Wary Homeowner Kills Scottish Visitor in Houston

One of two visiting Scottish businessmen winding up a night on the town was shot to death early Friday as he and his companion pounded on doors in an upscale neighborhood and were mistaken for burglars, police said.

A homeowner, fearing that the men were trying to invade his house from his back yard, opened fire on the pair, fatally wounding Andrew Peter Devries, 28, of Aberdeen, Scotland, authorities said. The other man was not injured.

The men apparently were going door to door in the Memorial neighborhood, seeking assistance to get back to their hotel, police spokesman Alvin Wright said.

“In the intoxicated state they were in, it scared the neighbors,” said Larry Hoffmaster, a police investigator at the scene.

Houston has seen a recent rash of kick burglaries, where thieves kick or beat down doors in the middle of the night, tie up the residents and assault or rob them.

Police said the case would be referred to a grand jury without charges against the homeowner, Jeffrey Agee, 40.

Devries and his companion, Sidney Graves, 42, also of Aberdeen, had been in Houston for only a day, police said. Reports from Scotland indicated that Devries worked for Nowsco, an oil service company based in Aberdeen.