After begging 911 for help, homeowner shoots intruder

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In the span of less than 10 minutes, the life of Quintin Wood was forever changed. And so was the life of the man believed to have kicked in the door of Wood's northwest Harris County home.

Around 10am Tuesday, the postal carrier who's on medical leave was resting before a physical therapy appointment. That's when he heard the doorbell ringing repeatedly. Then the loud banging on the door began.

"I knew this was going to be bad," Wood said. Four years ago he returned home to find his home had been burglarized. The burglar was later caught, but his vigilance on home security remained high.

"I got my gun and walked out of the room. Then I saw the door was open, and he was in my house," Wood explained.

It was even more terrifying because Wood said the intruder was in another room, and he couldn't see him.

Wood had already called 911, begging for help because a break-in was underway.

For anywhere from one to three minutes, he said he waited behind a wall for the man. And then they both saw each other.

"He kept coming at me," so I fired once, Wood said.

The suspect collapsed in the tile entry way of the two-story home. The door had withstood his kicks, but the door frame did not. It was shattered.

Wood was overcome by how a quiet morning had been shattered as well. When asked about the impact the shooting had had on his own life, he couldn't answer, as tears filled his eyes.

After a couple of minutes, he returned. The suspect was on the floor, bleeding. By then deputies had arrived.

"He asked to call his girlfriend," Wood said. "He kept saying 'I'm a thief, I'm a thief.'"

The suspect, 25-year-old Avery Jamal Powell, was taken by Life Flight helicopter for emergency treatment.

He now faces a charge of burglary of a habitation. Eyewitness News learned he was paroled last November on a felony forgery conviction. While serving that probation, he was arrested on a misdemeanor weapons charge and served jail time.

The day was far worse than the one four years ago when his house was burglarized, his possessions missing. "There are no words to describe this."

Neighbors say they see it as one of their own taking up for himself.

"He did the right thing," one said. "We're a community of older homeowners... and we're not sitting ducks."