Joe Horn: Dead Men Tell No Tales

"Move," Horn can be heard saying on the tape. "You're dead."

Boom.

Click.

Boom.

Click.

Boom.

Horn redialed 911 and told the dispatcher what he'd done.

"I had no choice," he said, his voice shaking. "They came in the front yard with me, man. I had no choice. Get somebody over here quick." [1]

Pasadena Capt. A.H. "Bud" Corbett said both men were shot in the back. [2]

It boils down to "choices" and "versions" of the truth.

What "choices" did Joe Horn have on that day, the day he shot two men to death in the front yard of his neighbor's home?

I had no choice.

Was it true, that Joe "had no choice?"

Joe refused to answers any questions from the Houston Chronicle reporter instead relying on his lawyer, family, and friends to describe what kind of guy Joe is and to tell his "side" of what happened. The 911 tape tells another side, not unlike the great 1950 Japanese movie, Rashomon where a crime is committed and then retold from differing points of view.

There's Joe's attorney's version, the police version, the autopsy which showed the two men were shot in the back and the 911 tape, the version of Joe speaking with the operator.

From today's Houston Chronicle:

To his grandchildren, the 61-year-old Pasadena homeowner is simply "Papa Joe."

To longtime friends, Joe Horn is an "average Joe" who leads a rather quiet, dull life as a retired communications computer manager on the outskirts of Houston.

But since being catapulted into a national debate for fatally shooting two men he says were burglarizing the house next door, Horn is called everything from a "hero" to a "murdering vigilante."

The reporter goes on to write about Horn's concern for his family:

"(The shooting) has been devastating on my family," Horn wrote. "Words cannot describe how bad this has been."

Horn, who had been letting his attorney and personal friend of four decades speak for him, added, "It has caused untold grief on all of us. I feel for my daughter and grandchildren."

What was mentioned in the Chronicle piece about the two dead men:

Diego Ortiz, 30, and Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, collapsed and died not far from Horn's house. Both were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia with Houston addresses. Torres was sent to prison for dealing cocaine and was deported in 1999.

No word from the men's families, how, perhaps any devastation they might be suffering.

More from the Chronicle:

The last time Horn shot an animal was 30 years ago when he bagged a "huge bull elk" in Idaho.

"After this hunt, I lost all my desire to kill any more animals," Horn said in his written comments. "I went hunting a few more times but I was no longer interested."

"Don't go outside the house," the 911 operator pleaded. "You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think."

"You want to make a bet?" Horn answered. "I'm going to kill them." [1]

More on Joe Horn in the Houston Chronicle:

What he never expected was that his quiet, private life would end the day he intervened in the burglary of the house next door.

The doting grandfather now needs a press agent to handle the nonstop requests for appearances and interviews with media outlets across the country, his friends say.

Horn has never taken into custody. Hasn't been charged with a crime. In Texas the law says one has the right to "protect a neighbor's property."

Joe Owmby, who heads the Harris County district attorney's police integrity division, explained that Texas law allows "wide latitude for individuals to protect themselves, but not as much if they're not threatened." [2]

From the 9/11 tape:

Don't go outside the house," the 911 operator pleaded. "You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think."

"You want to make a bet?" Horn answered. "I'm going to kill them." [1]

Joe's attorney's version of that fateful day:

Lambright insists Horn feared for his life. After the 911 dispatcher asked for more information on the burglars, Horn left his house to see what was happening and to possibly get a glimpse of the burglars' car or license plate, Lambright said.

"He went outside and all of a sudden there they were," Lambright said. "And Horn tells them 'move and you're dead.' The suspects have a shotgun aimed at them and their response was to run at Joe and he panicked." [2]

More from Joe's attorney on Joe:

"He's quite a boring guy, really," Lambright said. "He's gotten fat, lazy and old. [2]

Joe Horn, 61-year-old "retired old, fat, doting grandpa" who's life is forever changed.

The 911 tape:

"I had no choice," he said, his voice shaking.

Joe did have a choice. Joe was advised by 911 to stay in his house.

The 911 tape:

Joe Horn: "I'm going to kill them."

"Retired Grandpa" Joe says his life is now devastated.

The two men that Joe shot dead? It's safe to say those guys are lives are "devastated" too.

Joe's case hasn't gone before a Grand Jury. Joe has not been charged with a crime. Joe's attorney and the press paint Joe as a good guy caught in a bad situation.

Is part of the bad situation Joe has gotten into due to Joe's decision to leave his house?

Would a Grand Jury sort out what "choices" Joe had and which "version" of the truth applies?

Would, in the end, a Grand Jury "choose" that Joe Horn's right to protect his neighbor's property outweighs the lives of two men?

