From CBS11 of February 27, 2008
Burglary Suspect Shot Dead In East Oak Cliff
A recent rash of burglaries in the east Oak Cliff area of Dallas may be over after a suspect was shot dead on Wednesday morning.
The incident started Tuesday night, when someone threw a brick through the window of a home, located in the 2200 block of Scotland Drive in the east Oak Cliff area of Dallas. The home belongs to an elderly father by the name of Otis Fagan Sr.
According to Fagan Sr., he's been burglarized six times in the last six months. His son, Otis Fagan Jr., had come over on Tuesday to help board up the window. He drove past the house again several times Tuesday night to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.
While driving past the house at about 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, Fagan Jr. noticed a beam of light coming from the backyard. He stopped to check things out and discovered a man inside the backyard tool shed.
Fagan Jr. confronted 43-year-old Gerald Foley, the suspected burglar, with a gun. Police say Foley had $2,000 worth of Fagan's property. According to police, the suspect then attacked Fagan Jr., who fired off possibly four bullets.
After the encounter, the suspect fled the scene down an alleyway and fell dead into Bakari Thomas' yard, a neighbor on Locust Street.
"It's very scary," said Thomas. There's only so much you can do when you got a house, and you try to be safe in your own home."
CBS 11 News spoke with the elderly father on Wednesday afternoon. He said that he did not see anything, but heard noises outside in the moments just before the shooting. Fagan Sr. also said that he had triggered his home security alarm in hopes of scaring away the suspected burglar, but that it did not work.
According to his sister, Fagan Jr. was licensed to carry the gun. Attempts to speak with Fagan Jr. were not successful. He rushed inside the home before issuing a comment.
"He's under a lot of stress and inner pain associated with what all took place, but hopefully the Lord will see us all through," said Fagan Sr.
Both generations of Fagans were taken to police headquarters on Wednesday for questioning. Police have said that this appears to be a legal shooting, but are continuing to investigate the case. In the meantime, police have not charged anyone with a crime, but they will refer the incident to a grand jury, as is routine.
"What the individual did – he was protecting his parents property – was absolutely not a crime," said Dallas Police Lt. Craig Miller.
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