Now for what happened.....
The perp had been on a binge........a crack addict since the late 1980's who had a tough life growing up and always seemed to take the wrong paths in life. He had been missing for months. Living in a homeless shelter stuffing envelopes for money to buy drugs. On Feb 6th, four days after his 345th birthday, at 2am he had taken a truck and was hopping into various places stealing what he could to fuel his addiction. Then he spied a storage area and thought since nobody was around he would help himself to some more loot.
The perp used a screwdriver to open the door to the storage building. The noise had awakened a man who was living inside. You see, in Kaufman County, Tx it's legal to reside in a storage building. Well, the man was waiting as the perp opened the door. Waiting with a Yugo SKS chambered in 7.62x39 and a loaded 30 round magazine, was the resident of the storage building. The perp turned to run away and the man fired several rounds, one of which entered the perps back, punctured a lung and exited, shattering a rib on the way out. It was stated to police that the man intended to let the perp bleed out but called 911 when he heard sirens, thinking someone had heard the gunshot and called police. The perp was then airlifted to the hospital and treated for his injuries.
A few days later, the perp was discharged from the hospital and went back to stuffing envelopes until Kaufman County decided to press charges for burglary of a vehicle, dwelling and business. The perp is now held on $45,000 bond until his sentencing.
Did the man living in the storage building have the right to shoot him? The perp had turned to flee so there was no immediate threat. The perp had none of the mans belongings so the man wasn't trying to get back his property. BUT, the consequence of theft was there and he did break into his dwelling at 2am. For these reasons, the Sheriff does not intend to press charges for the shooting (which I agree with). The only part I have an issue with is the 911 tape......where the guy is laughing on the phone with the 911 operator. What kind of person laughs about shooting someone? whatever.......
Now take all that information and apply it to this......the perp in this case is my brother.
Sure, he's a caring father of three with a wife that loves him but he's also a drug addict and people like him are the reason I carry a pistol with me all the time. They're unpredictable and determined. Should you know someone who is heading down that road.........drug addiction or otherwise, feel free to share this story. Intervention wasn't enough, religion, clinics, jail, rehab and fmily weren't enough.......apparently the 7.62x39 bullet was. He should be dead. Luckily, it was a FMJ round and passed straight through his body. Otherwise, I might be posting his obituary. My thoughts and prayers go out to the man in the building and the responding officers and medical personell who gave this perp a chance to right himself and learn from his mistakes.
Have I thought twice about concealed carry? I sure have. I now carry a primary AND a backup gun as well as a dedicated pistol for the vehicle. If his story changes one persons life, it's worth telling.
