Diana, Texas

From the Gilmer Mirror of April 28, 2006

Homeowner shoots and kills man at house

A Longview-area man was fatally shot by a homeowner at Diana early Sunday morning, Upshur County Sheriff Anthony Betterton said.

Sheriff Betterton said that on Sunday morning at sometime around midnight deputies responded to a residence in the Diana area concerning a call about a suspicious person.

“On arrival, deputies met with the homeowner. He said that he was alarmed by someone beating on the window of his house,” Betterton said. “He said that as he went outside to investigate an unidentified male was on the ground close to his front door begging for foregiveness.

“The homeowner then told the person to stay on the ground until the Sheriff’s Office could arrive, and he said the male subject got up and started towards him,” Betterton said.

“The homeowner backed away from the person, keeping a safe distance between the two. After several attempts to stay away from the subject an altercation occurred and the homeowner fatally shot the subject,” Betterton said.

Investigator David Dickerson identified the deceased as Clark Martin Thaddeus, 37, of Longview. The name of the homeowner was not released, pending the routine presentation of the case to the county Grand Jury.