12/08/2007

Associated Press

A Houston-area man who killed two suspected burglars last month shot the men in the back, police said Friday.

Another new detail to emerge Friday about the Nov. 14 shooting was that a plainclothes Pasadena detective witnessed the shootings, police said. The unnamed detective pulled up in an unmarked car moments before Pasadena homeowner Joe Horn fired three shots from his 12-gauge shotgun, police said.

Horn, 61, killed Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30. Torres went by the alias Miguel Antonio DeJesus. The incident touched off protests from minority activists that were met by counter-protests from Horn's supporters.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Horn's attorney wrote that his client is awaiting the final autopsy report.

"The facts remain the same in this case as they were on November 14th," wrote Horn's attorney, Tom Lambright. "Joe Horn shot in defense of his life in his own yard."

Horn's attorney has said his client believed the two men had broken into his neighbor's home and that he shot them only when they came into his yard and threatened him. On the 911 call, Horn threatens to kill the men despite the dispatcher's urging that Horn stay inside his house.

On Sunday, Horn's supporters jeered protesters who called for Horn to be prosecuted. The supporters waved American flags and waved signs reading, "We love our neighbor for protecting our neighbors" and "Burglary is a risky business."

Horn has not been charged in the case. In a story posted on the Houston Chronicle's Web site Friday evening, Pasadena Police Department Capt. A.H. "Bud" Corbett said he will turn the case over to the Harris County District Attorney's office in the next couple of weeks. The district attorney will then present the case to a grand jury to determine if charges should be filed.

The suspected burglars were illegal immigrants from Colombia, and one of them had been deported nearly 10 years ago, authorities said. They are investigating whether Ortiz and Torres were part of a crime ring linked to burglaries and fake immigration documents.

Police found a Puerto Rican identification card on Ortiz, who they say has two aliases. Torres had identification cards from Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and had three aliases.

Police also found almost $2,000 in cash in a white bag the men allegedly took from the home of Horn's neighbor.