East End store owners fighting back (Houston, Tx)

[shadowrider]

Proprietors of small businesses in Houston's hardscrabble East End, resentful of criminals who can wreck their lives in a matter of moments, are striking back.

Twice in the past five days, business owners or their relatives have fatally shot robbers on the premises of their shops. Law enforcement officials are stepping up patrols and educational efforts, and owners of neighboring businesses are traumatized and angry.

"There's a lot of reason to be scared," said Guillermo Memo Villarreal, who owns a record shop midway between the scenes of the two recent robbery-shootings on Canal. "In one minute, they can destroy you."

On Saturday morning, police said, a man identified by police as the owner of Shew Food Market, in the 7500 block of Canal, shot a robber who was fleeing, along with an accomplice, after taking a bag containing a substantial sum of money.

Two men later showed up at Ben Taub General Hospital, where one of them, identified by police as Elton Guidry, died. His alleged accomplice, Corey Taylor, 31, was jailed without bail on a charge of robbery with bodily injury.

Just two days earlier, an afternoon robbery at Castillo Jewelry Store — just three miles away, in the 4500 block of Canal — ended in a bloodbath.

Robbers shot the owner, 52-year-old Ramon Castillo, in the abdomen, shoulder and legs, leaving him in critical condition Sunday. Castillo shot and killed the three armed robbers, who had tied up his wife of 30 years.

-- snip --

"These business people are fighters and survivors," Trevino said. "They will fight, do whatever it takes. If it means using deadly force for some of them, it wasn't their choice.

"The one who made the choice are those suspects who robbed them. I think the ones who should be worried are the crooks. You've got to do what you've got to do, to stay alive. This time, the business people got the upper hand."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7347027.html

Edited to add link. I'm old and forgot to put it in the original post.

[rfranklin]

1. another happy ending...

If only everyone would arm themselves.

[east texas lib]

4. Agreed. Glad to see you're finally coming around...

Thinning the criminal herd requires constant effort from all of us. Of course you could always adopt a thug and lovingly nurture him into a productive, legal citizen.;-)

[SteveM]

7. On happy endings...

I am not sure that arming "everyone" is the way to go -- some of those you would arm are hardened, slobber-slinging killers I would not want armed. However, there may be a critical mass of sorts whereby enough of the civilian population is armed so as to thwart in advance the juice-gettin', punk-outs of thugs before they occur. Time will tell.

[Endangered Specie]

2. Criminals just don't seem to get the hint

[lawodevolution]

3. Rec and still at zero

[PavePusher]

5. Positive proof that some people here...

have a vested interest in perpetuating victimhood.

[shadowrider]

6. Agreed

Even though one gentleman in the story was shot 3 times before returning fire, and in the process defending his and his wifes lives, the un-recs keep coming.

Amazing.