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Abducted man shoots carjackers, police say
The Richmond police heard shots and came running
By ERIC HANSON
RICHMOND - Two teenagers who police said tried to steal a Rosenberg man's luxury car picked the wrong person, the wrong place and the wrong time.
After abducting the man, who was able to stash his own pistol in a pocket, the teens drove him to a vacant lot Friday that just happened to be a few hundred feet from the Richmond police station, where officers were changing shifts.
When McRon Thompson, 23, opened fire on the would-be car thieves, police heard the shots and came running. The teens, who were both wounded, were captured.
"Obviously, they didn't know where they were, close to the police station and during a shift change. They didn't have a clue," said Sgt. Lowell Neinast of the Richmond Police Department.
Neinast said the teens are from Brookshire and detectives do not know why they chose the Fort Bend County town as a place for a carjacking.
The two, 18-year-old Joshua Payne and a 15-year-old whose name was not released because of his age, are facing aggravated robbery charges.
No charges are expected against Thompson, Neinast said.
Thompson had stopped at a carwash in the 1400 block of Jackson about 1 a.m., after finishing work at the nearby Richmond Foundry.
Vehicles looked suspicious
Neinast said Thompson was washing his customized Cadillac when he noticed three vehicles drive slowly through the carwash parking lot. The cars left but returned a few minutes later, again going slowly through the parking lot.
After the three cars passed by the second time, Thompson retrieved a .40-caliber pistol from his car, loaded it and then put it in his pocket.
A few minutes later, one of the cars returned to the carwash and stopped.
When Thompson peered around the wall of a carwash stall, he found himself staring at the end of a pistol held by a young man wearing a bandana over his face.
The gunman forced Thompson into the back seat of the Cadillac while another person got behind the wheel and began to drive away.
Neinast said the pair drove to the 500 block of Calhoun, just a block away from the Richmond police station, an imposing brick building that served for many years as the Fort Bend County Jail.
The teens ordered Thompson out of his car and told him to lie down on the grass. While Thompson was complying, a second vehicle, one that he had seen earlier at the carwash, arrived and stopped.
Neinast said as the teens were getting ready to leave in the Cadillac, Thompson managed to pull his pistol and open fire.
Payne was hit in the back by a bullet that exited his stomach. The other teen was struck in the right shoulder.
Police officers, standing in the parking lot of the station, heard the shots and were on the scene in seconds. Officers spotted the teens running, then caught them. Police also recovered a semiautomatic pistol allegedly used by the 15-year-old, Neinast said.
Both teens hospitalized
Payne was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital and the 15-year-old to Ben Taub Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available.
Other suspects are still at large.
Neinast said Thompson's Cadillac was in "immaculate condition," and the suspects were probably just driving around town looking for a target.
"Then they spotted him in the carwash," Neinast said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3901058.html
The Richmond police heard shots and came running
By ERIC HANSON
RICHMOND - Two teenagers who police said tried to steal a Rosenberg man's luxury car picked the wrong person, the wrong place and the wrong time.
After abducting the man, who was able to stash his own pistol in a pocket, the teens drove him to a vacant lot Friday that just happened to be a few hundred feet from the Richmond police station, where officers were changing shifts.
When McRon Thompson, 23, opened fire on the would-be car thieves, police heard the shots and came running. The teens, who were both wounded, were captured.
"Obviously, they didn't know where they were, close to the police station and during a shift change. They didn't have a clue," said Sgt. Lowell Neinast of the Richmond Police Department.
Neinast said the teens are from Brookshire and detectives do not know why they chose the Fort Bend County town as a place for a carjacking.
The two, 18-year-old Joshua Payne and a 15-year-old whose name was not released because of his age, are facing aggravated robbery charges.
No charges are expected against Thompson, Neinast said.
Thompson had stopped at a carwash in the 1400 block of Jackson about 1 a.m., after finishing work at the nearby Richmond Foundry.
Vehicles looked suspicious
Neinast said Thompson was washing his customized Cadillac when he noticed three vehicles drive slowly through the carwash parking lot. The cars left but returned a few minutes later, again going slowly through the parking lot.
After the three cars passed by the second time, Thompson retrieved a .40-caliber pistol from his car, loaded it and then put it in his pocket.
A few minutes later, one of the cars returned to the carwash and stopped.
When Thompson peered around the wall of a carwash stall, he found himself staring at the end of a pistol held by a young man wearing a bandana over his face.
The gunman forced Thompson into the back seat of the Cadillac while another person got behind the wheel and began to drive away.
Neinast said the pair drove to the 500 block of Calhoun, just a block away from the Richmond police station, an imposing brick building that served for many years as the Fort Bend County Jail.
The teens ordered Thompson out of his car and told him to lie down on the grass. While Thompson was complying, a second vehicle, one that he had seen earlier at the carwash, arrived and stopped.
Neinast said as the teens were getting ready to leave in the Cadillac, Thompson managed to pull his pistol and open fire.
Payne was hit in the back by a bullet that exited his stomach. The other teen was struck in the right shoulder.
Police officers, standing in the parking lot of the station, heard the shots and were on the scene in seconds. Officers spotted the teens running, then caught them. Police also recovered a semiautomatic pistol allegedly used by the 15-year-old, Neinast said.
Both teens hospitalized
Payne was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital and the 15-year-old to Ben Taub Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available.
Other suspects are still at large.
Neinast said Thompson's Cadillac was in "immaculate condition," and the suspects were probably just driving around town looking for a target.
"Then they spotted him in the carwash," Neinast said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3901058.html
