Free Thought Project – by Jack Burns
Corpus Christi, TX — Ray Rosas is a free man tonight after a jury of his peers found him not guilty of shooting three Corpus Christi police officers on February 19, 2015. On that day, early in the morning, CCPD executed a no-knock search warrant, forcing entry into the home without first knocking and announcing they were the police.
A flash bang grenade was fired into Rosas’ bedroom, reportedly stunning the 47-year-old, who then opened fire on the intruders. Three officers were wounded; officers Steven Ruebelmann, Steven Brown, and Andrew Jordan. Police were looking for drugs and Rosas’ nephew, who they suspected to be a dealer. However, the unnamed nephew was not home at the time of the raid.
Rosas spent nearly 2 years in jail awaiting trial, which concluded Tuesday with a Nueces County jury finding him not guilty. Rosas’ defense maintained, based on statements he made immediately following the shooting and later in jail that he did not know the men breaking into his home were police officers and there was no way he could’ve known, having been disoriented by the flash-bang stun grenade. “The case is so easy, this is a self-defense case,” said Rosas’ lawyer in closing arguments.
Rosas originally faced three counts of attempted capital murder, but the prosecution dropped those charges just before the trial began, opting instead to try him for three counts of aggravated assault on the police officers. The jury sided with his defense attorney’s argument he had a right to defend his home and found him not guilty on all charges.
The controversial no-knock raids, as The Free Thought Project has consistently reported, often results in officers wounded or killed, otherwise innocent people facing charges of murder or attempted murder, and frequently sees innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. They’re arguably dangerous for everyone involved, infrequently producing the desired results, and costing taxpayers millions in lawsuits, court costs, and legal fees.
Rosas’ case is further evidence that the State of Texas has a very real problem on its hands and may have set a precedent for other citizens caught up in the melee of a no-knock police raid. The Castle Doctrine, the Texas law which allows for an individual to defend a person’s abode, dwelling, even vehicles with deadly force, has surely been put to the test. In Rosas’ case, it appears as though the Castle Doctrine has survived yet another legal challenge, potentially setting the precedent that not even the police have the right to invade one’s home unannounced. Tuesday’s verdict may also bring hope to others who have fallen victim to police raids, and those who have chosen to stand their ground and shoot back at their home’s invaders. One such individual is Marvin Louis Guy.
As The Free Thought Project first reported in 2014, Guy is facing the death penalty. Guy shot and killed Detective Charles Dinwiddie and injured several other Killeen police officers, as they were attempting to forcefully enter Guy’s home on May 9, 2014, at 5:30 am. Police had been surveilling Guy’s home for some time after an informant claimed Guy was trafficking a large quantity of cocaine. At some point in the investigation, the decision was made to enter Guy’s home and attempt to find evidence which would corroborate the informant’s claim.
But after entering the residence, in a show of force which resulted in the loss of life of a veteran police officer, no drugs, not even a single marijuana joint was found, only a glass smoking pipe turned up. The consequence for the police incursion resulted in one detective’s death, and yet another Black man being charged with homicide. Guy’s fate is yet to be determined, as he is awaiting trial for Dinwiddie’s murder which, arguably, would not have occurred had the police not attempted to enter his home unannounced.
Even if the police had identified themselves before attempting to enter Guy’s home, there have been enough crimes committed by criminals posing as police, to justify Guy’s decision to defend his life from intruders. With Guy already being a convicted felon, more questions will likely be raised as to whether or not the Castle doctrine can be extended to convicted felons. The weapon Guy used, a 9mm, had been reported stolen. Likewise, his possession of the weapon was also another potential felony. But the question remains. Do all Americans have a right to defend themselves? Under current Texas law, convicted felons do not have a right to keep and bear arms for the protection of their persons or dwelling. According to many jailhouse interviews conducted by KDH News, Guy told reporters “he was simply defending himself when his bedroom window was broken out that morning.”
Complicating matters further for the prosecution in Guy’s case is the fact that a precedent has already been set in a similar case. As The Free Thought Project reported, charges against Henry Goedrich Magee were dropped following a TX grand jury’s refusal to indict Magee on capital murder charges for the shooting death of Burleson County Sgt. Adam Sowders, after the sergeant led a team of police officers into Magee’s residence using the same “no-knock” search warrant method. Magee claimed he was protecting his home and his pregnant girlfriend, the exact same claim Guy made upon his arrest.
After the grand jury refused to indict Magee, the case against him was dropped, just a few short months after the shooting occurred, quite a contrast from Guy’s imprisonment. Guy has been sitting in jail for two and a half years awaiting his day in court, held under three million dollars bond.
The discrepancies in the way Magee was treated and how Guy’s case is being handled hasn’t gone unnoticed. A petition to drop all charges against Guy was created on the Change.org website. A portion of the petition reads;
image: http://pixel.watch/qut7
It is always a tragic, unfortunate event when anyone loses their lives, especially in the line of duty. But how can we essentially say that one person was defending themselves and another was committing murder, under such similar circumstances…No drugs were found in Guy’s house. Besides, if beyond a reasonable doubt is needed to convict, how can we be certain that Guy knew that the person(s) entering his home, at 5:30 in the morning, were peace officers, something required for the capital murder charge? Guy deserves to be treated fairly and the same as another man who acted in self-defense or what any other reasonable American would do.
