Security guards with the proper training in Texas are allowed to open carry. So fortunately this will not go down against concealed carry.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/7024896.html
Security guard jailed on murder charge
Police say shooting wasn't justified, bullet came from behind
By MIKE TOLSON and MIKE GLENN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 28, 2010, 2:41PM
A 22-year-old security guard was charged with murder Thursday in a shooting in which police said his version of events didn't line up with physical evidence.
Terry Lee Beacom, a guard employed by Top Gun Security Services, on Monday shot and killed 20-year-old Everette Crockett, who apparently had returned to the Cullen Park Apartments in southeast Houston to apologize to a woman with whom he had argued over a broken tail light.
Beacom told police that he feared Crockett was going to run him over.
However, investigators claim the fatal shot — one of three fired at Crockett's gray Cadillac — came from behind the driver, indicating Beacom was in no danger of being struck by the vehicle.
“He (Beacom) made it appear as though it was a justified shooting, that his life was in danger if he did not take the kind of action he did,” said HPD Homicide Capt. David Gott. “The physical evidence did not add up with what he was telling us. The (fatal) bullet was fired from just behind the driver-side door.”
Beacom's employer, Top Gun Security & Investigations, issued a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences” to Crockett's family but declined to comment on the incident. It said Beacom had 18 months of security experience and had worked at Top Gun for four months, the same length of time the company has been in business. It said he had an “excellent record with no prior incidents” and was a “good employee and family man.”
Beacom was arrested Thursday morning. Gott said he gave police no further statements about the incident that took place at the complex in the 4700 block of Wenda at approximately 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Beacom and a fellow security guard responded to a verbal altercation between Crockett, who lived at the complex with his mother and young child, and another female resident of the complex after Crockett apparently had backed into her car in the parking lot. Crockett, who initially denied hitting the woman's car, then left the complex. He returned a few minutes later.
Crockett's mother, Angela Crockett, told police that she told him to come back to the complex to apologize to the woman with whom he had argued and clear up the dispute with security guards.
Beacom and the other guard were still at the scene when Crockett returned. Beacom drew his weapon and was attempting to detain him when Crockett again began to drive away, police said. Witnesses told police that Beacom drew his weapon and ran toward Crockett's car as soon as it turned into the parking lot, according to court documents.
Not certified officer
Beacom initially told police that he was standing in front of Crockett's car when he heard the engine rev. Fearing he would be hit, Beacom said, he fired a shot into the hood of the car and two more into the side of the door as it was starting to move toward him. He said he was standing 20 to 30 feet away facing the driver's side of the car when he fired.
Beacom is not a certified peace officer. Even had he been, the shooting would not have been justified, Gott said.
Police were not called to the scene until after the shooting, Gott said. The woman whose car was hit had declined to file charges concerning the damage to her car, he said.
Terry Beacom Sr. said his son, who always dreamed of being a police officer, now sits in the Harris County Jail in fear for his life.
“My son has never hurt a fly,” Beacom said Thursday. “He's an outstanding son.”
He said the fatal shooting was “a horrible situation.”
The security guard has a 1-year-old son and a pregnant wife, his father said. He once worked as an animal control officer for the Alvin Police Department and was a volunteer firefighter. Beacom wanted to enroll in a law enforcement academy but couldn't scrape up enough money.
Angela Crockett told KHOU-TV that her son has a month-old baby.
“He killed my son for no reason,” she said. “He didn't have no reason, and all he could tell me is ‘I'm sorry.' ”
Cynthia Pharms, who has lived at the Cullen Park apartments for the last three years, said she was horrified but not surprised when she learned that one of the private security guards fatally shot a resident.
“I'm not saying that we don't need security, but we don't need no killer security,” Pharms said Thursday standing near the apartment where Everette Crockett lived. She said Top Gun security had been at the complex for only a couple of months.
Apartment officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday to confirm if Top Gun security was still providing security service at the complex.
Training required
Security guards are allowed to carry weapons if they receive state certification, which requires 40 hours of training. However, they are allowed to use their firearms only as a private citizen may, which essentially boils down to self-protection.
“Because they are licensed to carry a weapon, they can display that weapon as a deterrent and they can use it for self-defense,” said former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford, now a Houston City Council member.
Allan Turner and Dale Lezon contributed to this report.
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The car as a weapon only works out for you (if at all), if he isn't shot in the back.
Sad thing is his Mom talked him in to coming back to the apartment complex to apologize to the women whose car he backed into, where the security guard shot him to death when he attempted to leave again. The women decided to not press charges as I guess him dieing was punishment enough for her tail light.
