Homebuilder shoots suspected burglar in head

[Paladin]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 2215&rfi=6

"Homebuilder shoots suspected burglar in head

By: Sue Thackeray, Courier staff 01/19/2005

EAST COUNTY - A homebuilder, who police believe was tired of thieves targeting a home under construction, shot a suspected burglar in the head early Tuesday morning.

Investigators said homebuilder Ricky W. Otis, 47, of New Caney, spent the night at the home after having fallen victim to several overnight thefts of construction materials from the house in the Northcrest Ranch subdivision off Texas 242. He decided to spend the night Monday in an upstairs bedroom of the partially finished home.
About 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department received a 9-1-1 call stating that there was a burglary in progress at the residence, located at 17234 Northcrest Circle, Sheriff's Department Sgt. Carey Mace said.
Otis told investigators he was awakened by the sound of a downstairs door being forced open. He called the Sheriff's Department before going downstairs to investigate, Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. Dan Norris said.
When Otis went downstairs, he found two men loading building materials from inside the home into a van that had been backed into the driveway, according to the Sheriff's Department.
"They did have some property from inside the house in the back of the van," Mace said.
When confronted by Otis, one of the men reached into the vehicle, according to the Sheriff's Department.
"Not knowing whether the man was reaching for a weapon inside the vehicle, the homebuilder used deadly force," Norris said.
Otis fired a shotgun at the man at least once, striking him in the head and upper back.
The man, whose identity was not confirmed by investigators Tuesday afternoon, was airlifted from the scene by PHI Air Medical helicopter. He was listed in serious condition Tuesday at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, according to Norris.
The other alleged burglar fled the area on foot but was located about 11 a.m. by a detective near Firetower Road and FM 1485. Investigators were questioning him Tuesday.
Detectives spent much of the morning sifting through evidence at the scene. The white 1991 Dodge van sat outside the house, its doors open and parking lights still on. The glass was broken out of the driver's-side window.
The van is registered to a Houston man, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The man also owns several other trucks and vans. Norris said investigators are looking into whether the owner of the vehicle may be a business owner himself.
Investigators questioned Otis at the scene and released him. Mace could not say whether charges would be filed against Otis.
"The case will be thoroughly investigated and presented to the grand jury," Mace said.
Norris said Otis owns the property where the shooting occurred.
"A property owner is entitled to protect their property," Norris said. "Obviously, law enforcement never solicits the use of deadly force."
The Texas Penal Code states that a person is justified in using deadly force to protect land or other property in a number of circumstances, including when the force is believed necessary to prevent to commission of a burglary or to prevent someone from fleeing immediately after committing a burglary.
The Sheriff's Department's crime analyst is looking into whether the two men allegedly burglarizing the house Tuesday morning are responsible for past burglaries at the location. Mace did not know how many burglaries had been reported at the house in the past.
Construction theft is a "continuing" problem in Montgomery County and is occurring just about anywhere there is new construction underway, Norris said.
"In most cases, it's individuals committing these crimes," Norris said. "We've made no cases on any companies."
Cumulatively, the value of property lost in construction material thefts reaches well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Norris said.
"That cost is then passed on to the consumer," Norris said.
Sue Thackeray can be reached at sthackeray@mail.hcnonline.net."

[SRVA]

Homes under construction are the focus of many

By: Sue Thackeray, Courier staff 01/23/2005

Thieves have built an $8 billion-a-year business in the United States by targeting construction sites. But their illegal operations could be torn down with deadly consequences.

A homebuilder shot and killed an alleged burglar last week in the Northcrest Ranch subdivision in east Montgomery County. The homebuilder was standing guard over a partially finished house that had been targeted by burglars before.The homebuilder has not be charged in connection with the shooting, but investigators plan to take the case to a grand jury for possible charges.The Texas Penal Code allows homeowners to use deadly force to protect their property in a number of circumstances, including when the force is believed necessary to prevent the commission of a burglary or to prevent someone from fleeing immediately after committing a burglary.Precinct 3 Constable Tim Holifield, whose office handles a number of construction site theft reports in south Montgomery County, said law enforcement officers don't want to discourage homeowners and builders from exercising their rights to protect their property, but he urged them to use caution."Please utilize law enforcement as much as you can," Holifield said. "No one wants to see a person persecuted for defending their property. But we would like to know that someone is out there and is armed. If we have a report of a suspicious person, we would like to know who might be out there. We ask anyone who hires a private security firm or who might be out there protecting their own property with a firearm to contact us and let us know they are out there. Since we are dealing with places where people should not normally be after dark, we would like to know who is out there."Many builders have taken steps to prevent theft of materials in homes under construction after falling victim to continuing problems.Mike Meistad, a new construction plumber, said many builders he works with have installed surveillance cameras at larger work sites, while others have hired armed security guards to patrol construction areas 24 hours a day."I've been doing new construction for 20 years, and theft has be a major problem," Meistad said.Butch Hotaling, a superintendent for Village Builders, said his company only orders enough supplies for a day's work."We have supplies delivered almost daily just because we don't want a bunch of material sitting out overnight," Hotaling said.The daily deliveries slow down construction and increase costs, Hotaling said, but the process has become necessary."Anything that gets stolen, we have to contact the police and get a case number and submit it to our insurance company," Hotaling said.Some contractors have quit reporting smaller thefts to police because they don't want to claim them on their insurance."A lot of the thefts go unreported because if a contractor reports too many thefts, they risk losing their insurance," Holifield said. "Even if they don't plan to file it with their insurance, we ask them to contact law enforcement so we can keep track of where the thefts are happening, what's being taken and hopefully identify which area is likely to be hit next."Holifield said his department is working closely with contractors to help curb the costly crimes.On Friday evening, Holifield was conducting surveillance on a construction site in south county looking for possible thieves."We've developed a relationship with the contractors and builders where if they have a large shipment of materials coming in, they'll let us know, and we'll step up patrols in the area," Holifield said.Everything on construction sites has become a target for thieves."One time they'll take your plywood, the next time it will be your framing supplies," Hotaling said. "It just seems that they'll take whatever they can get their hands on."Meistad said thieves often take aerators off faucets and showerheads from new homes as soon as they are installed."A lot of contractors aren't putting in light fixtures, air conditioning or the leaded front doors until the last minute because they're stolen so frequently," Holifield said.There are almost as many theories about who is responsible for the thefts as there are thefts. But Holifield and Meistad said in many cases it is people who know the construction sites well."If you drive through some of the neighborhoods in the Houston area where a preponderance of laborers in the construction industry live, you will see smaller, rundown houses with leaded front doors, nice garage doors and other things that seem a bit out of the ordinary," Holifield said. "I would not be surprised if there are entire homes built with materials stolen from construction sites in Montgomery County."Meistad estimates that contractors, subcontractors or other people working for the contractors commit 90 percent the thefts."You may have a painter who sees a window or door get delivered that they could use themselves," Meistad said. "They know it's not getting installed that day because they're the last ones to leave that night, so they come back later and get it."Holifield said cooperation between law enforcement, contractors and neighbors is the only way to curb the ongoing problem with thefts from construction sites."A lot of this construction is going on in neighborhoods where people are already living, so we need the neighbors to be vigilant and contact law enforcement if they see anything suspicious," Holifield said.Sue Thackeray can be reached at sthackeray@mail.hcnonline.net