Gilmer, Texas

From the Gilmer Mirror of November 9, 2005

Home invasion investigated

Gilmer Police are searching for a man who fled after allegedly committing a home invasion in which shots were fired Monday afternoon, said Investigator Jon Warren.

According to police reports, two cousins, an 18-year-old and a man in his early 20s, had purchased and were restoring a house in the 500 block of Clark Street. They began having trouble with a neighbor, Sidney Carroll Pickett, 52, of 513 Clark Street.

“They said he had been ‘acting crazy.’ He had been ‘acting crazy’ for some time,” Warren said.

On Monday, the 18-year-old was at his house alone and decided to take a nap prior to resuming work, Warren said.

“While he was lying down, he said Pickett broke open the door to the house and came in with what appeared to be a shotgun in each hand,” Warren said. The incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m.

“Unbeknownst to Sidney, the 18-year-old had a loaded pump shotgun by the bed. He picked it up and fired five shots from seven feet away. Apparently, he didn’t hit Sidney,” Warren said.

The investigator said that Pickett beat a hasty retreat, backing out of the house.

According to the 18-year-old, Pickett then fired two shots from one of his shotguns, which hit the wall of the house in two different spots.

“The pellet holes in the wall are consistent with the young man’s story,” Warren stated.

“There was blood at the scene, but it is not known if it was from a wound from one of the shots, or from glass from a window broken in the altercation,” the investigator said.

“Pickett then fled the area in a 1985 blue Ford truck, license plate 6FTH28,” Warren said.