Current Events > Texas man tracks down alleged truck thief and holds him at gunpoint..

(+) Yeah! (+)

before fatally shooting him

https://news.yahoo.com/texas-man-tracks-down-alleged-193828243.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00

A man tracked down his stolen truck in Texas Thursday and confronted the alleged car thief, who was killed in an ensuing gunfight with the car owner, police said.
The Ford truck's owner and a woman with the suspect were also wounded in the shootout at the South Park Mall parking lot in San Antonio, authorities said.
The truck's owner spotted his stolen vehicle a short distance from where he had left it, police said.

He came up to his truck and, at gunpoint, ordered a man behind the wheel and a woman in the passenger seat outside, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told reporters.
The man and woman were seated on the ground, being held at gunpoint, when police were called, McManus said.
Then about two minutes after that call but before officers arrived, the suspect pulled his own gun and shot the Ford's owner prompting him to return fire, killing the alleged car thief, McManus added.
The woman with the suspect was critically wounded in the shooting.
"The bad guy is the one dead, yes," McManus said. "The driver of the stolen vehicle is deceased, shot by the owner of the stolen vehicle."

While McManus called the truck owner's actions an act of self-defense, the chief stopped short of endorsing what he did.
"Look, he was trying to recover his property," McManus said. "I guess it would depend on who you asked if he did the right thing or not."
The law enforcement official urged the public not to take matters like this "into your own hands."
"We would prefer that (you) call the police before taking that into your own hands," McManus said. "But he (the truck's owner) did what he felt he needed to do and we have one dead suspect and we have a critically wounded passenger who was with the suspect and we have a wounded owner of the vehicle."

The identities of the three people involved were not immediately revealed.
The truck owner is 45, the suspected car thief was 34 and the woman with him is 25, authorities said Friday.
There was a woman accompanying the truck owner when gunfire erupted but she was not wounded, police said.
Texas law allows greater latitude for recovery of stolen property, so the truck's owner could be in the legal clear, said Alexandra Klein, an assistant law professor at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
"It's certainly more desirable to ask law enforcement for assistance in these kinds of situations and the whole thing is terribly tragic � but potentially, under Texas law, he may have been acting within what the law says he got to do," Klein told NBC News on Friday. "The specific provision that authorizes deadly force to recover property is different (in Texas), a lot of other states don't allow the use of deadly force under any circumstances to recover property."

Seems like the kind of violent fantasy that a lot of unpleasant people are into, only made real.

seems like a fair, next

ai123 posted...

Seems like the kind of violent fantasy that a lot of unpleasant people are into, only made real.

Isn't that the Texas motto?

Then about two minutes after that call but before officers arrived, the suspect pulled his own gun and shot the Ford's owner prompting him to return fire, killing the alleged car thief, McManus added.

That's the important part.

Seems like the truck thief shot first.

Karovorak posted...

Seems like the truck thief shot first.

Are you allowed to shoot first when you and someone else are being held at gunpoint?

Karovorak posted...

That's the important part.

Seems like the truck thief shot first.

I think it's also important that Texas has fostered a cultural and legal climate that hunting down your stolen property as an armed vigilante is a viable and sane course of action.

Also, the truck owner escalated first by drawing and threatening. Thief was just standing his ground at that point. ^_~

Antifar posted...

Are you allowed to shoot first when you and someone else are being held at gunpoint?

Castle doctrine seems to imply yes, you could. There's no duty to retreat if your life is threatened in Texas, I don't think.

Karovorak posted...

That's the important part.

Seems like the truck thief shot first.

Nah, holding people at gunpoint on the ground execution style is the most important part.

What matters is if it is verified that the thief stole the vehicle. If not, life in prison. If so, given the circumstances with being shot at, let him walk

make an example of him life in prison no possibility of parole

every thing he owns is given tot he victims family

fuck vigilante justice a truck is not worth more than a life

Yeah the owner should be punished for escalating the situation and endangering others around them. They should have kept an eye on their vehicle and called the cops. They could have gotten their car back without a gun fight and the thief would had been punished. No one had to die.

chaos_knight posted...