For Guy’s supporters, possibly, there’s new hope that he will soon be set free. Rosas’ case may indeed serve as a precedent for Guy’s lawyers to file a motion that charges against him be dropped.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/no-knock-raid-exonerated-shooting-cops/#vRSJ7saxgPo1eeP0.99
Awesome, awesome news on the acquittal. Much credit to the jurors.
It would have been even better if at least one of the pigs had been killed, but at least Mr. Rosas proved his superiority to them. In spite of being outnumbered, disoriented by a flash-bang, and caught by surprise, he still tagged three of the dirty bastards.
Remember, folks, the cliche is true: Merely having a gun does not make you “armed,” just as merely owning a guitar does not make you a musician. There’s a lot of fine motor skill and muscle memory involved in shooting well.
Practice as much as you can afford! Even if that’s mostly dry-firing with snap-caps, practice! 8-inch targets at 50 yards with a pistol, or proportionately smaller targets at closer ranges, are a very attainable standard if you put in the time and effort.
Home defense
12 Gauge
dodge that in a dark room when not fully awake .. spray the bastards
12 gauge with #1 or larger buckshot is certainly better than a pistol at close range. But people who go that route should be aware that they still need to aim. What is it, about 1 inch the buckshot spreads per yard of range? That spread helps make hits, but it still requires aiming. It’s also important to test buckshot ahead of time to see how it patterns at various ranges.
Also, for those not already aware, buckshot is even more useless than pistols against ballistic armor. Face/neck shots only, please. You need instant stops at such close ranges anyway, so brain hits should always be the goal.
Just the energy alone knocking them off their feet should give you the time and ability to take another shot
Yes aiming is important no matter the tool used
Just a bit less critical using a shot gun
Plus the added benefit of not penetrating the typ home wall into an adjoining room that could be occupied by friendly
Or out a window into a neighbors home or a friendly on the outside
You might consider Brenneke slugs if you want to rely on blunt trauma. You lose the extra hit probability of buckshot, but a 600-grain slug is going to cause MUCH more blunt trauma through armor than buckshot, so the trade-off might be worth it. It’s like the difference between someone throwing a big rock at you versus a handful of gravel.
You could even experiment with armor-piercing slugs. People have made and tested them successfully. YouTube has at least one video on the topic.
“The jury sided with his defense attorney’s argument he had a right to defend his home and found him not guilty on all charges.”
THIS SHOULD BE THE RULE/STANDARD, NOT THE EXCEPTION!!!!!
thank you for the precedent , its about time
note to self ,, that 12 Gauge at the side of my bed is good to go.. feel lucky? anyone?
oh and BTW my dog is a protected individual ,, I’ll defend his right to life too
2 years in prison is ridiculous before having his day in court .. if any of these cops survived this , i hope he sues them civilly and removes them of all their property
My state has a Castle Doctrine too .. and i will protect whats within my curtilage with extreme force and prejudice
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment, an area immediately surrounding a house or dwelling is curtilage if it harbors the “intimate activity associated with the ‘sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life.’
“Do all Americans have a right to defend themselves?” Absolutely
“Under current Texas law, convicted felons do not have a right to keep and bear arms for the protection of their persons or dwelling”. I call bullcrap
the second amendment is for ALL FREE MEN
if hes free he should arm himself .. if this corrupt system thinks your a threat to others than why would they be free ?
if a man has paid his debt to society for a felony it should not bear on his rights for life , and endanger his future life by removing a way for him to further defend himself .. he is thus being put in harms way by the State and that my friends is a criminal act by the state
Agreed. Felons who can be trusted to be released from prison should have ALL their rights restored by default, and especially a right as basic as self-defense. Anyone who is too dangerous to possess a firearm is too dangerous to be outside of a prison or a mental asylum. (This isn’t even considering that many felonies that are on the books shouldn’t be crimes at all.)
Unfortunately, Rosas will never get restitution for lost time and lawyers fees.
This is another example of a no win win.
It is likely that the enforcement elements will look for revenge.
Great news….. a few more of these events and we’ll see an end to the “no knock warrants” real quick. (and it’s the ONLY way you’ll see an end to them)
The pigs kill enough people serving warrants at wrong addresses, so they had this coming for a while.
Wait til one guy builds a trap entry at his house
Like a entry lock box
Will let you in , but won’t let you out
Like some of the stores in high crime areas two sets of entry doors that can be remotely locked and are impenetrable
Be like shooting fish in a barrel
The only way these scum will respect our privacy in our own homes is when their losses exceed the loss of civilians lives they take in these events
Maybe We the people should plan to help this along
I do wish more people would “raid prep” their homes. It doesn’t even need to be elaborate (although a dual entry door setup would be awesome). Simple obstacles and entanglements can be very effective at slowing the momentum of a raid and giving a homeowner more time to react defensively.
Murder hole is what they call it and many castles had one. Love it!
But it’s not murder if someone is invading your property and going to hold you hostage or assault you and your family, it’s called self-defense and we have that God given right.
Finally we have 3 good pigs.
How so?… “Three officers were wounded…”
They’re still breathing, aren’t they?
The problem here is that, he needed to demostrate that he did not know they were “police” understand folks..! Its the cornerstone of his being let off…
If they could have shown he knew they were cops he would be hung…..
Bottom line is, it should not matter if they are criminals in costumes, they dont get a pass…without a sworn affidavit and warrant…
This case is not a precedent….!