Right around the corner from me, at least he was able to do it
Officers: Homeowner shot at man in burglaryBy John Lowman
The Facts
Published December 11, 2009
MANVEL — Gerald Yoakum said he was protecting his family when he fired two shots at a man police said was a would-be burglar, but he doesn’t feel very heroic.
“I’m having a real problem with it,” said Yoakum, a Manvel attorney who says he is a Christian. “I never thought I would have to shoot at somebody.”
At about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Yoakum saw the shadow of a hooded figure pass outside his bedroom window. His 17-year-old daughter had just gone outside to the guest house to play video games and Yoakum knew there wasn’t supposed to be anyone else there.
He grabbed a .38 caliber revolver and took it to the garage door inside the home, in the kitchen, and placed the gun on a counter before going into the garage. The front garage door was closed but a back door was open, he said.
The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call about the incident, Lt. Russ Baker said.
“His wife’s vehicle was parked inside the garage and he discovered a Hispanic male in the vehicle,” Baker said.
The suspect, Christopher Hernandez, 18, had a knife, Yoakum said. At some point in the interaction, Baker said Hernandez moved toward the door where Yoakum was, and Yoakum retrieved his pistol.
“My first thought was, ‘How many of them are there?,’” Yoakum said. “I see he’s backing out and see he has a chrome knife on his side. I shouted at him to stop. I didn’t want my daughter walking out of the guest house and getting stabbed or becoming a hostage.”
Yoakum said he saw Hernandez reach toward the knife, which was partially hidden inside the pocket of his jeans.
“I wasn’t going to wait until he was on top of me,” Yoakum said. The commotion brought Yoakum’s 5-year-old son to the garage door.
“Everything happened so fast,” Yoakum said. “I fired twice. I aimed low. I didn’t want that knife to end up in my chest.”
Hernandez was hit once in the left shin. He was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston in good condition, Baker said.
“I was just glad he wasn’t dead,” said Yoakum, who is trained to use firearms and has a concealed-carry license. “I didn’t want to take anybody’s life. I’ve often said I pray I’ll never have to use the weapon I carry. I talked to the kid while he was laying there. I asked him why he had the knife. He said I could take it.”
The case will be direct-filed through a grand jury, Baker said.
Hernandez faces charges of burglary of a habitation, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. No charges will be filed against Yoakum, Baker said.
Yoakum said he still has visions of a hooded shadow passing his window, and he and family members are going through therapy to deal with the break-in.
There had been other recent break-ins in the neighborhood, but no one had told the Yoakums. Their home has an alarm system, but it was off. The family has a Rottweiler, but it has been ill and was in a pen.
“We don’t feel safe in our home,” he said. “It was the worst night of my life.”