Seabrook optometrist 'not guilty' in shooting death of neighbor

A Houston jury on Monday found a Seabrook optometrist not guilty of murder in the 2013 shooting death of a neighbor.

Karl Hormann, 56, testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot 36-year-old Brandon Smith after a Memorial Day weekend crawfish boil in 2013.

Hormann's attorneys told jurors that the eye doctor feared for his life and for the lives of his guests when he followed Smith off the lake property and into the street.

Prosecutors said Hormann should have let Smith just go home.

"Was the defendant justified in following him down the street and taking his life?" prosecutor Aaron Chapman asked jurors in closing arguments in the murder trial. "It wasn't immediately necessary."

Jurors had to decide whether the eye doctor was justified in shooting Smith in the street about 60 feet from Hormann's front yard.

Both sides agreed Smith was trespassing when he crashed the party that was winding down in the early morning hours on May 26, 2013.

Smith, who had a blood alcohol level of at least .026, more than three times the legal limit, snuck into the party twice, first about 2 a.m. and then again about two hours later.

He was thrown out the first time after making some disparaging remarks, including saying that a young woman looked "finger-licking good."

The second time, Hormann, who had also been drinking, was inside his home when his son told him Smith was back and "acting crazy," defense lawyers said.

Armed with a semi-automatic pistol with a laser sight, Hormann confronted Smith who was arguing with other partygoers. As the altercation escalated, Hormann opened the driveway gate to get Smith out as he called 911.

During his testimony last week, Hormann said he followed Smith out to keep an eye on him until the police arrived.

Prosecutors said Monday that Smith was going home and Hormann followed him out of the gate and down the street with the gun trained on his back.

Hormann said he followed Smith, who turned and charged him, forcing him to shoot. He said he fired at least one warning shot, then shot Smith in the abdomen, then his head.

During the trial in state District Judge Marc Carter's court, Hormann testified that Smith told him he had a knife and grabbed his pocket to show him, but no one else at the party saw that. Police later found a black 6-inch lockblade knife in the dead man's pocket.

Jurors deliberated about three hours Monday before reaching a decision.

brian.rogers@chron.com

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