Old Dude Whips Out a Concealed Handgun and Kills Chain-Snatcher Who Attacked His Wife

DeeDee Snavley from Tuna, Texas, (owner of DeeDee's Used Weapons)  may have put it best,

"I know it's tough to shot somebody,  but do you really want him to run off with your toaster?"

Clearly the price the guy placed on his own life was that of a gold chain.

Maybe the next old lady mugger will think twice about it.

7 billion people on the planet, we don't need them all.

"But it's a good thing he was packing last night..."

Is the observer serious?  I say this a s a CHL holder and one who frequently does carry to defend myself and my wife if necessary, and as a strong believer in the second amendment and the right to self defense.   This was in no way a defensive shooting, and in my opinion he should at the very least not be praised.  The shooting was a trigger-happy, vindictive act of vigilantism, and a life was wasted unnecessarily. The shooting was legal in Texas because it is legal to use deadly force to prevent the commission of crimes such as theft of property that occur after dark. At 7:30pm, one could argue that was "after dark".

But let's be clear; shooting a man while he is running away after stealing an item from you is not self defense in any state of the world.  He executed the man, in effect, for stealing a bauble.  I know there are those here who believe that to be morally justifiable (I am not among them), but at least lets be honest about what we are talking about here.

The police stated that he "feared for his life" during the robbery.  He shot the man, however, after he no longer had any reason to fear for his life.  In most states, and if it wasn't for the "after dark" technicality, in Texas, that would have been murder. 

The observer should be more careful about what it advocates, in my opinion. 

That's not a self-defense shooting.  That's a revenge shooting.

It would be interesting to see the reaction if the thief was a pregnant woman who stole a nickel. And many of us have family members (brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, parents) who have done stupid things for one reason or another (desperation, mental illness, addiction). I guess the lovely Texas Christians would just as soon have any of them shot. There is no gray. Just black and white and bullet.

Oops - poor crook - NOT ! Got what he deserved! What is his name and certain long term criminal background! This might be a future deterrent for him! Charles Bronson would be proud !

so you think it's good to shoot a man just because he was trying to steal something from you?? This isn't Florida. I'm surprised and disappointed. You can only shoot when your life is in danger, not when your jewelry is in danger. Dallas Observer I suggest you take a hard look at your position.

Wow. Killed for a chain. Killer cheered for doing it. This Christian nation is one fucked-up place.

' ..and his vehicle rammed into a parked car.'

From what I can gather the perpetrator's full name was Mayhem.

My parents are the same age as the couple in this story and they regularly eat at the El Fenix next to that Aldi. That shopping center can be a bit sketchy. Luckily, my dad has his CHL and carries his weapon, although he probably doesn't take it inside the restaurant. I worry about them because of stories like this, but I would expect my dad to take the same action as this guy did. I'm a CHL holder and would do the same. This man and his wife were the victim of some chain-snatching scumbag who got what he deserved. It shouldn't matter the cost of the necklace...the perpetrator was committing a crime and the man felt that his wife's (and his) life was in danger so he took action.

Hopefully the D.A. feels the same and doesn't send him up to the grand jury. What's worse is, the scumbag's family could try to sue for wrongful death. I wish Texas would change that law.  If you commit a violent crime all bets should be off for criminal's families trying to sue for wrongful death. That just doesn't make sense. 

Anyway, I applaud this man's brave actions.

I guess he should have trolled Target for his prey..They are anti carry there...Do your homework criminals. 

A summary execution for the crime of theft; under $50 value.

In Texas this is a class C misdemeanor, a crime punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 and NO jail time.

@gollop_treole  extra points for having nuance to your position

@bvckvs2  see bradjohnson774's response below.  That is what the law is.  Whether it is self-defense or revenge tends to not matter so much in these parts when the deceased committed strong arm robbery on an elderly person.

@bvckvs2 You were a witness?  "POLICE say he feared for his and his wife's lives during the robbery, and WITNESSES back up that he fired in self-defense."

@cantwaittoleavetx Yes, that's correct. There's no gray, even though you have this amazingly myopic viewpoint of the people of Texas. I enjoy your lumping all of "the lovely Texas Christians" together. Gotta love hypocrisy. 

Full Disclosure: I'm not a "Texas Christian". I just like to point out when people make fools of themselves.

