Tech student shot, killed in Tech Terrace neighborhood Options

[James]

Texas Tech student Ross Baker, 23, was shot and killed Saturday morning at a Tech Terrace home at 3006 24th St.

Baker was a senior construction engineering major from Weatherford.

The shooting occurred around 3:45 a.m., according to the police report. The homeowner, Charles Mire, told police he confronted Baker, and Mire said he then fired a warning shot into the ceiling above his head. Mire shot Baker after he did not leave following the warning shot.

He was then transported to the University Medical Center, where he later died, according to the police report.

Baker had no prior criminal record.

The Baker family was unable to be reached for comment Monday.

Meg Carroll, a senior accounting major from Houston and a close friend of Baker's, said Baker was always great company and a peaceful person.

"Nobody ever had any problems with him. (He was) very non-confrontational," Carroll said. "He would never wrong anybody. All he did was go hunting on the weekends or hang out with friends."

Carroll said Baker enjoyed anything having to do with the outdoors, such as fishing and hunting.

Sergeant John Gomez said the police department is still in the process of gathering information from several witnesses. He said Baker's autopsy and toxicology information will not be available for another two or three weeks.

Baker was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/s...d-2913940.shtml

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[JRockTTU]

Yeah, I've read about this the past few days. Really bizarre. I think the toxicology report will show he was on some kind of drugs. Why else would you not leave when someone fires a warning shot into the air?!

[James]

Always a possibility that a warning shot wasn't fired, but that he fired immediately, then fired the warning shot after to cover his ass. Either case, you're right. Toxicology will probably show positive on something mind-altering.

[kschristia]

so...what about Mire?

[James]

What you mean what about Mire? He was within his rights to shoot the trespasser. Doubt he's been charged with anything yet if he ever will.

[kschristia]

What you mean what about Mire? He was within his rights to shoot the trespasser. Doubt he's been charged with anything yet if he ever will.

I just thought it was weird that he was never mentioned in the article again. I was wondering if he was going to be charged or not or if he knew Baker and they were hanging out and he asked him to leave etc.

[James]

Well, it was a Daily Toreador article. I'll go check if the AJ has an article on it and paste it if so.

[pysex]

So they write this report without telling us what happened. Why he was shot. They knew there was a warning shot and he was in someone else's home....but that still doesn't explain why a gun was out and pointed at him.

[James]

Yeah, go figure. Much better reporting.

Homeowner not likely to face charges in shooting
BY HENRI BRICKEY
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL


The man who shot and killed an intruder in his Tech Terrace home over the weekend will most likely not be charged with any crime, the district attorney said Monday.

Charles Mire shot Ross Baker inside Mire's home in the 3000 block of 24th Street about 3:35 a.m. Saturday. Mire, 43, told authorities he feared for his and his family's safety when Baker entered the home and set off an alarm, according to Lubbock police reports.

Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney Matt Powell said the law allows a person to use deadly force if they fear injury or death.



"Finding a stranger in your home at that time in the morning - that's about as scary as it gets," Powell said.
Friends of Baker say that the 23-year-old Texas Tech engineering major must have been lost or disoriented when he entered Mire's home.

Baker had recently moved into a home four blocks from the Mire residence in the Tech Terrace neighborhood.

Marcus Davis, Baker's roommate, said Monday that Baker was not the criminal type.

"He didn't have any enemies," Davis said. "Everybody he met loved him. He would never hurt anybody."

Police say Baker entered the house through an unlocked side door.

Baker, who grew up in Weatherford, doesn't have a criminal history in Lubbock, according to police records.

Toxicology tests are still pending to determine if Baker was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when Mire shot him in the stomach with a 9mm pistol, according to police.

Prior to firing the fatal shot, Mire ordered Baker to surrender several times and fired a warning shot, according to police.

The district attorney's office will make a final determination in the case after the police hand over all the details of the shooting, including the toxicology report.

The shooting comes three months after Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a bill that gives Texans a stronger legal right to defend themselves in their homes, cars and workplaces.

The bill, backed by the National Rifle Association, states that a person has no duty to retreat from an intruder before using deadly force and provides civil immunity for a person who lawfully uses it.

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/06120...061207036.shtml

[James]

Lock your doors people!

[jwttu]

Didnt they change the law in Texas that you could fire at anybody on your property without having to warn them?

Even so i doubt the homeowner will be charged for anything

[pysex]

thanks james

the dt is an abomination to anything newsworthy




sounds like that poor kid stumbled into the wrong house drunk or on some kind of drug
if only that homeowner had shot him in the shoulder...

[kschristia]

Yeah, go figure. Much better reporting.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/06120...061207036.shtml

better.

[JRockTTU]

Yeah, sorry, I would have cleared that up in my first post if I had read what james posted. From my understanding, the law change in texas gives you the right to shoot anyone who is threatening your safety in your house, car, or work. It also gives immunity to civil cases in these instances. Before, it was "shoot to kill or they're going to sue you." Now, if you shoot them in your home and they live, they can't sue you for shooting them.

[Junsui]

Lock your doors people!

No kidding! I can't believe some people don't.