Galveston: Apparent castle-doctrine shooting

[seamusTX]

In Galveston, in the 500 the block of 43rd Street, around 3 p.m. Saturday, a man fatally shot a stranger who entered his home and assaulted him.

The deceased man reportedly started by calling to the homeowner's dog. When the homeowner told the man to go away, the man became angry. The homeowner went into his house, and the man followed him. The homeowner retrieved a firearm (type unspecified). When the intruder assaulted him, the homeowner shot the intruder. The intruder later died in the hospital.

Three witnesses corroborated the homeowner's account of the incident.

The incident is being treated as self-defense. The district attorney may present the case to a grand jury after the police investigation is complete.

“They asked him to leave and leave the dog alone, and they said that’s when (Provost) became angry,” [police spokesman] Gray said. “(Spell) went upstairs to his own residence, and (Provost) came on the property and followed him upstairs.”

Spell went inside and grabbed his gun and his phone to call police. That’s when Provost, a Galveston resident, confronted Spell in the doorway and reached for the gun, Gray said.

“From what we’re being told, (Provost) grabbed (Spell) and began assaulting him,” Gray said. “That’s when (Spell) shot (Provost) and police were called.”

Provost took a few steps down the stairs and laid down. Three witnesses told police that Provost was the aggressor, Gray said.

Subscription-only link:
http://www.galvestondailynews.com/news/ ... f6878.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FWIW, this area is not a high-rent district, and it is frequented by homeless people.

- Jim

[OldCurlyWolf]

Last I checked, any death in this sort of circumstances was required to be submitted to a grand jury by Texas "black letter" law. I think the only choice the DA has on this is in HOW he presents it to the Grand Jury.

[seamusTX]

I guess that is the only choice:

The district attorney’s office would wait until the police investigation is complete before making a decision on whether to present the case with or without charges to a grand jury, Criminal District Attorney Jack Roady said.

Mr. Roady is a "hang 'em high"kind of DA, but this looks like a straightforward self-defense case.

Here's a non-subscription link, but it's pretty much what I said already:
http://www.khou.com/news/neighborhood-n ... 83731.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Last I checked, any death in this sort of circumstances was required to be submitted to a grand jury by Texas "black letter" law. I think the only choice the DA has on this is in HOW he presents it to the Grand Jury.

OCW, or anyone: Please explain what the above term means.

TIA / SIA

[jmra]

Last I checked, any death in this sort of circumstances was required to be submitted to a grand jury by Texas "black letter" law. I think the only choice the DA has on this is in HOW he presents it to the Grand Jury.

OCW, or anyone: Please explain what the above term means.

TIA / SIA

From a google search:
A term used to describe basic principles of law that are accepted by a majority of judges in most states.
The term probably derives from the practice of publishers of encyclopedias and legal treatises to highlight principles of law by printing them in boldface type.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

jmra:

Thanks for the answer. I guess I could have googled this too, but I thought it was a Texas-specific
term that may not have been found by Google.

SIA

[JALLEN]

"Black letter law" refers to a principle of law that is fundamental, clear, indisputable, or clear beyond interpretation, etc. It might be said of a statute, or court decisions so widely and universally accepted as to be beyond argument.

"Conveyances of real property must be written, delivered to and accepted by the grantee to be valid" might be one example.