@cantwaittoleavetx You fail to understand the difference between murder vs. killing. All Christians are against murder (death of the innocent)  but allow for killing. 

@cantwaittoleavetx Or if the victim was an elderly Latino couple and the perp was white

@lzippitydoo You fit well here in texas among the ignorant rednecks.

@username.neil Yes.

@cantwaittoleavetx You can be out of here in about an hour on I-35.  We'd love to see you go.

@ColBatGuano  If what @bradjohnson774 says above is true, there won't be any need for a grand jury and it sounds like the shooter should be lawsuit-proof. 

@ColBatGuano "the perpetrator was committing a crime and the man felt that his wife's (and his) life was in danger so he took action."  

So that's why he shot him as he was running away, because he feared for his life?

@barawlins I think you missed some of the other charges....Battery..strong arm robbery ect...Hope this happens to your mom someday..maybe you won't be so flippant about it. 

@becoolerifyoudid @bvckvs2 Being an asshole should not be a capital offense. If it were, most of rural Texas and half of our cities would be cemeteries

@becoolerifyoudid @bvckvs2 

Sure, it doesn't matter to gun-violence advocates.  But it matters much to decent people.

@OxbowIncident @bvckvs2 

I, too believe that he killed the man out of fear.  Cowardice is a common affliction among gun-violence advocates.

@lecterman @cantwaittoleavetx Yeah. Maybe a 16 year old from Highland Park. In Texas if you are right and white you can murder people, steal from people and any number of nasty things and not be killed for it.

@Threeboys Don't worry. I will leave this right-wing shit hole as soon as I have fulfilled my responsibilities to those who are counting on me. And I won't shoot anyone in the back in the process.

@lecterman @ColBatGuano There's no way to prove that the man didn't fear for his and his wife's life.  These are old people.  A pretty good shove to the ground could seriously injure or kill an elderly person.  This man saw his wife on ground after being assaulted and robbed...did his fight or flight response kick in and want to kill that S.O.B.?  Hell yeah!  Was it excessive?  That's debatable.  But in my opinion he did the right thing.

Thank you.

@RTGolden1 @barawlins And, an elderly person being thrown down can suffer a devastating injury such a broken hip.  My mother-in-law began a rapid decline after a fall that broke her hip.

It is a shame that more scumbags aren't having their careers of crime ended like this.

Just wondering if the punishment fit the crime.

@cantwaittoleavetx @becoolerifyoudid @bvckvs2  I believe the charges are assault and robbery.  You can be an asshole without touching someone. 

When you decide that a person's life is not worth a gold chain, you signal that your isn't worth much either.  He didn't knock down an NFL lineman in a game, he knocked an elderly lady that could have suffered severe head trauma.  That's a bit beyond being an asshole.

@bvckvs2 @becoolerifyoudid Who is the 'decent' person in this scenario? The guy who stalked and robbed the elderly or the guy that defended his wife?

@bvckvs2 It's so interesting to get the perspective of victim persecution advocates like you.

@bvckvs2 @becoolerifyoudid  Which part of robbing the elderly and assaulting them is considered decent?

@bvckvs2 @OxbowIncident Soooo.. not a witness then? Cowardice is a ubiquitous affliction for advocates of robbing and assaulting the elderly.

@barawlins Passive agressive. ;)

@Stat @citzenkim

Hypothetically, yes.

Hypothetically, a man could kill several bystanders by firing several shots at a moving target. Especially if he only hit his target once.

@CitzenKim @RTGolden1 @barawlins Exactly. smh.

@barawlins Don't assault the elderly.

@barawlins Killing is justifiable both legally and morally in self defense and war.

Murder, however is never justified.

@OxbowIncident @bvckvs2 @becoolerifyoudid 

He didn't defend his wife.  He cowered in shame and let her get mugged... and then retaliated after the threat was over.

That's cowardice - twice over.

@OxbowIncident @bvckvs2 @becoolerifyoudid  I'd say defending your wife is the decent thing to do. 

Also, I don't think it's prudent to wait to see what a violent criminal is going to do next. 

I agree with you. I also think sometimes killing can be legal but not moral. This may be one of those times.

@RTGolden1 @barawlins If my mother got robbed of her necklace so i want this guy shot? No and that's your own mental problems so please don't push them on everyone else. Instead of eye for an eye that's a necklace for a life..  I hope you never get on a jury.