A Texas pastor opened fire on a burglar who broke into his church Tuesday morning. Lee Marvin Blue, a 27-year-old transient who is known to the Baytown Police, allegedly forced a door open and was going from room to room, scooping up laptops and iPads, plus assorted video gear.
His rummaging around in the Church of New Beginnings in Baytown, Texas, awoke Pastor Benny Holmes, who grabbed his 9mm semi-auto pistol and started looking around.
Pastor Holmes followed the noise until he found the burglar with an armload of electronics, about to walk out the door, according to a report on KHOU-CBS11.
In an interview with Breitbart Texas, Baytown Assistant Police Chief Roger Clifford said the Pastor ordered Blue to stop and put down the stolen stuff. He didn’t, so Pastor Holmes warned him again. The intruder turned towards Pastor Homes, took a step in his direction, and fearing for his life, the Pastor pulled the trigger one time. The bullet hit the burglar in the right shoulder.
Texas law follows what is known as the “Castle Doctrine” and allows a person in their home or place of business to stand their ground and use deadly force in self-defense. That protection is also extended to a person’s automobile. Following the Trayvon Martin incident in Florida, Breitbart News published a discussion about “stand your ground” laws in a 2012 article by Ken Blackwell and Ken Klukowski.
Blue dropped to the floor and stayed there until police arrived within minutes.
The wounded suspect was LifeFlighted by helicopter to Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, but the police say his wound is “not life threatening.”
“It helps to have great citizens who know how to take care of themselves,” said Chief Clifford. He added, “We’re glad to get this guy off the streets. The man who was shot today has an extensive criminal history.”
KHOU-CBS11 reported that that pastor’s ex-wife says he is a Vietnam veteran who knows how to handle a firearm.
The Pastor previously garnered national attention in the news from an incident in September, 2014, when he confronted a suspected package thief in his front yard. He held the suspect, a grandmother, at gunpoint with a .45 caliber pistol while he called the cops.
Holmes said at the time it was “the only way I could get her to feel the fear of God.” She was arrested without a shot being fired.
Holmes even followed that incident with a sermon, telling his congregation why God said to “arm yourself.”
The Church of New Beginnings in Baytown has a smaller congregation, and is located east of Houston, Texas, at Alexander and Crosby-Cedar Bayou Rds. It is one block off of Highway 146, and only a couple of miles east of the giant Shell refinery.
Milford is a news contributor to Breitbart Texas. You can follow him on Facebook.
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