Spring man charged after chasing down, shooting suspected car thief, Pct. 4 says

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- A Spring man was arrested after someone else broke into his car. Harris County Constable Precinct 4 said it was because he chased the suspected thief down and then shot him.

The arrest was posted to the Pct. 4's Facebook page and people are divided. They say this was either someone rightfully protecting his property or someone who took it too far.

ABC13 reached out to legal expert Steve Shellist for the legal breakdown.

"Texas is very friendly when it comes to self-defense, but the self-defense statute is quite complex," Shellist said.

His advice: If you own a gun in Texas, read the law to know your rights. However, he was able to give a general overview when it comes to using self-defense for property.

"You are allowed in Texas to defend property. You can defend your property. You can defend someone else's property," Shellist said.

When it comes to using deadly force, it's legal when someone is committing arson, burglary, robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime.

"Then the question becomes, 'OK, what happens when that burglary has stopped and the person is trying to flee the scene?' which we see a lot," Shellist said.

That's the scenario investigators said happened in Spring on Tuesday.

Shellist said Texas law allows you to prevent someone from fleeing a scene with your property, but just because the law allows it doesn't mean it's always worth it.

"My advice is let it go. Let the person get away with the property because it's not worth it to take the life of another person over that and to protect your own rights and own interests because you will likely get charged. You will likely be arrested, and you'll have to go through the process, and it's not worth it," Shellist said.

ABC13 reached out to the Harris County District Attorney's Office about the Spring case.

They said a court appearance is expected on Thursday, and the shooter was released from jail, citing mental or intellectual disabilities.

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