Texas Man Kills Teacher Over Noise Complaint

[The_Outlaw]

Texas Man Shot During Noise Complaint

A Texas man says he was justified in shooting because he was 'standing his ground'.
Retired firefighter Raul Rodriguez is hoping that a video that he taped himself will prove that he was acting in self-defense when he shot Kelly Danaher near Houston in May 2010.
On the video that was presented as evidence in court on Wednesday, loud music can be heard as Rodriguez tells Danaher to "turn it down."
"You need to stop right there," Rodriguez says. "Don't come any closer please. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, stop, I said stop right now or I will shoot you! ... I fear for my life. I told you to stop, my life's in danger, you got weapons on you, stay away from me."
At one point, one the men Rodriguez confronted suggests that he will get his own gun: "When I go in that house and come back, don’t think I won’t be equal to you, baby."
"I'm talking to you, and I mean, I'm scared to death here," Rodriguez explains to the dispatcher. "It's about to get out of hand, sir. Please help me, now. I'm standing my ground here."
Moments later, the video ends after the sound of gunfire.

Stand Your Ground? Texas Man Kills Teacher Over Noise Complaint | Video Cafe

In no way am I condoning what Mr. Rodriguez did, however, If you listen closely at the end of the video tape it sounds like someone is laughing menacingly while physically grabbing or attacking Mr. Rodriguez right before the shot/s are fired. Now I don't know about you all, but if someone brandishes a firearm and is telling me to back off, you better believe that I am backing the fk off.

~SMFH~

 

[CharonPDX]

WTF? Is this someone who wants "Stand your ground" repealed? This is right-and-truly insane. No *POSSIBLE* way that is "stand your ground", it is a complete setup of "I'm going to shoot that man, and I'm going to pretend it is standing my ground."

This numb nut needs to be thrown in jail, then have the jail thrown away with him in it.

Jeez. *HE* pulls the gun then claims THEY are escalating it?

If anything, the partying people had a legitimate "stand your ground" claim when it (appears) they tried to tackle him. The shooter came to THEIR house, pulled a gun on THEM (before any of them had threatened anything - they only threatened to "be equal".) Sorry, this is a clear-cut case of not-even-remotely "stand your ground".

 

[Purple]

Stand your ground is not defend-able if you go to someones house and instigate the confrontation. It's stuff like this that clouds the law and make it harder for those who truly need the law to stand on their side as a defense for taking lethal action. Hang this bastard!

 

[USN2Pulpit]

Yes, it seems like he put himself in the situation. He was not in control and let his anger lead him to make a very bad decision. Gonna be tough for him to prove "stand your ground" when it seems like he went out looking for trouble.

 

[CharlesMorrison]

I think this man is going to be charged with 2nd degree murder. This was not a stand your ground incident. He's also lucky that the other man didn't get his gun too! There would have been a gunfight.

 

[araczynski]

In no way am I condoning what Mr. Rodriguez did, however, If you listen closely at the end of the video tape it sounds like someone is laughing menacingly while physically grabbing or attacking Mr. Rodriguez right before the shot/s are fired. Now I don't know about you all, but if someone brandishes a firearm and is telling me to back off, you better believe that I am backing the fk off.
~SMFH~

yeah, that laugh in the end did sound a bit disturbing, like they were going to rush him or something. 4 guys in the dark against one + that laugh, would convince me enough that it was self defense.

it doesn't sound like he went there waving his gun around, he carried it on his body and warned them that he had it and that they should back off.

that aside, i have no feelings for people that are that disrespectful anyway (playing their music that loud and then saying "tough, i don't have to turn it down".)

 

[SGB]

 

[Caribou]

This video provides me with more questions than answers. I will need more information than what is provided here in order to make a decision on guilt or innocents. He certainly had the right to ask the neighbor to turn the music down. As far as taking a gun along, don't we recommend that everybody that carries do so 100% of the time when it is legal? What is the bulge under the shirt of the one guy? Was he attacked from his flank? Multiple attackers would fulfill the disparity of force requirement in a self defense, defense. The judge is allowing a self defense argument to be put forward so there is a suggestion that the court does not see him as the instigator. It is hard to tell from the video but it appears that he was on a public street. His telling them to back off indicates, to me, his desire to deescalate the situation.

Interesting post, I'd like more information about the case.

 

[kiehtan]

This is stupid. Sounds premeditated to me, i.e., 1st degree murder. If your neighbor is playing music too loud, call the police and file a complaint, don't go looking for trouble, or you'll likly find it. I am all for stand your ground. This case does not appear to be a stand your ground case.

 

[Rayb]

I can't watch the video on my iPad, but from the posts and what I read in the article I don't see how this is stand your ground or self defense. He went to the guys driveway, instigated the events and then stood there. I would say back off, go back to your house and wait for the police to intervene. If after that the neighbor and his friends decide to retaliate and come to his house to attack him, THEN he would be standing his ground and within his rights to open fire. That's how I see it with available info.

 

[Caribou]

This is stupid. Sounds premeditated to me, i.e., 1st degree murder. If your neighbor is playing music too loud, call the police and file a complaint, don't go looking for trouble, or you'll likly find it. I am all for stand your ground. This case does not appear to be a stand your ground case.

In the video he is talking to the dispatcher and identifies himself as the person that called before. Had the police responded in a timely manner it is likely that this could have been avoided. A lot of things went wrong here and there is plenty of blame to go around. I watched the video again and this time it seemed to me that he was documenting his complaint to the police when he was confronted by the neighbor.

