A 72-year-old man fatally shot a burglar behind his home early Thursday — and then went back to bed.
via NYDN:
James Meyer has been charged with murder, according to the Dallas Morning News. He told police that he was awakened by noise at around 5 a.m. and confronted someone who was trying to break into his storage shed with a pickax.
He said he grabbed his handgun and yelled at the person to stop and not come any closer, according to the arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Morning News.
Meyer told investigators that the person took several steps toward him, so he fired. The burglar dropped his pickax and ran toward the park behind the man’s home, according to the Morning News.
He told cops that he fired again “into the night” in the direction of the park and went back to bed. He called the police two hours later when he woke up and discovered the body. He initially believed the body found in the park was a “black bag,” according to the Morning News.
“From the suspect’s accounts, the threat of serious bodily injury against him was over when the complainant dropped the pickax and ran off,” read the affidavit, according to the Morning News.
Neighbors said they heard three shots fired, which did not corroborate Meyer’s account. Meyer’s wife called a lawyer before her husband called 911, according to the affidavit.
Do you believe him?
