Texas Law Helped Clear Man in Prowler Shooting

Story Highlights

• Joe Horn fatally shot two men he believed burglarized his neighbor's home
• Horn told 911 dispatcher he was going to shoot suspects
• In Texas, deadly force sometimes legal to protect a neighbor's property
• Civil rights activists alleged killings were racially motivated

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Ever since he fatally shot two men he suspected of burglarizing his next-door neighbor's home, 62-year-old Joe Horn has been both praised and vilified for his actions.

Horn called 911 and told the dispatcher he had a shotgun and was going to kill the intruders. The dispatcher pleaded with him not to go outside, but a defiant Horn confronted the men with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot both in the back.

Some community activists wanted Horn to face charges for the deaths. Supporters of the retired grandfather said what he did was justified under the law. After listening to evidence in the case, including testimony from Horn himself, a grand jury on Monday cleared him of the shootings.

"He wasn't acting like a vigilante. He didn't want to do it," said Tom Lambright, Horn's attorney.
Lambright said Horn was not a "wild cowboy" who took the law into his own hands after he saw the two suspected burglars, with bags in hand, crawling out of windows from his neighbor's home on November 14 in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. The neighbor was out of town at the time.
Instead, Horn was a frightened retiree who tried to defend his neighbor's property and when the two men came onto his yard and threatened him, Horn defended himself, Lambright said.

"He was scared. He was in fear of his life," he said.

Grand jurors had to consider two issues in the case: the intentional killing of another person and whether the killing was justified either by self-defense or the defense of property, Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson told reporters.

Watch how a police dispatcher tried to talk Horn out of shooting »

"I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's conduct," Magidson said. "The grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn's use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense."

Texas law allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves if it is reasonable to believe they are in mortal danger. In limited circumstances, people also can use deadly force to protect their neighbor's property; for example, if a homeowner asks a neighbor to watch over his property while he's out of town. It's not clear whether the neighbor whose home was burglarized asked Horn to watch over his house.

Frank Ortiz, a member of the local League of United Latin American Citizens chapter, said he hopes federal authorities investigate the case further.

"That's amazing that they would no-bill him with so much evidence against him," Ortiz told the Houston Chronicle in Monday's online edition. "This was no more than a vigilante."
Horn did not speak with reporters on Monday.

A large red sign with the words "No Trespass" on it blocked the path to his front door and a handwritten sign on the door said "Please no media," "No Trespassing" and "Do not knock or ring bell." A couple of neighbors also had signs on their doors asking media to leave them alone.
A few police cars patrolled the area near Horn's home.

The two suspected burglars, Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia. Torres was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction.

The city of Pasadena, where protesters and defenders of Horn engaged in counter-demonstrations, pledged to keep its police force staffed enough to protect its citizens.
Keith Hampton, a Houston attorney not connected with the case, said he didn't expect Horn to be indicted. "This is a real conservative county," he said. "A lot of folks in Houston and Harris County are saying this man was doing a good thing."

In the 911 call, a dispatcher urges Horn to stay inside his house and not risk lives.

"Don't go outside the house," the 911 operator pleaded. "You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think."

"You want to make a bet?" Horn answered. "I'm going to kill them."
After the shooting, he redialed 911.

"I had no choice," he said, his voice shaking. "They came in the front yard with me, man. I had no choice. Get somebody over here quick."

CAFFEINE OR DECAF

Double latte in the morning, soda with lunch, energy drink at midday. Sound familiar?
Americans are consuming caffeinated beverages as never before. In fact, energy drink sales skyrocketed in 2007. The sale of Rockstar, which contains up to 360 mg of caffeine per can, compared with 80 to 150 mg per serving for coffee, rose 38.9 percent in 2007, according to Beverage Digest. Redbull sales rose 19 percent.

All this caffeine consumption has given rise to growing numbers of "caffeinated moms." A study by an independent, nonprofit research group, The National Sleep Foundation, found more than 65 percent of moms drink caffeinated beverages to get through their day.

"I can definitely say without a doubt that I am addicted to caffeine," says Sarah Kripal, mother of two from Lincoln, Nebraska. "I need about four energy drinks, three cups of coffee and a six pack of soda every day." Author and parenting expert Stacy DeBroff says today's moms are the busiest ever. "We have crammed lives. We work full time, our kids our busier than ever, and we are finding ourselves always on the go."

Caffeine is infused in a modern consumer's life, DeBroff says. A single cup of coffee no longer makes do. "I'm just waiting for someone to invent a caffeine patch that we hit in the morning and we say, 'Time to wake the kids. We're read to go!' " Caffeine works by suppressing the neurotransmitters in your brain that would normally release nerve impulses that make you tired. This is one reason caffeine is addictive, experts say. People start to depend on the boost of energy it provides.

But what effect is that having on your health? Research shows that caffeine can trigger migraines, heartburn, gastrointestinal problems and put women at an increased risk of miscarriage.

Caffeine consumption also has an impact on your heart.
"It makes you nervous, jittery, pulse races, premature heartbeat," says Emory University cardiologist Dr. Allen Dollar. "But the good news is those are very short-term effects and have no long-term consequences whatsoever."

Dollar says that although he recommends limiting caffeine intake, other lifestyle habits are more damaging to your body. "There are a lot of things I spend time counseling my patients about, such as overeating, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol, but I don't spend a lot of time worrying about caffeine consumption."

The bigger issue may be the addictive nature of caffeine. "Needing any type of stimulant to get through your day is dangerous," Dollar notes.

Lindy Smith, a mom of three in Forest Lake, Minnesota, says she needs caffeine just to get through the day. "I usually drink two to three pots of coffee a day. I am sure this is not good for me, but how do you keep up?"

One way to boost your energy naturally is develop a balanced sleep schedule. According to the National Institutes of Health, most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. You can fall asleep quicker by not consuming caffeine after 5 p.m. "It turns out that caffeine actually lasts in your body for quite a long time," says Dollar. "It takes about five hours to get rid of half of the caffeine you've ingested." Proper diet and exercise also play a role in your energy level.
DeGroff suggests that amid a busy schedule, striving to take at least 10 minutes out of your day for a break can make a difference. "Close your eyes or read a book, just look for something to restore your natural sense of moment. It will elevate both your energy and your mood."
Like most things in life, the key to caffeine intake is moderation. Experts agree, 200 milligrams of caffeine a day is a healthy amount. That is between one and four drinks depending on your caffeinated beverage of choice.

MCCAIN VS. OBAMA

Florida clinched the presidency for George W. Bush in 2000, and Ohio did the same in 2004.
Quinnipiac surveyed between 1,300 and 1,500 voters in each state June 9-16. The polls had margins of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for Pennsylvania and 2.6 percentage points for Ohio and Florida.

If the swing state momentum for Obama catches on all over the country, there may be a new electoral map.

The latest CNN national poll, conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation, shows Obama running strongest in the West -- and not just California.

"The 10 Rocky Mountain states have been traditionally the most Republican part of the country. So that's why it's so amazing that the polls show Obama doing well out here," said Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College.

Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, three Western states that Bush carried by narrow margins in 2004, now look vulnerable to a Democratic takeover, even though they all border McCain's Arizona.