Shooting in Stone Oak adds to dialogue on guns

San Antonio police work at the scene Tuesday January 15, 2013 where a suspected burglar was shot and crashed the car he was driving. The suspected burglar was killed and another suspected burglar was shot in the chest by a Stone Oak resident who told police he caught the men breaking into his SUV outside his home near Lightstone Drive and Stonepath Drive about 1:50 a.m. . less San Antonio police work at the scene Tuesday January 15, 2013 where a suspected burglar was shot and crashed the car he was driving. The suspected burglar was killed and another suspected burglar was shot in ... more Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Shooting in Stone Oak adds to dialogue on guns 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Set against the backdrop of a national debate over gun control, a shooting early Tuesday in a Stone Oak-area subdivision that left one burglary suspect dead and another critically injured didn't just spark talk about the incident itself but about the best way to keep from becoming a victim.

Life on Lightstone Drive had returned to normal Tuesday afternoon for the neighbors of Roger Bond Pemberton, who shot at the two men he believed were trying to take his SUV, police said.

The crime scene tape no longer blocked access to his neighbors' homes. The detectives, evidence technicians and patrol officers all were long gone. But the 1:50 a.m. shooting still was the talk of the street.

“If it was a legitimate theft I support what he did,” neighbor Michelle Harms said.

Pemberton, 25, told officials he heard noises outside his home in the 600 block of Lightstone.

He said he went outside and saw one man inside his SUV, which was parked along the curb, and one man sitting in the driver's seat of a Dodge Neon that had pulled up next to his own vehicle, Officer Matthew Porter and a police report said.



Armed with a handgun, Pemberton confronted the men, Porter said. The man inside the SUV turned toward him and that's when Pemberton fired, hitting the man twice in the chest.

The man, 32, was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center, but his condition wasn't known Tuesday night.

Neighbors said they heard five to eight shots.

The man in the Neon tried to flee but crashed into a parked car a block away.

One of Pemberton's neighbors, who asked that his name not be used, heard the gunfire and the crash. He looked out of his window and saw a car had hit his daughter's sedan.

“I ran to the car and said, 'Are you OK?' He said, 'I've been shot, I've been shot,'” the neighbor said of the driver. “I told him help was on the way. I asked him his name.”

He said the driver didn't say anything. When he was asked again, and told help was on the way he replied, “Thank you,” and soon died inside the car, the neighbor said.

Police said they didn't immediately know if the men shot were armed, but Pemberton told officers the man in the SUV had something in his hand.

Officials declined to identify the surviving suspect. The name of the man who died is being withheld until family is notified.

Porter said Pemberton likely won't face charges.

“The victim was attempting to prevent the consequence of a theft,” Porter said. “That's why he confronted the suspects.”

Bexar County First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg, said he couldn't comment on the specifics of this case but said Texas law allows for deadly force to be used to protect property, including against a person fleeing with the property.

The law also covers theft or criminal mischief occurring at night.

“That's the price for engaging in criminal activity,” Herberg said, but did caution that the law states deadly force only can be used if there's no other means available for resolving the situation.

Several of Pemberton's neighbors said that if it definitely was a burglary, then Pemberton was justified.

Jim Smith, who lives next door to Pemberton, said that when he heard the shots, he grabbed his own gun and looked outside. Seeing the police already there he went back to bed.

Smith said he believes a person is justified in using deadly force to protect property but said there are a lot of variables.

“There's nothing worse than taking a life,” the Vietnam veteran said.

Gun control is in the national spotlight following several high-profile mass shootings, the most recent at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that left 20 students and six adults dead.

President Barack Obama will announce his plans today for reducing gun violence, which has sparked a sharp national debate over access to guns.

For Smith, 67, being a responsible gun owner meant getting a concealed carry license, buying from a reputable gun dealer and registering the gun.

He thinks businesses and schools should take down signs declaring no guns allowed but believes tighter restrictions on gun purchases should be in place.

The decision to get a gun came when he realized, “I was too old to run and too old to take a beating.”

“I'm not going to be a victim,” he said.

mmondo@express-news.net

Staff Writer Ana Ley contributed to this report.