Articles | Texan cleared of killing immigrants

Texan cleared of killing immigrants

Published: Tuesday, 1 July 2008, 11:14PM

A Texan who shot dead two men he suspected of burglaring his neighbour's home has been cleared.

Joe Horn, 62, gunned down Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, after he saw them crawling out the window of a neighbour's house in the Houston suburb of Pasadena, carrying bags.

Mr Horn called 911 and told the operator he had a gun and was going to kill the men.

The dispatcher pleaded with him not to go outside, but Mr Horn confronted the men with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot them both in the back.

But a grand jury decided not to indict him over the killings, in a ruling that will add to the controversy already surrounding the case.

The shootings sparked protests from civil rights activists who said the incident was racially motivated and that Mr Horn took the law into his own hands.

Mr Horn's supporters defended his actions, saying he was protecting himself and being a good neighbor to a homeowner who was out of town.

The dead men were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia. Torres was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction.