A Texas man who shot two suspected burglars in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun after they emerged from his neighbour's home was cleared of any wrongdoing in their deaths by a grand jury on Monday.
The jury heard that Joe Horn, 62, saw the men crawling through the windows of a house in the Houston suburb of Pasadena, carrying bags of the neighbour's possessions.
Horn called 911 and told the dispatcher he had a shotgun and was going to kill the men. The dispatcher pleaded with him not to go outside, but Horn confronted the men and ended up shooting both in the back.
Horn's lawyer said his client was relieved by the grand jury's decision and never wanted to hurt anyone. "He wasn't trying to take matters into his own hands," Tom Lambright said. "He was scared. He was not playing cowboy."
Lambright said Horn shot the men out of fear for his life when they came into his yard and threatened him.
"He wasn't acting like a vigilante," Lambright said. "He was well within his rights to do what he was doing."
The men Horn killed — Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, — were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia.
The shootings last November touched off protests from civil rights activists who said Horn's actions were racially motivated. Horn's supporters said he was protecting himself and being a good neighbour to a homeowner who was out of town.
"I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's conduct," said Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson after the grand jury's finding.
"The use of deadly force is carefully limited in Texas law to certain circumstances … In this case, however, the grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn's use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offence," he said.
"The message we're trying to send today is the criminal justice system works," Magidson said.
One would have to hear all the testimony but a 911 call saying he was " going to kill the men" would seem to suggest he was very lucky to not stand trial.
Good for him. If those two were in my back yard, roberry of not, them is dead men. Of course I wouldn't have called 911, I'd have just buried them in the north 40 and be done with it.
Ported&Polished wrote:Good for him. If those two were in my back yard, roberry of not, them is dead men. Of course I wouldn't have called 911, I'd have just buried them in the north 40 and be done with it.
'09 kx450f 4-Poke
Gen-4 trail bike --SOLD--
Gen-3 badass trail/mx bike --SOLD--
Gen-1 built dunes bike --SOLD--
'05 klx110 --SOLD--
'95 pw80
The only problem is Joe was no-billed by the grand jury which means he's still eligible for prosecution for another source as well as any civil action that may come up. Though I, as well as most everyone I know, back what he did, there still is that damning evidence of the 911 call. Unfortunately, this probably isn't over. Already, our local Al Sharpton (Quannel X) is staging a protest this afternoon in Pasadena where he was run out of back when this originally happened. I'm sure it will probably make the national news and hopefully, he'll be run off again.
Last edited by jbird_710 on July 1st, 2008, 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
""if you feel that you just got to mug somebody because of your hurt and your pain, go to River Oaks and mug you some good white folks. If you’re angry that our brother is put to death, don’t burn down your own community, give these white folks hell from the womb to the tomb"
wow, where are the good ol' boys with a .50 cal when this guy says this shit!?
'09 kx450f 4-Poke
Gen-4 trail bike --SOLD--
Gen-3 badass trail/mx bike --SOLD--
Gen-1 built dunes bike --SOLD--
'05 klx110 --SOLD--
'95 pw80
I ONCE WENT INTO AN AFRICAN AMERICAN BOUTIQUE IN SHARPSTOWN MALL(SHARPSHOOTER) AND ASKED IF THEY HAD ANY "O" HATS. I DON'T THINK THEY WERE REAL HAPPY WITH ME.....QUANEL X IS A TURD IN A BOW TIE.
"You should never drink Lone Star Beer and listen to Tim McGraw. It just don't work. It'll curdle. "
Dale Watson
i saw a show about this guy and what happened. he is walking a real thin line because he went out of his house and "chased" the guys then shot them in the back (according to the 911 tapes that i heard). i dont have any issue with what he did but from a legal standpoint i would be nervous if i was him
If I was Black, Sharpton and Uncle Jesse whould both cross my sights...
ALL they want is to keep the brothers down, and needing someone.
THe Democratic parts has a weird relationship with the blacks.... A 60 year track record of total failure it trying to :
Educate
Enrich
Stabilize the Family
Enpower
etc..etc...
Cosby and Chris Rock say it best.....
The entertainer, who has long been proud of both his show biz achievements and his doctorate in education, is again urging the black community to do a better job helping themselves and their children.
Speaking in Chicago Thursday, Cosby told room full of activists that black children are running around not knowing how to read or write and "going nowhere."
He also had harsh words for struggling black men, telling them: "Stop beating up your women because you can't find a job."
Cosby made headlines in May when he upbraided some poor blacks for their grammar and accused them of squandering opportunities the civil rights movement gave them. He shot back Thursday, saying his detractors were trying in vain to hide the black community's "dirty laundry."
"Let me tell you something, your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other niggers as they're walking up and down the street," Cosby said Thursday.
"They think they're hip," the entertainer said. "They can't read; they can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere."
