15 October 2007

How Not To Pick A Victim, Part II

STORY

Business owner kills 2 suspected burglars in 3 weeks


A Ledbetter-area business owner fatally shot a suspected burglar Sunday morning – the second time in three weeks that he killed an intruder, Dallas police said.

James Walton, owner of Able Walton Machine & Welding in the 2000 block of Chalk Hill Road in West Dallas, was alerted to the intruder when his motion sensor system activated about 9 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Mr. Walton, who also lives at his business, went downstairs with a shotgun and fired at a man who had broken in. The intruder was later identified by police as Jimmy Gannon of Ferris.

Police said Mr. Walton also noticed another man outside Sunday. Mr. Walton shot and wounded that man. He escaped, but a witness eventually led police to him. The man, whom police did not immediately identify, was questioned by officers Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Gannon, 37, was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where he died.

Police said Mr. Walton is allowed to protect his property. No charges were filed against him Sunday, though the case will be referred to a grand jury, police said.

"He's got a right to defend his property. What gives a stranger the right to go in and vandalize or burglarize his business?" said Dallas police Sgt. Gene Reyes. "He's within every legal right to do this."

Mr. Walton could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Dallas police Sgt. Andrew Harvey said he doesn't believe anything was stolen from Mr. Walton's business on Sunday.

On Sept. 22, Mr. Walton shot and killed a man he saw climbing through a pried-open window of his business, police said. The intruder was later identified as Raul Laureles. That incident also was referred to a grand jury.


Robocop's Comment:

Ok, these people do watch tv, and have access to newspapers, right? If a scumbag got smoked at this business before, would anyone in their right mind try the same thing at the same place? DUH!

4 comments:

Sandy said...

And we have a perfect candidate for this year's Darwin awards! Thanks for sharing this.

wolfbaby said...

ya know.. it's kinda nice to see the perp get the bullut instead of the vic

but then again maybe im just a bad person.

Debs said...

That old man rocks! He is doing his neighborhood, this state, and the world a huge favor. Less thugs running around.

Dustin said...

Those criminals really should try to learn from the mistakes of their fellow criminals. No wonder most criminals are more afraid of running into an armed homeowner than the Police. It also explains why places that allow people to defend themselves (ie NOT DC or New York) have lower crime rates. Increased risk to benefit ratio for the criminals makes some of the criminals decide to work a normal job for a living instead of living off of the defenseless victims created by the city government, or at least to move to a city with easy targets like DC & New York. Love it. Thanks for sharing.