12/07/07 uodate on Joe Horn
UPDATED 12/7/2007: Related post
here.
The
Houston Chronicle reports new information about the Pasadena, Texas, case in which Joe Horn shot two men he believed had burglarized his neighbor’s house. The suspected burglar who was previously identified as Miguel DeJesus was apparently using an alias and his real name was Hernando Riascos Torres. Both men are being investigated as possible members of an area crime ring:
“Two burglary suspects shot by a Pasadena homeowner last month were illegal immigrants from Colombia, and one man had been deported nearly 10 years ago, authorities said Thursday. Authorities also said they are investigating whether Diego Ortiz, 30, and Hernando Riascos Torres, 48, were part of a crime ring linked to burglaries and the use of fake immigration documents.â€
Torres had a criminal record and had been deported in 1999. Both men used aliases and had fake IDs:
“Pasadena Police Department Capt. A.H. “Bud†Corbett said Torres was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction. He was on parole until 2017, Corbett said.
Police found a Puerto Rican identification card on Ortiz. He had two aliases. Torres had identification cards from Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. He had three aliases.â€
The report also discussed Horn’s neighbors, who are apparently Vietnamese and who may have been targeted because they are immigrants:
“State and federal authorities are investigating whether the two men, who lived in southwest Houston, were involved in the crime ring, Corbett said. Police found almost $2,000 in cash in a white bag the men allegedly took from the home in the 7400 block of Timberline before Horn shot them.
Investigators also are trying to determine whether the men knew about the home or family before burglarizing it. “I don’t believe the victim was a random choice … but there’s no evidence of a relationship either,†between the homeowners and suspects, Corbett said.
Horn told the operator that he did not know his neighbors well. Neighbors said the family moved into the home next to Horn’s house about four months ago. “I can’t comment,†a woman at the home said over the phone Thursday night.
A source told police that Ortiz and Torres burglarized the home, in part, because the homeowners were immigrants. “They targeted foreign-born people,†Corbett said. “They felt they were easier victims.â€
Little is known about the homeowners, who have Vietnamese surnames. Neighbors said they own a small business near their Village Grove East subdivision. Records filed with the Office of the Secretary of State of Texas show that the family owns a dry clening business on Fairmont Parkway.â€