By LBG
Image [adorocinema.com]
Source - 1 - DBKP - Shot Burglars in the Back
Source - 2 - Houston Chronicle


DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page

Joe Horn, Burglar Killer, Receives Death Threat

Sixty-one-year old Joe Horn of Pasadena, Texas received a death threat via the Harris County District Attorney's Office over the weekend.

Horn,who allegedly shot and killed two illegal immigrants suspected of burglarizing the house next door, hasn't been charged with any crime while the Pasadena police investigate the incident.

The threat against Horn was recorded on a voice mail at the Harris County District Attorney's Office:

Pasadena Police Department spokesperson Vance Mitchell said the message was recorded on a phone in the office of the DA's Public Integrity Division at around 1:50 p.m. Sunday.

The recording was released Monday.

It features a male voice demanding prosecution against Horn and warning about the computer consultant's death if such action is not taken.

"Do not worry about my name," said the caller. "What you better do, you better indict Joe Horn. You better find him guilty. If you do not, somebody is going to kill him, and if he goes to prison, he is going to be killed on the inside. They are waiting for him in prison, and we are waiting on him in prison."

The caller proceeded on an expletive-tinged rant about race.

Pasadena police is looking into the case, said Capt. A.H. Corbett.[1]

Horn had called 911 reporting the two men had broken into his neighbor's house.

"Don't go outside the house," the 911 operator pleaded. "You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think."

"You want to make a bet?" Horn answered. "I'm going to kill them."

Horn claims the two men were "10 to 12 feet from him in his yard" and that they "lunged at him."

"Move," Horn can be heard saying on the tape. "You're dead."

Boom.

Click.

Boom.

Click.

Boom.

Horn redialed 911 and told the dispatcher what he'd done.

"I had no choice," he said, his voice shaking. "They came in the front yard with me, man. I had no choice. Get somebody over here quick." [2]

The shootings occurred almost a month ago in a quiet Pasadena, Texas neighborhood. So far no charges have been filed in the incident. It was reported that Horn has left the area. It was also recently reported that a Pasadena plainclothes detective witnessed the shootings and that Horn had shot each man in the back.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Corbett said the plainclothes detective, whose name has not been released, had parked in front of Horn's house in response to the 911 call. He saw the men between Horn's house and his neighbor's before they crossed into Horn's front yard.

Corbett believes neither Horn nor the men knew a police officer was present.

"It was over within seconds. The detective never had time to say anything before the shots were fired," Corbett said. "At first, the officer was assessing the situation. Then he was worried Horn might mistake him for the 'wheel man' (get-away driver). He ducked at one point."

When Horn confronted the suspects in his yard, he raised his shotgun to his shoulder, Corbett said. However the men ignored his order to freeze.

Corbett said one man ran toward Horn, but had angled away from him toward the street when he was shot in the back just before reaching the curb.

"The detective confirmed that this suspect was actually closer to Horn after he initiated his run than at the time when first confronted," said Corbett. "Horn said he felt in jeopardy."

Neither of the deceased carried a gun but one of the men had a six inch punch, considered to be a deadly weapon, in his back pocket.

Pasadena Riot Police at Joe Horn Protest [Image - KHOU]

Houston's KHOU reported on December 3rd about protests held in the neighborhood. Activist Quanell and his followers were going to meet in 7400 block of Timberline to protest at 3p.m.. They were met by a larger group of Joe Horn supporters. According to reporters the two groups broke out into pushing and shoving while the pro-Joe Horn shouted racial slurs.

“We have a right to bear arms, and we’re not afraid to use it. So criminals in Texas, watch out!” protester Jenni Foster said.

Quanell and his group returned to the neighborhood.

“From the very beginning, we said that what the two brothers did was wrong. We don’t condone breaking into somebody’s house. But we are here today because we believe that it’s not right for anyone to become judge, jury and executioner, “ Quanell said, speaking into a bullhorn over angry shouts from the crowd.

“It’s a matter of justice. It’s a matter of fairness. It’s a matter of respecting the law,” he said.

On Tuesday the Pasadena City Council unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting protests in front of single family dwellings. The council has to vote two more times on the ordinance to make it official.

Two men are dead, shot in the back, the shooter maintaining he had the right to defend his neighbor's property with lethal force.

Sixty-one-year old Joe Horn, the Law told him to stay in his house but the Law also told him he had the right to defend his neighbor's property. Which Law will Joe have to answer to?

Source - The Pasadena Citizen - Suspected shooter receives death threat
Source - 2 - DBKP - Joe Horn: Shot Burglars in the Back

By LGB
Image [allposters.com]



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