Seabrook Optometrist 'Not Guilty' in Shooting Death

[WildBill]

A Houston jury on Monday found a Seabrook optometrist not guilty of murder in the 2013 shooting death of a neighbor.
Karl Hormann, 56, testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot 36-year-old Brandon Smith after a Memorial Day weekend crawfish boil in 2013.

Hormann's attorneys told jurors that the eye doctor feared for his life and for the lives of his guests when he followed Smith off the lake property and into the street.
Prosecutors said Hormann should have let Smith just go home. "Was the defendant justified in following him down the street and taking his life?" prosecutor Aaron Chapman
asked jurors in closing arguments in the murder trial. "It wasn't immediately necessary".

Jurors deliberated about three hours Monday before reaching a decision.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 241600.php

[Charles L. Cotton]

"Armed with a semi-automatic pistol with a laser sight, Hormann confronted Smith who was arguing with other partygoers." I find it interesting that the prosecutor felt it was appropriate to include the type of sight on the pistol. Perhaps the day is coming when, even in Texas, the type and/or configuration of your defensive firearms will be made an issue with the jury. I find this tactic and the lack of an admonishment by the judge to be very troubling. If the elements of self-defense under TPC §9.32 are present, then the tool one used to preserve one's own life is irrelevant.

Chas.

[Pariah3j]

I hadn't heard about this case until last night, so I hadn't followed it, but just read the posted article. Not really sure why this went to trial ? Because of the alcohol or because he walked him off his property ? Originally when I heard the blurb about this on the radio, it sounded like he had shot him at the party for crashing it, which made it hard to understand how it came back not guilty. This report looks pretty clear cut for self defense. Is there more to it that the Chron just didn't bother with ?

[WildBill]

There are a couple of other stories.

Hormann was not arrested at the scene but was indicted months later on a charge of murder.

Prosecutors told jurors during the trial's opening statements that Smith was unarmed and was trying to leave the scene when he was shot.
The lawyer said Smith threatened the partygoers and told them he had a knife but did not show it. Investigators later found a black lockblade knife in the dead man's pocket.

A Houston medical examiner sprang into action Wednesday when a juror appeared to faint during a presentation of autopsy photos in a Seabrook slaying.
Dana Hopson, a medical doctor with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, was testifying about the fatal shooting of 36-year-old
Brandon Smith when a man sitting in the front row of the jury box slumped forward and began sputtering unconsciously.
Hopson rushed from the witness stand to direct other jurors who were trying to lay the man down in the cramped jury box.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 232626.php

[ELB]

.... I find this tactic and the lack of an admonishment by the judge to be very troubling. ..
Chas.

On the plus side, it apparently didn't work.

[WildBill]

Here's a favorite of mine:

As the late-night argument ended up being more heated, Hormann, who has actually a hidden pistol license,
obtained a semi-automatic handgun with a laser sight from his nightstand and challenged Smith.

http://www.darkfallgames.com/seabrook-e ... n-defense/

[WildBill]

"Armed with a semi-automatic pistol with a laser sight, Hormann confronted Smith who was arguing with other partygoers." I find it interesting that the prosecutor felt it was appropriate to include the type of sight on the pistol. Perhaps the day is coming when, even in Texas, the type and/or configuration of your defensive firearms will be made an issue with the jury. I find this tactic and the lack of an admonishment by the judge to be very troubling. If the elements of self-defense under TPC §9.32 are present, then the tool one used to preserve one's own life is irrelevant.

Chas.

The prosecutor went to law school in New York City. It may have worked for him back there.

[Jusme]

Here's a favorite of mine:

As the late-night argument ended up being more heated, Hormann, who has actually a hidden pistol license,
obtained a semi-automatic handgun with a laser sight from his nightstand and challenged Smith.

http://www.darkfallgames.com/seabrook-e ... n-defense/

This is also curious:
District attorneys cross-examining Hormann worked to reveal the eye doctor followed Smith off of his building and shot him instead of letting him leave.

When was he on the building?

Who wrote this? it is the most grammatically suspect piece I've read in a while, and I use the word y'all a lot.

[WildBill]

I am also a bit surprised that the judge allowed the ME to show the gruesome autopsy photos to the jurors.
Especially when the defendant admitted shooting the man with his gun.
The ME could have testified that the deceased died from a gunshot wound to the head.
If necessary they could show ballistic evidence to match the bullet to the gun.
This "evidence" too could have backfired on the prosecutor.

[ELB]

...This "evidence" too could have backfired on the prosecutor.

Very well could be true. The "laser sight" business suggests to me that the DA was throwing in everything he could because he felt the basic case was weak to begin with. I don't know if the jurors saw it this way, but it may very well have been they realized there was some hand-waving and emotional sway being attempted.