What matters is if it is verified that the thief stole the vehicle. If not, life in prison. If so, given the circumstances with being shot at, let him walk

Yup. For all we know he had them on the ground and about to call for police to come get them, but once the car thief shot then the other guy really had no choice.

gatorsPENSbucs posted...

Yup. For all we know he had them on the ground and about to call for police to come get them, but once the car thief shot then the other guy really had no choice.

From what was said, thats exactly what happened.

Dude pulled his gun to try to get away before the cops came.

The fact that people are here defending the thief is mind boggling.

AceMos posted...

make an example of him life in prison no possibility of parole

every thing he owns is given tot he victims family

fuck vigilante justice a truck is not worth more than a life

Would you feel the same if someone tried to steal your pet? Thief fucked around and found out, one less moron in the world

At every point here each person was legally justified in escalating this situation from theft to homicide. The law should not, in my opinion, operate that way.

AceMos posted...

make an example of him life in prison no possibility of parole

every thing he owns is given tot he victims family

fuck vigilante justice a truck is not worth more than a life

Nah fuck that shit, dude shouldn't be stealing shit and maybe he wouldn't be dead. Not saying vigilante justice is viable but fuck thieves.

DnDer posted...

I think it's also important that Texas has fostered a cultural and legal climate that hunting down your stolen property as an armed vigilante is a viable and sane course of action.

Also, the truck owner escalated first by drawing and threatening. Thief was just standing his ground at that point. ^_~

It's not just Texas. Police are absolutely worthless. You better believe if my car was stolen and I had an idea where it was or who was responsible I'd be confronting them, as is my roght when police can't be relied on.

Intro2Logic posted...

At every point here each person was legally justified in escalating this situation from theft to homicide. The law should not, in my opinion, operate that way.

What? At no point was the thief ever justified for any part of this.

Your opinion is worthless if you think someone doesn't have the right to retrieve their property.

--Zero- posted...

Yeah the owner should be punished for escalating the situation and endangering others around them. They should have kept an eye on their vehicle and called the cops. They could have gotten their car back without a gun fight and the thief would had been punished. No one had to die.

Lol you have to be fucking joking, the owner had every right to confront him.

RuneterranSnap posted...

At no point was the thief ever justified for any part of this.

If someone is pointing a gun at you and someone else, does their reasoning have any impact on your right to defend yourself from that threat of lethal force?

Antifar posted...

If someone is pointing a gun at you and someone else, does their reasoning have any impact on your right to defend yourself from that threat of lethal force?

If you steal a car and get caught you have no right to defend yourself. If the thief behaved he'd still be alive. Sucks that it came to this but the owner did nothing wrong whatsoever. He has zero obligation to wait for the inept police.

Spartan_Jedi117 posted...

Would you feel the same if someone tried to steal your pet? Thief fucked around and found out, one less moron in the world

How is a pet like a truck? Insurance will just replace the truck.

Seems like everyone's just a violent moron in this tale.

RuneterranSnap posted...

If you steal a car and get caught you have no right to defend yourself. If the thief behaved he'd still be alive. Sucks that it came to this but the owner did nothing wrong whatsoever. He has zero obligation to wait for the inept police.

wait, you think people should be executed for stealing a car? (Whether he has a gun or not)

RuneterranSnap posted...

Your opinion is worthless if you think someone doesn't have the right to retrieve their property.

No property should justify homicide, morally or legally.

It's fucked up we live in a world that it is.

RuneterranSnap posted...

If you steal a car and get caught you have no right to defend yourself.

I'm not sure that is true if the confrontation takes place after the fact rather than in the moment of the crime.

DnDer posted...

No property should justify homicide, morally or legally.

It's fucked up we live in a world that it is.

Self defense isn't homicide.

