. If someone comes to my place and tries to barge through the front door, and won't tell me why when I ask him- the gun's coming out. I wouldn't try to kill him, just scare him a little- aim for a non-lethal shot. Which is what I believe this man tried to do.

Rich

[sandydipper]

6 quick bursts - reload - 6 quick bursts - reload - listen for intruder? call Dunkin for nearest police officer.

[11B3]

Ever been through a home invasion?

I have. It was settled by me with a three round burst from my FN/FAL, with me outside my home while they were still trying to force the door. They were both armed. I put those three rounds between their feet, and then moved to center mass while asking them if they were sure they wanted in. The dinner plate sized eyes and the obvious piss stain on one of them was worth the whole hassle.

The cops thanked me, but on the side asked me why I didn't just plant them. In Washington, they have to be inside your home first to use deadly force. I wish Texas law were universally applied in the US - and I fully side with the homeowner on this one. Until you've been there, STFU.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I have told this story before, but it is applicable here.

About 10 years ago, on New Year's Eve, my cousin was dropped off at his condo by a friend. All the condos looked the same and my cousin was dropped off at the wrong one. He tried to get in the front door with is key, but it didn't work. He knocked on the door and then probably realized that it was the wrong house.

The homeowner then shot him on the back as my cousin was leaving and he died on the front lawn.

Do I think that this current homeowner is responsible for killing a man outside his door, my answer would be yes.

[hook2]

The article states that the incident occured at 9:00 PM. That is during the hours of darkness. In Texas you have the right to use deadly force defending your property or yourself during the hours of darkness. The homeowner did not have to wait for the door to broken down. He was well within his rights.

[ArrogantBustard]

From this article:
When the intruder disregarded another request to leave, the homeowner fired several shots through the door. The intruder then walked a short distance down the street and collapsed.

From the tale of your unfortunate cousin:
He tried to get in the front door with is key, but it didn't work. He knocked on the door and then probably realized that it was the wrong house. The homeowner then shot him on the back as my cousin was leaving and he died on the front lawn.

I hope you have enough of your wits about you, give the personal nature of this issue, to see the critical difference between your cousin's case and this one.