TX - Botham Shem Jean, 26, killed when police officer entered wrong apartment, Dallas, Sept 2018

[mickey2942]

I actually would not believe the toxicology results if they are negative. If I was Mr. Jean's attorney I would want a DNA match on the blood.

 

[SuziQ]

Following Merritt’s meeting with the district attorney, he decided against releasing the new evidence he believes will lead to Guyger’s arrest.

He said they “brought forward a witness and video evidence, not of the shooting itself” and that the narrative pushed by DPD is challenged by the evidence they presented.

“Which is why they pulled back on the warrant,” he said. “We know she (Guyger) used her service weapon ... when people saw her in the public, they believed she was a police officer ... for us, it enhances the culpability.

Off-duty Dallas police officer charged in shooting death of unarmed Botham Shem Jean

Exactly?!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Dallas Morning News, in a story by Jennifer Emily, reported additional details in the case on September 9 through an unnamed law enforcement official. Among them, the Dallas newspaper reported that Jean’s door was unlocked, and it was dark inside when Guyger entered it, and she allegedly thought he was a burglar when she saw a person in the dark, shooting Jean a single time in the chest.

The Dallas newspaper reported that she had just worked a 15-hour shift, had parked on the wrong floor of the parking garage, and was one floor up from her actual floor.

Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall previously said that police had enough evidence to seek a warrant for manslaughter, but police revealed on Saturday that the Texas Rangers, who took over the investigation, were still investigating and wanted to wait on any warrant. That changed Sunday night with the charge. Online records show that Amber Guyger has long ties to Texas and is 30-years-old.

Amber Guyger: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

 

[fraudqueen]

You can see where this is headed....but I'll never believe a long shift made her park in the wrong place and go to a different floor. How did she tell them what apartment
the shooting happened at if she was in such a fog, or dazed and confused, etc?

 

[Deleted member 202271]

So what happened to all those reports that she tried to enter with her key and he opened the door and she shot him twice in the chest. If she indeed enter his apartment through an unlocked door, it is a home invasion on her part. Nothing she did makes her less guilty, whether through stupidity or a sense of entitlement on her part

Not according to Texas's legal definition of "home invasion." IF she can convince a jury that she mistakenly walked through an unlocked, partly opened door that she honestly presumed was her own residence and subsequently shot, in the dark, a person she thought was an intruder, the charge would be trespass resulting in accidental death.
We simply don't have enough facts to know what really happened here. I agree it looks very bad for her and the scenario I painted above is highly unlikely, but let's not put her neck in a noose just yet. Even the guiltiest-looking defendant deserves her day in court.
-AC

 

[Rocco]

When does she have to appear in court? I thought when you bond out of jail, they give you a court date to appear.

 

[Herat]

But why not try to do something different than shooting first? Doesn't she have a lot of training for all different kinds of situations? This whole thing is such a sad deal.

And hadn't she been in another situation where she inappropriately used force not too much before this?

Sound like someone who should not ever have been armed: Thinks with a weapon, not her head

 

[Herat]

If her family is affluent to have bailed her out for the $300K bail, they may very well get ready for a huge civil wrongful death lawsuit

And the Dallas LE may get sued, too

 

[Rocco]

Not according to Texas's legal definition of "home invasion." IF she can convince a jury that she mistakenly walked through an unlocked, partly opened door that she honestly presumed was her own residence and subsequently shot, in the dark, a person she thought was an intruder, the charge would be trespass resulting in accidental death.
We simply don't have enough facts to know what really happened here. I agree it looks very bad for her and the scenario I painted above is highly unlikely, but let's not put her neck in a noose just yet. Even the guiltiest-looking defendant deserves her day in court.
-AC

Do you have a link to your statement that there is such a charge as 'trespass resulting in accidental death' that would pertain to the person who lived in the home dying . Thanks.

 

[Rocco]

If her family is affluent to have bailed her out for the $300K bail, they may very well get ready for a huge civil wrongful death lawsuit

And the Dallas LE may get sued, too

She's 30 yrs old. Her family isn't responsible for what she did.

 

[Herat]

I don't think that they had real story then.

So her original statement has been changed then, because the original version would have come from only here.

Hmmm

 

[mickey2942]

Poor woman. Exhausted from hours of police work. Oh, the selflessness of this woman! She is Mother Theresa Incarnate! And in her exhaustion, she parks on the wrong floor, walks into a hall, down to "her" apartment, in a very well lit hallway, to a door with a bright red mat.

The door is open, and a large black man is in her home! The horror, the fear! She immediately reacts, and shoots him, once. She had no choice, she was in fear for her life!

