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Texas Deputy Killed in Dawn No-Knock Drug Raid

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #815)
Consequences of Prohibition

A Burleson County, Texas, sheriff's deputy leading a dawn, no-knock drug raid was shot and killed by the homeowner last Thursday. Sgt. Adam Sowders becomes the 40th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

Deputy Adam Sowders was killed executing a no-knock drug raid over some marijuana plants. (http://www.co.burleson.tx.us)
Although Sowders was killed early last Thursday morning, we delayed reporting the story because the sheriff's department refused for several days to release search warrant information that would have verified it was indeed a drug-related search warrant.

According to the Bryan-College Station Eagle, Sowders had obtained a search warrant for the residence after obtaining information that the homeowner was growing marijuana and possibly had stolen guns. The warrant was a "no-knock" warrant, meaning police could forcibly enter the residence without giving residents a chance to respond.

Sowders, the first officer through the door, was shot and killed by homeowner Henry Goedrich Magee, 28, who has now been charged with capital murder. But Magee's attorney, famed Houston defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin, said Magee and his pregnant girlfriend were sleeping in the home when they heard "explosives" going off and loud pounding at the door. Moments later, the door burst open and a person Magee couldn't identify entered the residence. Magee grabbed a rifle leaning against his bedroom door frame and shot Sowders. According to DeGuerin, Magee shot him because he "believed the man rushing in was an intruder and he needed to defend himself."

Magee has a felony and a misdemeanor drug conviction, but DeGuerin said all investigators found inside the trailer were a few marijuana plants and four guns that were all legal. DeGuerin pointed at the no-knock warrant as a contributing factor in Sowder's death.

"The danger is that if you're sitting in your home and it's pitch black outside and your door gets busted in without warning, what the hell are you supposed to do?" DeGuerin said.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Henry Goedrich Magee was exercising his constitutionally protected right to self-defense and defense of his property when he shot and killed sheriff's deputy Sgt. Adam Sowders. In the darkness of the wee sma' hours of the morning, before sunrise, a homeowner has no way to know who is breaking into his house when no announcement (such as a knock on the door) is beforehand made.

The risk of being killed by a homeowner who is exercising his lawful right to self-defense is borne by law-enforcement when they engage in no-knock raids. If the homeowner can't tell the LEO from a bandit, simply because the LEO is acting exactly like a bandit would act, then the homeowner isn't to blame for assuming the worst and following the old advice "better to be judged by twelve than carried by six."

This unfortunate episode illustrates the foolishness of no-knock raids. CITIZENS DO HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEFEND THEIR HOMES AND THEMSELVES. They always will. If law-enforcement wants to be safer, then they will knock. They will announce themselves. They will display their badges and the warrant upon request. There is a right way to do things, which, if followed, will minimize risk to both the LEO and the citizen. If LEO chooses not to follow that correct procedure, then LEO has no business blaming the citizen for doing what he believes is necessary to protect himself from someone who might be a criminal.

The arrest of Henry Goedrich Magee was pure revenge and retaliation upon him by law enforcement for shooting one of their homies, one of their fellow gang members. Oh, yes. They'll seek the death penalty. Oh, yes. They will try to stack the deck in court, too. If by some chance Magee is cleared by a jury, they'll seek revenge in other ways. Because LEO organizations are gangs, too. They just wear nicer clothes than some of the other gangs do.

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 6:34am Permalink

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