Posted on 12/14/2007 8:34:42 AM PST by BradtotheBone
A southwest Harris County homeowner shot and killed a man he discovered climbing into a window of his house at about 2:15 a.m. today, investigators said.
Steven Dunbar, 44, died in the window of the home in the 3400 block of Cascadia, Harris County sheriff's homicide Det. Rolf Nelson said.
Nelson declined to name the homeowner but said the man, 32, was asleep in the house with his wife, a son, 6, and an infant daughter when he heard a loud noise.
"The homeowner says he heard a loud noise, possibly a gunshot, that startled him out of bed," Nelson said. "As he got up, he said he heard another loud noise and he said the house was shaking."
The man had retrieved a pistol he keeps and was on his way to investigate the noises when he heard glass breaking in a bedroom.
"When he entered that bedroom, he said he saw a burglar coming through a broken window," Nelson said. "He shot several times and struck the burglar several times, killing him at the scene."
Exactly what Dunbar was trying to do and why there was so much noise before the homeowner discovered Dunbar remains unclear, Nelson said.
Deputies found a back screen door on the back of the house torn from its hinges, which could account for the shaking feeling the homeowner said he noticed after he awoke, Nelson said.
"He's got a pretty extensive criminal record of felonies over the last 13 years," Nelson said of Dunbar. "He has at least 12 arrests for felonies and a half dozen convictions. We don't know if he was intent on some other crime or if it was a burglary for something he could turn into money."
The area around the shooting scene was taped off by deputies at about 3 a.m. today and the homeowner was not available for comment.
The home is in the Forest View subdivision near the intersection of FM 1093 and Addicks-Clodine.
While the investigation continued late this morning, Nelson declined to say exactly how many times Dunbar was shot and where the bullets hit him.
No charges have been filed against the homeowner and the case is expected to be referred to a Harris County grand jury for review, Nelson said.
If the shooting occurred as the homeowner described it, Texas law allowing people to defend their homes from intruders likely will preclude charges being filed. Today's home-invasion fatality appears more clear-cut than that involving Pasadena resident Joe Horn, who shot two men allegedly trying to burglarize his neighbor's home last month.
Horn, 61, is being investigated for the Nov. 14 shootings in front of his home in the 7400 block of Timberline Drive. The two men, Diego Ortiz, 30, and Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, are suspected of breaking into Horn's neighbor's home in the middle of the afternoon.
The two men, who were in the country illegally, were confronted by Horn in his front yard after a police dispatcher told Horn not to go outside with his shotgun. Police said both men were shot in the back with a shotgun and died at the scene.
In today's case, Dunbar "had made entry but his whole body wasn't inside yet," Nelson said.
I suspect the crime rate will be dropping now. Probably committed his last felony right there in the winder.
One less thug on the street.
Another one bites the dust.
One less criminal to wreak havoc on the community
One citizen spends a buck-o-five on ammo and takes care of a social problem in a few seconds that the state failed to solve in 13 years and thousands of dollars.
Good Shooting! Send him a box of ammo!
Isn’t this area your neck of the woods? Stay safe Y’all!
In the latest immigration news, a flood of migrant burglars has been spotted travelling from Texas to California to join the already existing flood of burglars recently arrived there from Mexico. The city of San Francisco has announced plans to sponsor a program to provide financial aid to the new migrants under its Help the Homeless and Sanctuary City policies.
The California Dept of Justice released a report showing burglaries up in the State. The State Assembly released a corresponding report blaming rising poverty levels and lowered test scores as the cause, and cite the State GOP for using scare tactics to defeat a tax increase meant to address the problem. The Texas DPS released a report showing a decrease in burglaries in that State.
“...killed a man he discovered climbing into a window of his house ...”
How is this a “suspected burgler”?
Sounds guilty and convicted to me!
So who wants to say this VCA shouldn’t have had to die for a robbery? A lot of people were saying that about the pair that Horn exterminated.
Not too close, no.
Good outcome though!
No, it was forced retirement.
Hey Eaker — looks like you Texans shoot to kill, lately.
You guys should offer lessons to those states without the “Death Penalty” for professional felons and those states with insufficient “gun control” to deal out justice...
It’s better to deliver the final solution to the thug problem and to minimize witnesses to the event..
It’s always better if the shooter’s version is the ONLY version of the event...
This scumbag could have easily murdered the entire family. Thank God for this Father’s good hearing and aim. Any prosector wanting to charge the homeowner should be locked up with a group of Serial Killers.
Uh-oh! I remember taking a law class as part of my MBA program in California. The instructor was a ex-Police officer and now a lawyer (nobody is perfect). He actually said, if you shoot someone and he falls outside the house, drag him back in... I have no idea what the law is in Texas, but I know in California, in order for the shooting to be justified, you have to show threat. I'm worried for Horn...
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