The owner didn't just shoot the thief and go. He confronted him so they could wait for police. The thief got himself killed.

ai123 posted...

Seems like everyone's just a violent moron in this tale.

And there's a number of them in this topic as well

RuneterranSnap posted...

If you steal a car and get caught you have no right to defend yourself.

Why not?

RuneterranSnap posted...

Self defense isn't homicide.

It is.

Whether or not that homicide is murder is a distinction made by the police and the courts.

RuneterranSnap posted...

Lol you have to be fucking joking, the owner had every right to confront him.

Not at gun point. Yall defending this are off today. You dont confront someone with a gun to their head. This is not the Wild West. You call the cops for this situation. If someone puts a gun to your head in a state where its legal you know the chances of them retaliating are pretty high thief or not. Both are in the wrong and if you cant see that you need to reevaluate.

Youre also a special kind of irresponsible to confront someone at gun point and then call self defense when the other guy shoots back lol.

Just mark this defaulting gun-crazed homicidal tendency clown and move on

Bio1590 posted...

And there's a number of them in this topic as well

There always is.

The kind of people you suspect spend a lot of time fantasising about being the vigilante action hero in this situation.

Fuck thieves, they got their just desserts

They had the chance to wait for the police but went shooting

Kaiganeer posted...

seems like a fair, next

Good thing the guy was actually guilty and the killer wasn't mistaken, right?

Also: Human life for a Truck - very American, very pro-life.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/3/9/AAcPjKAAEtG7.jpg

People defending this really think its okay to confront someone with a gun?

DnDer posted...

Why not?

Why would you?

--Zero- posted...

Not at gun point lol. Yall defending this are off today. You dont confront someone with a gun to their head. This is not the Wild West. You call the cops for this situation. If someone puts a gun to your head in a state where its legal you know the chances of them retaliating are pretty high thief or not. Both are in the wrong and if you cant see that you need to reevaluate.

Cops are not reliable and you have every right to confront them, armed or unarmed. He had zero obligation to wait for the cop. These are the consequences of us not fixing our shit and if you want to try and hold the owner responsible for doing what's needed you can fuck right off.

It's sad the thief died, this is an awfu outcome, but the fault for this is on the inept government not the owner.

Torgo posted...

Good thing the guy was actually guilty and the killer wasn't mistaken, right?

Also: Human life for a Truck - very American, very pro-life.

He didnt kill him over a truck, he got he truck back and killed the thief when the thief pulled a gun.

Thief could have accepted he was caught and waited for the police to arrive.

Stop defending criminals.

--Zero- posted...

Yeah the owner should be punished for escalating the situation and endangering others around them. They should have kept an eye on their vehicle and called the cops. They could have gotten their car back without a gun fight and the thief would had been punished. No one had to die.

He did get punished by getting his head knocked off.

ghettoraider81 posted...

Thief could have accepted he was caught and waited for the police to arrive.

And gamble on the owner not having an itchy trigger finger?

the ppl defending this are the types who think the punisher is a hero

--Zero- posted...

People defending this really think its okay to confront someone with a gun?

It's ok to confront someone caught red handed with your stolen vehicle and it's ok to have yourself armed, advisable even in the current state.

If he hadn't confronted him he had no guarantee of recovering his truck at all. I'm sorry you think a victim shoukd let themselves be further victimized for the sake of the victimizer but that's not how the world works, now or ever.

AceMos posted...

the ppl defending this are the types who think the punisher is a hero

https://youtu.be/WZLDTgb6g4c

The thief and Vigilante Joe are both in the wrong. In a reasonable world, the vigilante would face some kind of charge for holding people hostage at gunpoint and severely injuring someone who was apparently not threatening him (the survivor) but because it is America and (even worse) Texas in particular, they're going to get treated as a fucking hero.

Good for him that he got his truck back.

Now pony up for breaking the law to do so.

RuneterranSnap posted...

Why would you?

Because someone brandished a gun at me and threatened my life, allowing me to stand my ground.