Texas Truck Owner Is Cleared in Death of Repo Man

A grand jury on Friday declined to indict a man who said he fatally shot a repossession agent because he thought the man was stealing his truck.

“Praise the Lord,” Jerry Casey said as he left the Harris County grand jury building. He declined further comment.

Casey, 35, who was three days late on a payment for his pickup truck, was accused of murder in the Feb. 25 shooting of Tommy Dean Morris, 54. Casey said he thought Morris was a car thief when Morris arrived at night and started to tow his truck away.

Under Texas law, homeowners are permitted to shoot at nighttime intruders if they feel their safety or property is threatened.

Morris’ widow, Donna, said she was skeptical.

“If you were behind on your payment, wouldn’t you know it? He knew the car was being repossessed,” she said earlier. “He saw that it was being towed, that it wasn’t being stolen, but he fired anyway.”

Morris’ death and that of a Scottish businessman who was visiting Houston in January have raised questions about the broad applications of the self-defense statute.

Andrew De Vries of Aberdeen, Scotland, was fatally shot on Jan. 7 after he knocked on the door of Jeffrey Agee’s home after a night of drinking. Agee, who said he thought De Vries was a burglar, was cleared by a grand jury last month.