Protest over slain burglars takes a confrontational turn Supporters of Pasadena man who shot two try to drown out Quanell X rally By JENNIFER LEAHY Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Pasadena protests collide Dec. 2 Activist Quanell X and dozens of other protesters Sunday faced hundreds of homeowners and supporters of Joe Horn, the Pasadena man who shot and killed two men he suspected of burglarizing a neighbor's home more than two weeks ago. Families of the slain men, Miguel Antonio DeJesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, also were present. Yard signs lined the 7400 block of Timberline in Pasadena, where the incident took place, as well as on nearby streets. Residents and Horn supporters waved American flags and carried signs reading, "We love our neighbor for protecting our neighbors" and "Burglary is a risky business." Motorcyclist Aaron "Blowout" Morrow, 43, and dozens of his fellow bikers lined Timberline, loudly revving their engines each time Quanell X attempted to speak. "I support our rights as Americans to protect ourselves and support our Second Amendment rights," Morrow said. Quanell X, who said he is not certain the shooting was racially motivated, said he "wouldn't be surprised" after Sunday afternoon's events. "Our protesters were peaceful in spite of racial slurs," he said. Some attendees screamed "USA! USA!" when Quanell X tried to speak while others booed the activist. Numerous Pasadena police officers were on hand during the confrontation as were members of the SERT, Special Event Response Team, in riot gear but no arrests were made. "I just can't believe that we've got a race riot going on in our neighborhood," said Michelle Howell, who lives several doors down from Horn. "First of all, this is a quiet place, secondly we've got neighbors of all different races. This has nothing to do with race." Quanell X has called for Horn, who is white, to be charged with murder for shooting DeJesus and Ortiz, who were black. "Our position is that we do not condone their actions. We condemn their actions," Quanell X said. "But Horn acted as police officer, judge, jury and executioner all at the same time." Maritza Munoz marched with the members of the New Black Panther Nation. "Yes, they broke into people's houses, but it wasn't his right to kill them. What he (Horn) did was criminal," she said. Carrie West grabbed a bullhorn and taunted Quanell X during his second formal attempt to address the crowd and media. "We're just citizens standing up for another citizen who chose to protect himself," West said. Supporters came from as far away as Onalaska and from all corners of Harris County. Many took photographs and videos of the event. Most were outraged at the protest of Horn and the insinuation that race played a factor in the shooting. Hundreds signed the back of signs that read "I support Joe Horn" with bluebonnets and a Texas flag in the background. "It's really simple ? don't break into people's houses and you won't get shot," said Kim Jackson, who waved an American flag while yelling "Go home" at members of the New Black Panther Nation. Horn, 61, shot DeJesus and Ortiz on Nov. 14 after telling police he saw them steal from a neighbor's home. Horn told a 911 operator that he intended to confront and shoot the men. The blinds were closed at the Horn home Sunday and two "No trespassing" signs were on the lawn. One noted "Violators will be prosecuted." It has not been determined if Horn will face charges for the homicides. "We will be turning the case over to the Harris County District Attorney's Office in 7-10 days, and at that point it's out of our hands," Pasadena police spokesman Vance Mitchell said Sunday evening.
Well it had to be all about race right? I mean it had nothing to do with people stealing stuff that did not belong to them or breaking into a home they had no right to enter right? Wait, maybe these guys were the racists, they were not robbing a black person's home so maybe their robbery was motivated by their hatred. But wait, only whites can be racist, I keep forgetting that important fact. It kills me every time I see this stuff, why can't society just say bad people get bad results to their actions sometimes? They started the ball rolling, it was their decision to be criminals and take advantage of innocent people. Even if you want to call these robbers victims, I kind of like how it is okay for them to make others into victims who knows how many hundreds of times but if they get turned into a victim, now there is a problem. How typical of the liberal agenda.
Wow, a race riot? Why did the stupid black panthers have to get involved... What a bunch of worthless jerks. Go Hero Joe. Live on and prosper.
Joe is a hero. A guy who will get off his backside to assist others. Who gives a stuff about some thieving turds that got their just desserts ? I don't. Low lifes should get a job, and not go trying to steal from citizens.
Nothing pisses me off more than when people throw out the race card. Oh man that's irritating! He was asked by the dispatcher what they looked like. OK if it is the law of the land then I guess I have no problem with it. It's one hell of a way to curb robberies though. I just can't imagine killing someone over "stuff". You know it's not always a carer criminal burglarizing houses. We had an instance where some kids got caught. They had a paper route and knew when the house was empty. But the neighbors saw them.
It's too bad this happened in Nebraska. Police: Nine killed in shooting at Omaha mall, including gunman - CNN.com If it happened in Texas, the kid could have claimed the people he shot were trying to steal from the store , and he was protecting the property of a 3rd party. Then he wouldn't have had to shoot himself.
Actually, if it happened in Texas there would have been a good chance an armed citizen, with a license to carry, would have blown the punk away.
God point Hugo. Had it happened in Texas and not Nabraska, and had Hero Joe been on the scene, that young jerk would have ended up with more holes than a pastry chefs sieve.
And saved lives. Cops can only "respond" to things and being as there are so few of them compared to the total population, it is very unlikely one will ever be around when things like this start.
There is concealed carry in Nebraska too. The mall chose to make it a "No Guns Allowed Zone" which obviously only keeps the armed, law abiding, citizens from bringing guns into these places.
You all are right and they would have been protecting the people in the store, not the STUFF. To use TJ's favorite retort, you all are "dodging" the issue that in Texas he could have used the affirmative defense that he was protecting the property of the store.
This I completely agree with. Tell me any gun free zone that pretends to protect property, instead of people, though.
Please, you are ignoring the word "reasonable" in the Texas law covering defense of property with force.
Pleeaassee. You are distorting the fact that the "reasonable" part of this backward, retarded, hick law, only applies to the perception of the person/moron executing the thief/person, as to if they are stealing property or not. It doesn't say the person has to be reasonable, just reasonably believes that property is being stolen. Stop trying to use things out of context.
Nope, I did not see anywhere that the guy was stealing, only that he was shooting at people. Again, if people had guns on their person when criminals like this start shooting at them, they could shoot back. The entire reason guys like this idiot goes to a mall to shoot people is he feels fairly safe that these people are like sitting ducks, all unarmed easy to kill victims. If it was considered normal for the same area to be filled with armed citizens, he would not have chosen that area for his act. As far as protecting possessions is concerned, you say an illegal alien breaking into homes and stealing property has a greater worth to society than my 60inch plasma tv that I worked hard for to earn and enjoy. I dissagree, I feel my tv will provide endless enjoyment to me, my family, and my friends while these scumbags will only hurt society with fear, lost possessions, and massive increases in insurance premiums for all Americans.
