Texas homeowner acquitted of killing teen intruder

Texas homeowner acquitted of killing teen intruder

LAREDO, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury acquitted a man accused of killing a boy who broke into his home looking for a snack — a case that sparked outrage in this border city, where many thought the man should not have even been charged.

It took the jury of eight men and four women three hours Friday to find Jose Luis Gonzalez, 63, not guilty of murdering Francisco Anguiano, who was 13 when he and three friends broke into Gonzalez's trailer to rummage for snacks and soda one night in July 2007.

"I thank God and my attorney, the jury and the judge," Gonzalez said in Spanish after the verdict. "It was a case where it was my life or theirs, and it's a very good thing that they (the jurors) decided in my favor."

Gonzalez said he was sorry for Anguiano's death, but "it was a situation in which I feared for my life."

Texas law allows homeowners to use deadly force to protect themselves and their property. In June, a grand jury in Houston cleared a homeowner who shot and killed two burglars outside his neighbor's house despite the dispatcher's repeated request that he stay inside his own home.

"I feel vindicated for Mr. Gonzalez and his family and for all of the homeowners and all of the seniors in Laredo," said Isidro "Chilo" Alaniz, Gonzalez's attorney. "This case has huge implications across the board. We always, always believed in Mr. Gonzalez's right to defend his life and his property."

Alaniz is running uncontested for Webb County district attorney in November.

However, Assistant District Attorney Uriel Druker maintained during his closing arguments that the case was not about homeowners' right to protect their property, but about when a person is justified in using deadly force to do so.

"What really took place here was a case of vigilantism," he said after the verdict. "A 13-year-old boy was killed because a man was enraged."

Anguiano's aunt, who asked not to be named, said in Saturday's editions of the Laredo Morning Times that she was disappointed with the verdict.

"The state fought the case the way it should have," she said. "There was a sufficient amount of evidence, and I thought that some of the jurors would be a father or a mother, and perhaps they would think about this happening to them."

Gonzalez had endured several break-ins at his trailer when the four boys, ranging in age from 11 to 15, broke in. Gonzalez, who was in a nearby building at the time, went into the trailer and confronted the boys with a 16-gauge shotgun. Then he forced the boys, who were unarmed, to their knees, attorneys on both sides say.

The boys say they were begging for forgiveness when Gonzalez hit them with the barrel of the shotgun and kicked them repeatedly. Then, the medical examiner testified, Anguiano was shot in the back at close range. Two mashed Twinkies and some cookies were stuffed in the pockets of his shorts.

Another boy, Jesus Soto Jr., now 16, testified that Gonzalez ordered them at gunpoint to take Anguiano's body outside.

Gonzalez said he thought Anguiano was lunging at him when he fired the shotgun.

Many people in Laredo — a town just across the Rio Grande from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, where drug violence runs rampant — defended Gonzalez's actions. In online responses to articles published by the Morning Times, comments included statements such as "The kid got what he deserved" and calls to "stop the unfair prosecution."

Markwes wrote:This one is tough. I like the fact that homeowners are allowed to defend their turf without consequences, but he was on the phone with dispatchers who told him not to shoot. If he really feared for his life, fine, but I kind of doubt that he felt threatened by a 13 year old. I'm thinking it was more of a case of "I'll show you".

floridafun wrote:

Markwes wrote:This one is tough. I like the fact that homeowners are allowed to defend their turf without consequences, but he was on the phone with dispatchers who told him not to shoot. If he really feared for his life, fine, but I kind of doubt that he felt threatened by a 13 year old. I'm thinking it was more of a case of "I'll show you".

"The boys say they were begging for forgiveness when Gonzalez hit them with the barrel of the shotgun and kicked them repeatedly. Then, the medical examiner testified, Anguiano was shot in the back at close range. Two mashed Twinkies and some cookies were stuffed in the pockets of his shorts.

Another boy, Jesus Soto Jr., now 16, testified that Gonzalez ordered them at gunpoint to take Anguiano's body outside."

the killing was for fun, not for protection. the jury were just like the killer--redneck idiots.

Mort wrote:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father

This is more like it

Mort wrote:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father

This is more like it

Markwes wrote:

floridafun wrote:

Markwes wrote:This one is tough. I like the fact that homeowners are allowed to defend their turf without consequences, but he was on the phone with dispatchers who told him not to shoot. If he really feared for his life, fine, but I kind of doubt that he felt threatened by a 13 year old. I'm thinking it was more of a case of "I'll show you".

"The boys say they were begging for forgiveness when Gonzalez hit them with the barrel of the shotgun and kicked them repeatedly. Then, the medical examiner testified, Anguiano was shot in the back at close range. Two mashed Twinkies and some cookies were stuffed in the pockets of his shorts.

Another boy, Jesus Soto Jr., now 16, testified that Gonzalez ordered them at gunpoint to take Anguiano's body outside."

the killing was for fun, not for protection. the jury were just like the killer--redneck idiots.

So you chose to quote me instead of Jugo? I said it was a tough one.

floridafun wrote:

i was agreeing with what you said and added the inserted comment and my further opinion. hard to imagine i know

moondrop wrote:

Mort wrote:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father

This is more like it

No one killed anyone in this story, the rapist died of a heart attack. God took care of this one.

iberlingirl wrote:

moondrop wrote:

Mort wrote:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father

This is more like it

No one killed anyone in this story, the rapist died of a heart attack. God took care of this one.

WRONG!!! Get your facts straight FOE!!!

http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=9095226&nav=menu32_1
a convicted sex offender who struggled with a father after entering a teenage girl's Indianapolis bedroom died of strangulation.

Police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount said Meyers had a heart condition and may have had a heart attack. An autopsy was planned.
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080929/NEWS07/809290293

iberlingirl wrote:

moondrop wrote:

Mort wrote:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father

This is more like it

No one killed anyone in this story, the rapist died of a heart attack. God took care of this one.

WRONG!!! Get your facts straight FOE!!!

http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=9095226&nav=menu32_1
a convicted sex offender who struggled with a father after entering a teenage girl's Indianapolis bedroom died of strangulation.