Joe Horn

Under Texas law, people may use deadly force to protect their own property

or to stop arson, burglary, robbery, theft or criminal mischief at night.

"Where does the line form

to pin a medal on Joe Horn?

I want to get in line."

Joe Horn, 61, shot and killed two men

burglarizing his next-door Vietnamese-American neighbor's home in Pasadena, Texas

on November 14, 2007.

On June 30, 2008 a Harris County grand jury cleared Mr. Horn by issuing a no-bill after two weeks of testimony.

He called 911 to call police to the scene.

As the burglars were exiting his neighbor's home, and approaching Horn's home,

Horn exited his home with his shotgun.

On the 911 tape, he is heard confronting the suspects, saying,

"Move, and you're dead",

immediately followed by the sound of a shotgun blast, followed by two more.

Following the shootings Mr. Horn told the 911 operator,

"They came in the front yard with me, man, I had no choice!"

Police initially identified the dead men in Horn's yard as 38-year-old Miguel Antonio De Jesus

and Diego Ortiz, 30, both of Houston of Afro Latino descent.

However, De Jesus was actually an alias of Hernando Riascos Torres, 38.

They were carrying a sack with more than $2,000 cash and jewelry taken from the home.

Both were convicted criminals from Colombia

who had entered the country illegally,

and were members of an organized burglary ring in Houston.

Police found a Puerto Rican identification card on Ortiz

while Torres had three identification cards from Colombia, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic,

and had been previously sent to prison for dealing cocaine and was deported in 1999.

Police Capt. A.H. Corbett stated the two men ignored Mr. Horn's order to freeze

and one of the suspects ran towards Joe Horn

before he angled away from him toward the street when he was shot in the back.

Pasadena police confirmed that the two men were shot after they ventured into his front yard.

The detective did not arrest Horn.

On June 30, 2008 a Harris County grand jury cleared Mr. Horn by issuing a no-bill after two weeks of testimony.

PASADENA, Tex., Nov. 17, 2007

Man Kills Suspects While On Phone With 911

Two Men Shot In Texas By Joe Horn Who Saw Suspects Leaving Neighbor's House

They are Miguel Antonio Dejesus?, 38, and Diego Ortiz?, 30.

Official records show that each of them had a prior arrest in Harris County for drug offenses.

Under Texas law, people may use deadly force to protect their own property

or to stop arson, burglary, robbery, theft or criminal mischief at night.

Crawfish Republican Sen. Jeff Wentworth

"You're supposed to be able to defend your own home,

your own family, in your house, your place of business or your motor vehicle."

Attorney Tom Lambright? reads a statement

(CBS) The 911 call came from a Pasadena, Tex., resident,

who alerted police to two burglary suspects on a neighbor's property.

Joe Horn, 61, told the dispatcher what he intended to do:

Walk out his front door with a shotgun.

"I've got a shotgun," Horn said, according to a tape of the 911 call.

"Hurry up man, catch these guys, will you?

I'm not gonna let 'em get away with this ----."

Shortly after, Horn said he sees one suspect was standing in front of his house,

looking at it from the street.

"I don't know if they're armed or not.

I know they got a crowbar 'cause that's what they broke the windows with. ...

Man, this is scary, I can't believe this is happening in this neighborhood."

"---I can't take a chance on getting killed over this, OK? ---"

Almost five minutes into the call, police had not arrived.

"I can't see if the suspects are? getting away or not," Horn said.

"I have a right to protect myself ..."

Horn: "And a shotgun is a legal weapon, it's not an illegal weapon."

Dispatcher: "No, it's not, I'm not saying that, I'm just not wanting you to ..."

Horn: "OK, he's coming out the window right now, I gotta go, buddy.

I'm sorry, but he's coming out the window. "

Horn: "They just stole something, I'm going out to look for 'em,

I'm sorry, I ain't letting them get away with this ----.

They stole something, they got a bag of stuff. I'm doing it!"

Horn: "I'm sorry, this ain't right, buddy."

Horn: "They got a bag of loot."

Dispatcher: "OK. How big is the bag?" He then talks off, relaying the information.

Dispatcher: "Which way are they going?"

Horn: "I can't ... I'm going outside. I'll find out."

On the tape of the 911 call, the shotgun can be heard being cocked

and Horn can be heard going outside and confronting someone.

A loud bang is heard, then a shotgun being cocked and fired again, and then again.

Then Horn is back on the phone:

"Get the law over here quick. I've now, get, one of them's in the front yard over there,

he's down, he almost run down the street. I had no choice.

They came in the front yard with me, man, I had no choice! ...

Get somebody over here quick, man."

Man, they come right in my yard, I didn't know what the --- they was gonna do,

Two days later, Horn released a statement through an attorney.

"The events of that day will weigh heavily on me for the rest of my life," it said.

"My thoughts go out to the loved ones of the deceased."

The identities of the men killed were released Friday.

They are Miguel Antonio Dejesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30.

Official records show that each of them had a prior arrest in Harris County for drug offenses.

The men were reportedly shot at a distance of less than 15 feet.

A woman who lives nearby who asked not to be identified

told CBS News affiliate KHOU correspondent Rucks Russell

that she always saw Horn as a grandfather figure.

"He is the guardian of the neighborhood," she said.

"He takes care of all our kids. If we ever need anything, we call him."

But according to Tom Lambright, Horn's attorney and a friend for more than four decades,

he's the one in need now.

"He just needs everyone to know he's not a villain,

he's not a bad guy," Lambright said.

He went on to say that Horn voluntarily gave an extensive video statement to police

immediately following the shooting.

Horn was not taken into custody after the shooting.

A Harris County grand jury will decide if charges are to be filed.

Lambright says Horn acted in complete and total self defense and has nothing to hide.

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