She immediately realized her mistake, and calls for assistance. Initially, officers on the scene actually thought Mr. Jean was a criminal. Later, they were given the correct information. But, they couldn't arrest a co-worker! So, they let her go home, for a much needed sleep.

In the morning, they planned on arresting her, but a judge wouldn't let them, so they gave the case to the Texas Rangers, who couldn't arrest her, as they had not yet investigated. The killer can go home, because it is obvious that she needs rest.

Saturday, oh, they are still investigating. Sunday, three attorneys give a press conference for the family and ask why Guyger is still not charged. Black churches have a rally and prayer vigil planned for Monday.
And miraculously, the Texas Rangers have decided to charge Guyger. They had investigated enough.

This poor woman has been through enough, she can turn herself in for a mugshot, in another county, and go home. Poor thing. She feels terrible.

Seriously. This is the storyline now?! Amazing.

 

[Jennifer17]

There is a bit of evidence if she was if she was in his home or he was in her home. It seems likely to me that she was trying to enter his home

 

[Gigglingtoes]

Don’t know if anyone has said this but- Kaufman county jail:

House inmates who East US Hwy 175 PO Drawer 849 and is used by multiple jurisdictions for offenders who have short state sentences (usually less than one year), probation violators and those awaiting trial, sentencing or other court appearances and are awaiting to post or are unable to make bail.

 

[Deleted member 202271]

And who knows if this is the "real" story? The killer is telling it. The other person who could verify the information is dead.

I am skeptical about anything I hear from a murderer, that cannot be corroborated with actual evidence. A criminal will say anything to make herself seem more sympathetic.

Neighbors and forensics will be able to verify much more information, even though the victim can't speak. But all we know now is that Guyger is the killer, not necessarily a murderer. There's a huge legal distinction between the two terms. Nor do we know whether she is a criminal. Heck, she's not even an alleged criminal yet because the Texas Rangers haven't finished their investigation. Let's wait at least 48 hours before sending the posse out to lynch her. My point is that criminal trials are full of surprises and there's plenty of fact-finding left in this case. Murder, manslaughter, accidental death? Burglary, home invasion, trespass? Hundreds of other questions are still up in the air. Let's give her her day in court, and IF she's found guilty of murder 1, I'll be happy to place the noose on her myself. But if there are verifiable, extenuating circumstances that significantly decrease her culpability, the jury will take those into account when reaching a verdict, as will the judge at sentencing.
-AC

 

[Gigglingtoes]

“Officer Amber Guyger had just ended a 15-hour shift when she parked on the wrong level of the South Side Flats garage— the fourth floor instead of the third, where she lived, according to the official who has direct knowledge of the case but is not authorized to discuss it publicly. ”

Botham Jean's door was unlocked, lights were off when Officer Amber Guyger mistook his apartment for hers, official says | Dallas Police | Dallas News

 

[Gigglingtoes]

Worth noting that a Dallas reporter says having Texas Rangers take over is actually less transparent because they do not share any tiny bit of info with the public.

 

[Jennifer17]

Oh for god's sake her shift has now shifted from a formerly twelve hour shift to now a fifteen hour shift? What rubbish is that?/

 

[Rocco]

Heck, she's not even an alleged criminal yet because the Texas Rangers haven't finished their investigation.
-AC

*SBM*
She's been charged with manslaughter. That makes her an alleged criminal.

 

[Deleted member 202271]

Burglary is not a capital offense the last I heard. If you think there is a burglar in your apartment you leave and call for help. You don’t start shooting!

For example...I came home from picking our daughter up at school one afternoon years ago, and when I walked in the door to our house, which was in the middle of 10 acres of forest, I could tell instantly that stuff was missing. I didn’t know if the burglar was still there. I grabbed my 6 year old daughter, ran out the door, got back in the car and gunned it down our long driveway...out of harm’s way. It turned out that all three of them were gone, but even if they had still been there and I’d seen them and had a gun, shooting would not enter my mind unless there was a clear threat to our lives. Since when are possessions worth more than a human life, even a criminal’s? Not in my world.

In fact, in most US states you, the homeowner or apartment dweller, are legally allowed to shoot and kill anyone who has illegally entered your home if you have reasonable grounds for believing the intruder to be a threat to your life. If my husband were away and I came face-to-face with an intruder in our darkened home, I would unload a clip on the *advertiser censored* faster than he could say, "But burglary is not a capital offense." Then I'd sue his next of kin for the cost to clean my rugs.
It's pretty clear, from what officials have said so far, that Guyger is going to claim that she mistakenly entered an unlocked, dark apartment that she presumed to be her own. When she came face-to-face with a person she perceived to be a threat to her life, she opened fire. She'll have hard time convincing a jury of that scenario, but criminal trials are volatile, highly unpredictable affairs.