Posted on 03/11/2009 9:04:18 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
It's a story about a man who was in no mood to see his dream house got to the dogs. He was in no mood to be victimized by a thief again. Bryan Gully with the help of his neighbor Al Lizakowski hatched a plan to catch a crook, and police say they succeeded.
27 year old Eric Martinez has been arrested on charges of burglary, drug possession and evading arrest.
Investigators believe Sunday Martinez might have packed up a bunch of items to steal from an island home under construction. He returned Monday to load up his SUV, but police tell us he ran into opposition. Gulley was waiting in the garage, and Lizakowski was on standby.
"My heart was beating, its a good thing I take blood pressure pills that's all I can say," said Lizakowski. "He just entered the house, and was coming out of the house, and he saw me come forward."
Lizakowski armed with a pistol told us he put a shot in the ground and then, "I said you come any further, I'm going to shoot you."
After that, Lizakowski tells us he told the guy to just sit still that the police were on their way.
But, that's when Martinez reportedly started to try and bargain with the two men, and tried to escape.
"He started pleading with us. He started saying please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me, I'm already on probation I don't want to go back to jail, we said no we're going to wait for the police to come."
He says Martinez tried to then walk toward the channel but the two men followed him.
That's when the plan was hatched to grab the man's keys. They were in the running getaway car.
"He crawled back in the car. We thought that's a good place for him until police come. Well, what happened he had a second set of keys. so he started the car," explained Lizakowski.
He said that's when they shot at the side of the car, the tires, and the engine, trying to disable the vehicle.
It must have worked because Martinez' car was found about a block away in some brush, and later Police arrested Martinez on charges of evading, possession of meth, and burglary.
"In hindsight, I'm very glad I had Al to back me up," said Gulley. We spoke to the homeowner by phone Monday afternoon. "If I was by myself there was a chance he (Martinez) would try to jump me for that gun and I would have to shoot the guy."
He said a year ago his boat was stolen off its lift on the island, and he's fed up with thieves running rampant on the island. Lizakowski says 2 years ago he was burglarized and lost about $8,000 worth of property.
Both men say they never wanted to hurt the thief, just stop him. Gulley said he didn't sleep at all as he waited for him on a matress in the garage close to the packed up loot that was ready to be shipped out.
"If I didn't catch him he would be back again, so the object was to try and catch this guy in the act."
North Padre ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
Is it still called a citizens arrest if Martinez isn’t a citizen. OK Gulley is!
He will try to send some friends of his their way so he might want to be prepared again.
Another story of a gun saving property and maybe a life or two.
The media could care less. I wonder if Corpus Christi even put it in the news or the local paper?
Is this a matter of vacation homes in isolated locations being looted at leisure?
Sad to say, but in some parts of the country the property owners would be looking at more felony charges and potential jail time than the thief.
I think if it were me, I probably would have just shot the guy with a shotgun at close range when he came into my garage.
I had a friend in Houston who shot her would be rapist with her .22 pistol, then had to listen to him whine for fifteen minutes before the cops came.
She’s lucky he didn’t rush her, take her little pistol and kill her. Very lucky lady.
I’ve been burglarized several times in NYC and LA. Had my front door kicked in at 5 AM in LA and had people on the roof twice trying to break through the skylights.
It makes you very, VERY angry. It totally removes any sympathy, care, concern or compassion for thieves.
As far as I’m concerned, all thieves and burglars should be shot on the spot, their bodies returned to their neighborhood and hung on a lamp post.
Kill em all. Problem solved.
Shoot, shovel, & shut up. Problem solved. What’s for dinner?
I wonder how often these things are settled with a shotgun and a shovel.
That’s the problem in my State. Merely threatening deadly force in protection of property will get you jail time.
How is a sincere criminal, trying hard, going to get ahead
in his profession if his victim fails to cooperate?
Almost all crime depends on the cooperation of the victim.
If the victim refuses his assigned role, the criminal is
placed at a disadvantage, one so severe that it usually
takes an understanding and compassionate judge to set
right.
LAZARUS LONG
I live in MD. If I fired a shot to protect my property I would be in jail.
This is such a fascist system in MD. Liberals pass mean and cruel laws.
If a person were to kill a home invader in MD, it might be safer to dispose of the body somewhere else. I do not advise this as it breaks the law.
WHAT?
Anybody doing copy editing?
Perhaps you’ve heard of the old Triple S philosophy: Shoot, shovel and shut up.
My sympathy for your having to live in Maryland.
she didn’t aim right if he was still complaining ;)
While it may be a vacation home or a permenant residence being rebuilt after the hurricane, it most certainly isn't in an isolated location. It has a population of 60,000.
Oops, thought it was Galveston...
“Is it still called a citizens arrest if Martinez isn’t a citizen”
Why do you question the scumbag’s citizenship?
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