I don't know if TopGun Security is related to the TopGun shooting range here in Houston. But the apartment complex and the security company is going to need a lot of insurance. The name of the Security company may be problematic at the civil trial.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/7024896.html
Security guard jailed on murder charge
Police say shooting wasn't justified, bullet came from behind
By MIKE TOLSON and MIKE GLENN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 28, 2010, 2:41PM
A 22-year-old security guard was charged with murder Thursday in a shooting in which police said his version of events didn't line up with physical evidence.
Terry Lee Beacom, a guard employed by Top Gun Security Services, on Monday shot and killed 20-year-old Everette Crockett, who apparently had returned to the Cullen Park Apartments in southeast Houston to apologize to a woman with whom he had argued over a broken tail light.
Beacom told police that he feared Crockett was going to run him over.
However, investigators claim the fatal shot — one of three fired at Crockett's gray Cadillac — came from behind the driver, indicating Beacom was in no danger of being struck by the vehicle.
“He (Beacom) made it appear as though it was a justified shooting, that his life was in danger if he did not take the kind of action he did,” said HPD Homicide Capt. David Gott. “The physical evidence did not add up with what he was telling us. The (fatal) bullet was fired from just behind the driver-side door.”
Beacom's employer, Top Gun Security & Investigations, issued a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences” to Crockett's family but declined to comment on the incident. It said Beacom had 18 months of security experience and had worked at Top Gun for four months, the same length of time the company has been in business. It said he had an “excellent record with no prior incidents” and was a “good employee and family man.”
Beacom was arrested Thursday morning. Gott said he gave police no further statements about the incident that took place at the complex in the 4700 block of Wenda at approximately 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Beacom and a fellow security guard responded to a verbal altercation between Crockett, who lived at the complex with his mother and young child, and another female resident of the complex after Crockett apparently had backed into her car in the parking lot. Crockett, who initially denied hitting the woman's car, then left the complex. He returned a few minutes later.
Crockett's mother, Angela Crockett, told police that she told him to come back to the complex to apologize to the woman with whom he had argued and clear up the dispute with security guards.
Beacom and the other guard were still at the scene when Crockett returned. Beacom drew his weapon and was attempting to detain him when Crockett again began to drive away, police said. Witnesses told police that Beacom drew his weapon and ran toward Crockett's car as soon as it turned into the parking lot, according to court documents.
Not certified officer
Beacom initially told police that he was standing in front of Crockett's car when he heard the engine rev. Fearing he would be hit, Beacom said, he fired a shot into the hood of the car and two more into the side of the door as it was starting to move toward him. He said he was standing 20 to 30 feet away facing the driver's side of the car when he fired.
Beacom is not a certified peace officer. Even had he been, the shooting would not have been justified, Gott said.
Police were not called to the scene until after the shooting, Gott said. The woman whose car was hit had declined to file charges concerning the damage to her car, he said.
Terry Beacom Sr. said his son, who always dreamed of being a police officer, now sits in the Harris County Jail in fear for his life.
“My son has never hurt a fly,” Beacom said Thursday. “He's an outstanding son.”
He said the fatal shooting was “a horrible situation.”
The security guard has a 1-year-old son and a pregnant wife, his father said. He once worked as an animal control officer for the Alvin Police Department and was a volunteer firefighter. Beacom wanted to enroll in a law enforcement academy but couldn't scrape up enough money.
Angela Crockett told KHOU-TV that her son has a month-old baby.
“He killed my son for no reason,” she said. “He didn't have no reason, and all he could tell me is ‘I'm sorry.' ”
Cynthia Pharms, who has lived at the Cullen Park apartments for the last three years, said she was horrified but not surprised when she learned that one of the private security guards fatally shot a resident.
“I'm not saying that we don't need security, but we don't need no killer security,” Pharms said Thursday standing near the apartment where Everette Crockett lived. She said Top Gun security had been at the complex for only a couple of months.
Apartment officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday to confirm if Top Gun security was still providing security service at the complex.
Training required
Security guards are allowed to carry weapons if they receive state certification, which requires 40 hours of training. However, they are allowed to use their firearms only as a private citizen may, which essentially boils down to self-protection.
“Because they are licensed to carry a weapon, they can display that weapon as a deterrent and they can use it for self-defense,” said former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford, now a Houston City Council member.
Allan Turner and Dale Lezon contributed to this report.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The car as a weapon only works out for you (if at all), if he isn't shot in the back.
Sad thing is his Mom talked him in to coming back to the apartment complex to apologize to the women whose car he backed into, where the security guard shot him to death when he attempted to leave again. The women decided to not press charges as I guess him dieing was punishment enough for her tail light.
I don't know if TopGun Security is related to the TopGun shooting range here in Houston. But the apartment complex and the security company is going to need a lot of insurance. The name of the Security company may be problematic at the civil trial.
