TX CHL-holder says he shot 2 would-be robbers

January 14, 2004
Fort Worth Star Telegram

GRAND PRAIRIE - A Grand Prairie man is being held in the Grand Prairie Jail on suspicion of capital murder Tuesday after telling police that he shot and killed two men who forced him to withdraw money from an ATM, police said.

Foyil Edward Deal, 63, was expected to be arraigned this morning and may be transferred to the Dallas County Jail, police said.

Wylie Bailey Casey, 35, of Arlington and Wesley Lewis Duncan, 40, of Cleburne were pronounced dead shortly after the shooting Tuesday morning. Their bodies were found in a car in the driveway of Deal's west Grand Prairie house.

Police said they are trying to determine whether Deal, who has a concealed handgun license, shot the men in self-defense. Sgt. John Brimmer, a police spokesman, said investigators will refer the case to a Dallas County grand jury.

"If the robbery happened the way the robbery victim explained it to us, then he did the right thing," Brimmer said.

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Brimmer also told NBC 5 that the men "may have known about him, may have known he had money."

Deal told police that the men forced their way into his house about 8:30 a.m.

He said they drove him to an automated teller machine, made him withdraw cash and then drove him back to his house.

Deal, who was carrying the small gun in his pocket during the robbery, told police that he decided to use the weapon when one of the men threatened him with a baseball bat, Brimmer said.

"Until the threat, he had no intention of shooting the suspects," Brimmer said.

The men were found dead in a gray Kia that was parked in Deal's driveway. Police said the driver was wearing a ski mask.

Telephone calls to Deal's relatives went unanswered late Tuesday.

Neighbors said Deal mostly kept to himself, and they believed he was often visited by a nurse.

"That guy doesn't bother anybody," said Dion Tanguma, who lives near Deal. "The only time he would come out was to cut his yard."

Commentary:
Gun ban extremists are fond of claiming that Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders just don't have enough training to be trusted to carry a firearm, or know when to use it. This 60 year-old Texas man endured a lengthy robbery, and says he only used his concealed firearm to defend himself when he realized his life was in danger.