 

[joshrock]

This is stupid. Sounds premeditated to me, i.e., 1st degree murder. If your neighbor is playing music too loud, call the police and file a complaint, don't go looking for trouble, or you'll likly find it. I am all for stand your ground. This case does not appear to be a stand your ground case.

The beginning of the video clearly says he called the police and made several complaints, obviously it wasn't a priority call. It doesn't appear he was looking for trouble, he had the dispatch on the phone so they could hear the noise when the men approached him in the street. Sure he could have stayed in his house and put up with the noise, but I don't see where he did anything legally wrong.

 

[superprincess]

If it smells bad and looks bad then don't go down there. Don't try to do the police officers job when it is a drunken party with loud music. Because the people aren't in the right frame of mind. If you really want to talk with them about the loud music then wait until a better time. There is a time and a place for everything.

 

[hogdoc357]

I think he will have a problem with his defense. He approached them and pulled his gun. He had plenty of time to walk away and continue to call the cops until they came. Music is not worth shooting anyone over. Stand your ground does not work if you instigate the confrontation. It's okay for him to ask them to turn down the music, but then he should have walked away. He could have hassled the cops until they came. His defense is on shaky ground, IMO.

 

[BC1]

Once again, the first rules of defense are AVOIDANCE, DETERRENCE, DE-ESCALATION. In other words, don't put yourself in such a situation. If the neighbor's music is loud and one is so afraid (as the shooter claims) then the police should have been called. Instead, he went fishing and caught a big legal bill.

 

[BluesStringer]

Once again, the first rules of defense are AVOIDANCE, DETERRENCE, DE-ESCALATION. In other words, don't put yourself in such a situation. If the neighbor's music is loud and one is so afraid (as the shooter claims) then the police should have been called. Instead, he went fishing and caught a big legal bill.

The shooter didn't claim that he was afraid until a truck-load of guys roared up to him, blocking the street and coming at him in a threatening manner. He first tried to identify himself without claiming fear, then told them to back off, then announced that he was armed, and only after all that happened did he claim he was in fear for his life or well-being and using those statements to justify the potential to open fire.

I agree that he likely caught a big legal bill, and also agree that there were likely multiple ways to have avoided any need, real or imagined, to have pulled his weapon. The reporter stated that he was about "two doors away" from his own driveway. Seems as loud as the music was, he could've stayed in his own driveway and made the (at least 2nd) report to the cops so they could hear the disturbance themselves, if that was indeed his intent in going out on the street away from his own property.

On the other hand, he did not approach the offending neighbor. They approached him in far-superior numbers, and continued to advance while he was in retreat, albeit a slow retreat.

It's hard to tell what happened at the end of the tape. Certainly hard enough to tell that his defense of having been attacked at that point might be upheld on the basis of benefit of the doubt if nothing else. I wonder if he has any witnesses, like his wife or kids, who saw it. I wonder what the forensic evidence will show. How close were the people who got shot? It would appear that at least the first shot was at virtually point-blank range, which I would conclude, as a juror, tends to buttress his claim of self-defense. But if the next people got shot while they were running away, he's toast, and should be toast.

His name is Hispanic. I wonder if he's another one of those racist "white Hispanics" that seem to be running loose on our unsuspecting society? Time will tell, but it did appear to me that the dead man was Hispanic also, white Hispanic or otherwise, and the others were either Hispanic or white, or some combination thereof, so I guess we can rule out nationwide marches and Jesse and Al showing up to lead the state government into ignoring its own laws and legal processes for determining self-defense cases. Maybe this one will just stay a curiosity on gun forums instead of becoming an international rationale for fartin' around with our 2nd Amendment or state laws. That would be nice.

Blues

 

[Nightmare45]

This guy approached the party, stand you ground might still apply but pretty slim, could have called the cops and let them shut it down.

 

[whitefeather]

Once again, the first rules of defense are AVOIDANCE, DETERRENCE, DE-ESCALATION. In other words, don't put yourself in such a situation. If the neighbor's music is loud and one is so afraid (as the shooter claims) then the police should have been called. Instead, he went fishing and caught a big legal bill.

Very well said BC1......


"In 2007 Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 378 which extends a person’s right to stand their ground beyond the home to vehicles and workplaces, allowing the reasonable use of deadly force when an intruder is:

Committing certain violent crimes, such as murder or sexual assault, or is attempting to commit such crimes;
Unlawfully trying to enter a protected place; or
Unlawfully trying to remove a person from a protected place.[13]

Senate Bill 378, made effective September 1, 2007, also "abolishes the duty to retreat if the defendant can show he: (1) had a right to be present at the location where deadly force was used; (2) did not provoke the person against whom deadly force was used; and (3) was not engaged in criminal activity at the time deadly force was used."[34]"


This rightfully upset neighbor let temper rule common sense. As this goes to a jury he, at the very least, will have attorney and civil law suit fees to face in his retirement years.

I hate every time someone wrongfully uses 'Stand Your Ground' as a defense for bad decisions. The anti gun community will continue to use these incidents as a foot in the door to erode the rights we have fought so hard to attain.

 

[dcselby1]

The jury didn't buy it, either. He was convicted today (Wednesday).

 

[ikonixx]

The jury didn't buy it, either. He was convicted today (Wednesday).

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