Corpus Christi, TX – Here’s a touchy one for you. A Texas store owner has been charged with murder for gunning down a man attempting to steal beer from his shop. Then it gets complicated.
KRIS-TV reports that the unnamed 39-year-old victim was shot multiple times, including at least once in the head, on Saturday night by 51-year-old Rodney Duve, the owner of Duve’s Quick Stop. The victim was reportedly almost out the door when Duve gunned him down, and many are saying that the shop owner’s reaction was excessive .
“He didn’t have to shoot the person for two cases of beer,” a neighbor told the news outlet. “A life doesn’t equal two cases of beer.”
Another neighbor said that Duve was capable of “scary rage.”
However, there’s more to the story.
Another neighbor of Duve’s described him as a good man, but implied that he had been robbed before and was near his breaking point.
“I probably would’ve done the same thing. It’s one of those things where how many times can you be pushed until you fight back. Everybody has their limit,” the neighbor said.
Additionally, Duve’s unnamed victim was described as a “known gang member,” though police did not say whether he had targeted Duve’s store before.
Others on Duve’s side say that his victim was a criminal , plain and simple.
“Texas is supposed to be the land of lax gun laws but the police have been quick to throw all the blame at a man who was simply trying to protect his business,” Stephen Kersey of the blog Every Joe wrote. “Don’t want to get shot? Don’t be a thief. It’s that simple. Be a useful part of society and you won’t have to be worried.”
Regardless, Duve is charged with the man’s murder and is being held at Nueces County Jail in lieu of a $35,000 bond. Do you think that Duve is a murderer, or was he within his rights to protect his property?
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