A would-be home intruder is spending some time in Bosque County jail thanks to the quick actions of a Texas homeowner.
This from westernjournal.com.
Bosque County deputies responded to a call at approximately 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday, which reportedly involved an attempted burglary.
The alleged assailant, William Strauser, wasn’t going anywhere. He was shot in the leg and was being held at gunpoint when law enforcement arrived at the scene.
The Bosque County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook post:
Upon arrival, deputies found a [white male lying] on the sidewalk in front of the residence with the homeowner holding the suspect at gunpoint.
The homeowner was first disarmed by the deputies, who then gave medical care to Strauser.
Stauser was wounded in his upper right leg and was transported to the local hospital.
The alleged attempt to break into the homeowner’s residence didn’t go as Strauser had planned, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
The sheriff’s office reported:
The homeowner stated that the intruder rammed his vehicle through the locked gate, accessing the property, and approached the residence front door, aggressively attempting to break into the residence.
And while Strauser is still innocent until proven guilty, Bosque County police didn’t mince words on what had likely happened:
Evidence at the scene supports this statement.
Making this not just another luck-of-the-draw home invasion, Strauser and the homeowner reportedly knew each other.
When released from medical care, per the Facebook post, Strauser was taken to the Bosque County Jail and charged with:
Attempted Burglary of a Habitation / Criminal Mischief and Criminal Trespass.Â
Castle Doctrine laws generally assert that a person’s home is their ‘castle,’ and as such can be legally defended from attack.
The Shouse California Law Group noted:
Some state laws say that you have a duty to retreat from an aggressor before you can legally act in self-defense.
But with the castle doctrine, you do not have to adhere to this duty when in your home.
Texas has such a doctrine.
The God-given right to defend oneself is acknowledged in Texas.
Fortunately, law enforcement on the scene did not seek to vilify the homeowner for exercising that right.
It’s difficult to say what might have happened between these two individuals if Texas didn’t have such a law.