Innocent man hurt after Texas bounty hunters broke in and started shootout

CYPRESS, Texas (KTRK) -- Three Texas bounty hunters have been charged after they made illegal entry into a home and engaged in a shootout with one of the residents, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The bounty hunters arrived to the Cypress home just after 8 a.m. as the home renter was also just getting home, deputies said.

Ricky Brannon, the father who lives in the home, told ABC13 in an exclusive interview, that they jumped out of their vehicles with guns drawn and began shouting at him.

"I thought we was getting robbed," said Brannon.

Brannon rushed inside of the home and attempted to close the front door, but the men still managed to rush inside.

He said he grabbed his gun from his closet, and that's when the gun battle started. He said at one point, all three were shooting at him.

"I thought they was gonna kill me," he said.

Meanwhile, Brannon's family, including his wife, Tekia Thompson, and young grandchildren, tried to make it out of the home.

Thompson said when she got downstairs, one of the bounty hunters was there armed.

"He told us to get on the floor or he was gonna shoot us," she said. "I was trying to tell him, 'What's going on? Who are you? I have kids in the house. I have babies in here.'"

They eventually made it out of the home, but inside, the gun battle continued between Brannon and the men.

Brannon said the gunfire only stopped because one of the bounty hunters claimed to be a law enforcement officer.

"So I put my gun down. I said, 'Look, I'm coming out,' and I came out. They threw the cuffs on me, and they started whaling on me," he said.

Brannon said he was hit in the back of the head with a gun and beaten before being dragged outside to where sheriff's deputies were.

As of Saturday, Jan. 16, Texas laws surrounding bounty hunters say the men who showed up to the family's home acted illegally.

According to state law: Bounty Hunters cannot enter a residence without consent of occupants, nor can they wear, carry, or display any uniform badge that implies they are an officer or any federal agent.

According to investigators, the suspect the bounty hunters were looking for was not even a resident at the home anymore. They believe it was a case of mistaken identity.

Investigators also said the men will be charged with burglary and felony after entry. They would not disclose the names of the men, or which bail bonds company they were hired by.