Raul Rodriquez convicted

[cali]

By Brett Coomer, AP

Raul Rodriguez is found guilty of killing his neighbor, Kelly Danaher, in Houston on Wednesday.
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Raul Rodriguez, 47, argued he was within his rights under Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law when he killed Kelly Danaher in 2010. The trial's punishment phase, which will include further testimony, was scheduled to begin Thursday.

Rodriguez was angry about the noise coming from Danaher's home, where the family was having a birthday party for Danaher's wife and young daughter. Rodriguez went to the home and got into an argument with Danaher, a 36-year-old elementary school teacher, and two other men who were at the party.

In a 22-minute video he recorded the night of the shooting, Rodriguez can be heard telling a police dispatcher "my life is in danger now" and "these people are going to go try and kill me." He then said "I'm standing my ground here," and shot Danaher after somebody appeared to grab his camera. The two other men were wounded.

Rodriguez's reference to standing his ground is similar to the claim made by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who is citing Florida's stand-your-ground law in his defense in the fatal February shooting of an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin. Rodriguez's case, however, was decided under a different kind of self-defense doctrine.

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-14/texas-stand-your-ground/55592380/1

[Blue_Tires]

1. who didn't see THAT coming?

funny how some DUers were so vehement in Rodriguez's defense last week...I guess some people just like going against the grain...

[CanonRay]

2. Fortunately the Houston jury was not stupid enough to buy this bullshit defense

but a person is still dead because Rodriguez thought he could kill and get away with it. These laws are a step too far.

[tularetom]

3. He made sure he said all the right things to his camera

I'm sure he attended one of those "armed self defense" classes where they told him how to get away with shooting somebody by "standing his ground", and provided a few programmed phrases to use.

Hard to believe he didn't plan all of this in advance when he's so careful to get it all on video.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. Pure hyperbole and fantasy on your part

[Blue_Tires]

5. what part of that isn't true?

the dialogue was specifically scripted for the camera, he called the cops about the noise for the 100th time, even though the cops already said there was no substance to the complaint (knowing that sooner or later his neighbor would get pissed off and come by for a chat), and before the victim even stops the truck to get out, the shooter is already screaming at him...

The guy was a paranoid nutbar coward with a history of anger issues who couldn't even look at his own shadow without his sidearm on his hip...The NRA and 2a activists kept their distance from this case for a reason...

[laundry_queen]

7. You apparently haven't watched the video

or if you have, you have the world's worst BS detector.

When he says, "I.am.now.in.danger." and "I.am.standing.my.ground." and other buzzphrases like he's fucking robot, while the guy in front of him is 20 feet away with his hands in the air, he is probably full of shit and just trying to cover his ass because he knows he's going to shoot. There are plenty of other times in the video where he sounds like it's a set up. Apparently the jury agreed. Funny how he thought he'd video the whole scene to help him get off, and it's what ended up convicting him.

Kind of like those cops who are sitting on someone who is half dead and they are screaming, "stop resisting!"
MOST people can tell when it's bullshit.

[obamanut2012]

8. I agree with the poster, and I am a CCW holder

It is obvious he was planning something, because of the recording, and his purpose was obvious as soon as he started stating he was standing his ground and in fear of his life.

Remember, he also said a cop at the scene was drunk.

[tularetom]

9. I have better things to fantasize about than some asshole shooting someone

And I know people like this, I see them at the range all the time.

They make me very uncomfortable and I try to stay far away from them.

[4th law of robotics]

11. Apparently not the right things

since he's going to jail.

[SGMRTDARMY]

12. Wow that is so stupid in so many ways

I've attended several of those classes and for the life of me, I don't remember that part of the curriculum. Maybe I didn't attend the super secret classes put on by the NRA.

This asshole got what he deserved. I watched the video and it seemed to me like the dude was reading from a script. Now he gets to do hard time in a prison of the states choice where he belongs. What an asshat.

[slackmaster]

15. A good self-defense class teaches you how to obey the law and stay out of trouble

Not how to break the law and avoid punishment.

[Starry Messenger]

6. k&r

[4th law of robotics]

10. But but the law says you can murder anyone at any time for any reason

and it's totally cool!

I was told, by a number of legal experts on here, that SYG gave every gun owner the explicit *right* to bully and murder their neighbors for kicks.

Someone call the ACLU, this guy is having his rights trampled.

[makokun]

13. Rodriguez is a idiot

Credit should be given where credit is due. Rodriguez was looking to murder his neighbor who he had a history with. He hatched a hair-brained scheme he thought would justify it, trespassed and shot the guy on his own property. This is cut and dried, no law justified what Rodriguez did. It's nearly a home invasion. Rodriguez's idiotic claims of it being an SYG issue are ridiculous.

[Iggo]

16. Sense.

You has it.

[pansypoo53219]

14. his name wasn't white enough.

[SGMRTDARMY]

17. Wow

could you be anymore racist?
That crap doesn't belong on DU.