He was clearly picking up where he left off on May 17th, when he addressed a Constitution Hall ceremony in Washington, D.C., celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education desegregation decision. Cosby at that time denounced some blacks' grammar and said those who commit crimes and wind up behind bars "are not political prisoners."
"I can't even talk the way these people talk, 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... and I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk," Cosby told the dignitaries at the Washington ceremony, including NAACP President Kweisi Mfume. "And then I heard the father talk ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth."
Speaking at the Rainbow/PUSH event Thursday, Cosby's comments were several times interrupted by applause.
He castigated some blacks, saying that they cannot simply blame whites for problems such as teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates.
"For me there is a time ... when we have to turn the mirror around," he said. "Because for me it is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat, it keeps you frozen in your hole you're sitting in."
Cosby lamented that the racial slurs once used by those who lynched blacks are now a favorite expression of black children. And he blamed parents.
"When you put on a record and that record is yelling 'nigger this and nigger that' and you've got your little 6-year-old, 7-year-old sitting in the back seat of the car, those children hear that," he said.
He also condemned black men who missed out on opportunities and are now angry about their lives.
"You've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education and now you're (earning) minimum wage," Cosby said. "You should have thought more of yourself when you were in high school, when you had an opportunity."
Cosby's own high school years were interrupted, when he joined the Navy after the tenth grade. But the future standup comedian, film and television actor and producer never stopped pursuing education.
He got his high school diploma through a correspondence course, followed up with a scholarship to Temple University and, despite already having achieved success in show biz, went on to study education and earn his master's degree at the University of Massachusetts.
Cosby, who turns 67 this month, was the first black ever to win an Emmy, and has shattered many color barriers in his career - including barriers of perception: images of successful black men, women and children doing and saying things that had never before been depicted in mainstream media.
In Chicago Thursday, Cosby called on the black community to do more to remember and honor the sacrifices made by those who struggled and died during the civil rights movement.
"Dogs, water hoses that tear the bark off trees, Emmett Till," he said, naming a black youth who was tortured and murdered in Mississippi in 1955, allegedly for whistling at a white woman. "And you're going to tell me you're going to drop out of school? You're going to tell me you're going to steal from a store?"
Cosby also said he is not worried by those who argue that some whites might take his comments and turn them "against our people."
well theres good news for those that agree with 12gauge justice and i guess bad news for others who may disagree. CNN just had a discussion about this- looks like he was within his rights to put the hammer down on these thugs....2 less illegal imigrants roaming around taking others property
The Fourth of July is perhaps our nation's brightest day--
highlighted by parades, and fireworks in cities and towns
from coast-to-coast.
But Independence Day hasn’t come for Border Agents Nacho Ramos
and Jose Compean, who are both still awaiting the decision on
their appeals heard back in December.
I decided to write this update after one of our Grassfire staffers
told me that she's been keeping the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Fifth Circuit webpage open on her computer since Ramos and
Compean's December appeal.
"I check it every day," she said. "It's my little way of remembering
them, and keeping them in my thoughts."
I like that idea so much I'm encouraging everyone on our team
to do the same. Here's the link:
Bob, I'm also asking everyone to send these two men
an inspirational letter, poem, or card--just letting them know
that you are thinking of them and their families.
Together, let's make certain July 4, isn't just day 535 for Ramos
and Compean. While it is another day without family and freedom,
we can make it a day filled with friends!
Please write today:
Ignacio Ramos #58079-180
FCI Phoenix
Federal Correctional Institution
37910 N. 45th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85086
Jose Compean #58080180
FCI Elkton
PO Box 10
Lisbon, OH 44432
AlisoBob wrote:The Fourth of July is perhaps our nation's brightest day--
highlighted by parades, and fireworks in cities and towns
from coast-to-coast.
But Independence Day hasn’t come for Border Agents Nacho Ramos
and Jose Compean, who are both still awaiting the decision on
their appeals heard back in December.
I decided to write this update after one of our Grassfire staffers
told me that she's been keeping the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Fifth Circuit webpage open on her computer since Ramos and
Compean's December appeal.
"I check it every day," she said. "It's my little way of remembering
them, and keeping them in my thoughts."
I like that idea so much I'm encouraging everyone on our team
to do the same. Here's the link:
Bob, I'm also asking everyone to send these two men
an inspirational letter, poem, or card--just letting them know
that you are thinking of them and their families.
Together, let's make certain July 4, isn't just day 535 for Ramos
and Compean. While it is another day without family and freedom,
we can make it a day filled with friends!
Please write today:
Ignacio Ramos #58079-180
FCI Phoenix
Federal Correctional Institution
37910 N. 45th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85086
Jose Compean #58080180
FCI Elkton
PO Box 10
Lisbon, OH 44432
There would be a lot less crime if stuff like this happened more!
