Forest Hill, Texas

From the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram of October 19, 2006

Man charged in Oct. 4 standoff

Forest Hill police say they have identified the person who returned fire at Joe Dickson during an Oct. 4 shootout that wounded three people, but they concluded that those shots were fired in self-defense.

No one else will face criminal charges, said Lt. Chris Hebert, a police spokesman.

Dickson, 58, was charged Wednesday with aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was transferred from the Mansfield Jail to the Tarrant County Jail.

Bail was set at $150,000 for three of the charges. A jail deputy said bail had not been set on one of the assault charges.

Dickson was charged with only two counts of aggravated assault because one victim declined to prosecute, Hebert said.

Dickson's girlfriend, Ora Williams, said he tied her up and sexually assaulted her Oct. 4 after she tried to end their relationship. After he freed her, she went next door and told relatives what had happened, she said.

Dickson came outside and opened fire, she said. Wounded were Tonya Gilstrap, Kevin Douglas and Rudy Johnson. Police said Johnson lost an eye.

Dickson then took Williams' 4-year-old nephew inside and held police at bay for 13 hours before surrendering, police said.

The next day, police said officers had heard an exchange of gunfire when they arrived, and Dickson's relatives suggested that he was defending himself from Williams' relatives.

Hebert declined to name the person believed to have fired back. But he said Wednesday that investigators have interviewed witnesses and believe that Dickson shot first.

"We talked to a lot of people who were both involved in or witnessed what happened," Hebert said. "We believe the shots fired in return were not only in self-defense, but in defense of other people."