Dallas man accused of fatally shooting burglar and going back to bed before calling 911

SummerMadness

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Dallas man accused of fatally shooting burglar and going back to bed before calling 911
A Dallas man is accused of fatally shooting a burglar outside his Old East Dallas home Thursday and going back to bed before calling police nearly two hours later.

Meyer told police that he had been awakened about 5 a.m. by noise outside and saw someone trying to break into his storage shed with a pickax when he looked through the window, the affidavit said.

Meyer said he grabbed his handgun and chambered a round, then came out of his home yelling at the person to stop what he was doing and not come any closer or else he'd shoot.

Instead, he told police, the person took several steps toward him, so he fired his gun, according to the affidavit.

At that point, the burglar dropped the pickax and ran toward the park.

Meyer said he fired an additional shot "into the night" in the direction of the park, even though "from the suspect's accounts, the threat of serious bodily injury against him was over when the complainant dropped the pickax and ran off," the affidavit said.

Meyer said he didn't know whether he had struck the person, so he went back to bed.
 

OldWiseGuy

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Is there a law that says "you can't shoot someone then go back to bed before calling 911"? I guess it would have been ok if he had called 911 before he went back to bed.

Actually we need to know where the fatal round hit the man before passing judgment.
 
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Goonie

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Is there a law that says "you can't shoot someone then go back to bed before calling 911"? I guess it would have been ok if he had called 911 before he went back to bed.

Actually we need to know where the fatal round hit the man before passing judgment.
His failing to report it definitely does not help his case.
 
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Goonie

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If he didn't know he hit him, there was nothing to report.
Yes there was a burglary with multiple shots fired. For all he knew his firing a bullet ‘into the night’ as the article put it could have hit someone completely innocent. So there was everything to report.
 
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Chesterton

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Yes there was a burglary with multiple shots fired. For all he knew his firing a bullet ‘into the night’ as the article put it could have hit someone completely innocent. So there was everything to report.
I don't know of any law saying you have to report either of those things. Could be, I've just never heard of it.
 
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Tanj

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I don’t see the problem with bothering the police before a shift change. it is not like the criminal that was shot was going anywhere.

What nonsense. The article makes it quite clear the criminal was going somewhere. Into the park, as it turns out.
 
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Ana the Ist

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He shot at a person that was running away, that’s why he was charged, that is not self-defense.

I know....it's getting so that you can't even break into anyone's property these days without being shot.
 
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Ana the Ist

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I don't know of any law saying you have to report either of those things. Could be, I've just never heard of it.

You'd definitely need to report firing your gun at your residence. I'm pretty sure there's going to be local or state laws against doing that sort of thing without a permit.
 
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Goonie

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I know....it's getting so that you can't even break into anyone's property these days without being shot.
Sorry but last time I checked interrupting a burglary does not give you the right to kill. The burglar was fleeing and not a threat, so after that first shot at the house he has little defence, especially since his shot as the burglar was fleeing was in his own words ‘into the night’. He could have hit anyone. As old wise guy says, it will be down the autopsy what he is eventually prosecuted for, was he shot from the front, or the back whilst fleeing.
 
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Jonathan Walkerin

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As old wise guy says, it will be down the autopsy what he is eventually prosecuted for, was he shot from the front, or the back whilst fleeing.

The shooter will probably say the guy was doing a roundhouse kick so he had to defend himself before the kick connected.
 
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Ana the Ist

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Sorry but last time I checked interrupting a burglary does not give you the right to kill.

Depends, I don't know if there are any "castle laws" in Texas or if they account for include people breaking into your property in your yard.

The burglar was fleeing and not a threat, so after that first shot at the house he has little defence, especially since his shot as the burglar was fleeing was in his own words ‘into the night’. He could have hit anyone. As old wise guy says, it will be down the autopsy what he is eventually prosecuted for, was he shot from the front, or the back whilst fleeing.

No offense but they'll need to show that the shot fired "into the night" was the one that killed him. Maybe they have evidence for it....maybe this will get dismissed. Maybe they'll reduce the charges to negligent discharge of a firearm.

It will depend upon the evidence...but even if he shot the guy in the back in his yard, he can always say the guy turned at the last second.

It's the attitude towards these incidents I find surprising. Nobody gets outraged really when a cop gets shot and or killed....because to some degree, people understand that's a possible hazard for that occupation. Well, it's the same hazard if you try to steal people's property at 5am....you might get shot. I'm sure someone will miss him...just not me.
 
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