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Eddison Johnson Reportedly Hunted His Trespassers Down
Wed, April 16, 2014
On Monday, we told you about how 53 year-old Edison Johnson shot and killed 23 year-old Saul Garcia and 24 year-old Luke Cox when he found them on his farm in Carmelita Village in the Orange Walk District. Though it may look like Johnson was protecting his property from thieves, he was charged with 2 counts of murder because he broke the law when he shot and killed the men. Today, we spoke with Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, who told that she has reviewed all the materials that Orange Walk Police has furnished so far, and that they still need to do some follow up work. DPP Vidal said, however, that the evidence at this time shows that indeed Garcia and Cox went to Johnson's farm to steal from him. As we told you, Johnson found that his houses were cleaned out of all the valuables, and a part of his roofing was torn off. It seems that the men intended to steal the sheets of zinc which were on the ground, and Johnson caught them.

DP Vidal told us that from the statements recorded, it unfolded that, "after the men entered the premises and were confronted by the accused they attempted to flee. One of them was immediately shot in his back as he ran and he died where he fell. The other was then pursued and shot in his back as well. They did in fact enter as trespassers and it appears that their purpose was to remove zinc from the property.

And according to the DPP is not justifiable homicide. She said, "…the law relating to self-defense or the defense of one's property does not confer a broad right on anyone to simply kill a trespasser. It is very specific as to the circumstances in which and the amount of force that can be used."

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