Posted on 07/19/2009 2:52:23 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Police say many have done what Edward Lee did - following car burglary suspects to help police. But the citizen chase ended violently just after 2 a.m. Friday in a south central Lubbock neighborhood.
Lee, a 22-year-old Texas Tech student, was shot trying to help police catch three men he believed were attempting to break into cars at Fast Eddie's Billiards in the 7300 block of University Avenue, Police Capt. Greg Stevens said.
Lee was listed in unknown but stable condition Friday night at University Medical Center.
Police on Friday arrested Bobby Dale Furr, 41, of Midland, Phillip Bryan Oxford, 41, and Justin Wayne Crouch, 24, on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Furr also is charged with felon in possession of a firearm, Lubbock County Jail records show.
Officers were able to quickly apprehend the suspects after the shooting, getting the tag number and vehicle description from Lee prior to the incident.
"He was giving us a play by play over 911," Stevens said. "He was trying to lead us to that suspect vehicle."
Stevens said "it's not uncommon at all" for residents to participate in the risky act, and police have made "some good arrests from something like that."
There were early reports of a possible altercation at Fast Eddie's, but police had not determined if an argument took place before Lee's early morning pursuit.
The victim followed the suspects' truck to 50th Street and University Avenue, where one of the occupants got out and broke Lee's window. Police said the chase was not high-speed.
Lee, who had two passengers, continued following the men for about nine minutes before one of the suspects got out on a residential street and shot him through the door, striking him in the torso and critically wounding him,
(Excerpt) Read more at lubbockonline.com ...
He'll live.
You did the right thing, Mr. Lee; don't let anyone tell you different. Human civilization is a fragile thing, and without people like you we would soon descend into barbarity.
Please take a gun with you! Great you were trying to help, but darn!
That’s what I was thinking. Of course, he is a student, so maybe not able to have a gun if he lives on campus.
If you’re NOT armed, keep a safe distance and an escape route.
If you HAVE PASSENGERS, keep a safe distance and an escape route.
If you ARE armed, keep a safe distance and an escape route.
Of course there is danger. That is what makes it heroic.
A guy in Indianapolis went outside his home and helped the po-po in a firefight.
He was laying beside a car, returning fire, when a cop came up from behind and plugged him in the side.
Texas has a great CCW law, including "stand your ground."
If the Mr. Lee had possessed a license to carry and a firearm at the time of the incident, the result would have been very, very different.
If you know you're the kind of guy who takes action rather than delegate the job to the police, you need to think ahead just a little bit.
*Note the use of the sarcasm tag. "Sarcasm" means the comment is meant to be taken sarcastically. (I bet I still get idiots attacking me because they don't catch the sarcsm.)
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.
Robert Anson Heinlein
One of my favorite Heinlein quotes, that.
Very similar to the New Mexico incident a week or two ago. Only thing about that one, the innocent man had a gun, and shot the robber dead when he approached his car.
Then the police arrested him and charged him with murder.
OK, I’ll bite...Who the heck is the “po-po”?
Sounds like baby talk.
Street slang for “the police”.
That was New Mexico, and some "special families" were apparently involved. This is Texas. This student would have been "no billed" by a grand jury, if he'd shot the guy, while trying to recover or protect the property. Burglary is one of those things that one can use deadly force to stop, including stopping one who is fleeing after committing said crime, which could also include simple theft during the night time, to quote the Texas law on the matter: Section 9.42 of the Texas Penal Code
to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and
(3) he reasonably believes that:
(A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
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