The restaurant owner will probably get off on self defense, but I still don’t advise people to do their own police work.
Vegan restaurant owner shoots suspected burglar over Third Ward break-in
An owner of a burgled Third Ward vegan restaurant tracked down a man suspected of the break-in and shot him in the leg, according to police.
The break-in at Green Seed Vegan, 4320 Almeda Road, was reported around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police said the owners had “a really good description” of the suspect from surveillance footage and officers set off to find him.
“Unbeknownst to us, the owners were also looking for the suspect,” Houston police Commander Caroleta Johnson said.
About an hour later, a report of a suspicious person with a weapon was reported at Fannin and Stuart Street in Midtown. There, police found the accused burglar — identified Thursday morning as 37-year-old Jermyn Russell — with a gunshot wound to the leg. He is expected to survive and a burglary charge is pending his release from a hospital.
Police said they believe at least one of the owners tracked down the alleged burglar and confronted him. An argument began over what was believed to be stolen property — which officials described as iPads and other electronics — and escalated to gunfire, police said. Amid the shooting investigation, blood could be seen on the sidewalk.
The owners were briefly detained for questioning, police said, but charges against the shooter are pending the results of a Harris County grand jury.
The Green Seed Vegan owners could not be reached for comment and a woman who answered the phone at the eatery said she was too busy filling take-out orders.