July 16, 2008, 11:23PM
Woman told police she knew Horn burglar was a criminal
Pasadena officers talked to girlfriend after shootings


By RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

A woman who knew one of the burglars gunned down by Pasadena homeowner Joe Horn told police she previously warned her friend that his habit of breaking into homes would cost him his life, according to recently released police records.

As part of a 31-page police report, Diamond Morgan, 24, of Houston, told Pasadena police investigators that she knew Diego Ortiz was a criminal.

"Morgan stated that she told Ortiz three days ago that he was going to end up dead for the things that he was doing," police detective M.E. Bruegger wrote in the report. "Morgan stated that Ortiz would target foreigners and undocumented individuals and then rob them."


Indictment declined
The afternoon of Nov. 14, Horn called Pasadena police to report that two men were breaking into his neighbor's home. Horn ignored a police dispatcher's repeated instructions to remain inside his home and instead confronted the men in his front yard, shooting them both in the back.

A Harris County grand jury earlier this month declined to indict Horn, 62, on criminal charges for killing Ortiz, 30, and Hernando Riascos Torres, 38. Both men were Colombians in the United States illegally.

Detectives interviewed Morgan, who had a child with Ortiz, a few days after the killings.

Also included in the 31-page report was the written statement of C.D. Williams, an undercover Pasadena officer who responded to Horn's 911 call in the 7400 block of Timberline.


Officer stayed in car
"The first time I saw the while male (Horn) he had a shotgun shouldered and was about to confront the two black males," Williams wrote. "He pointed the shotgun in the direction of the two males and he called out some sort of verbal command. I assumed his vocalization was directed at the black males."

Williams said the two men separated and ran in different directions, and then Horn fired.

The officer said he stayed inside his vehicle, where he advised the dispatcher that shots had been fired.

"I did not want the male shooting to think I was with the males involved in the burglary," he reported.

Williams said one of the men ran to the east, dropping a bag he was carrying.

"I did not know he had been shot and was thinking I was going to be involved in a foot pursuit with this suspect," he wrote.

Police said about $3,000 in cash and jewelry was taken from a safe in Horn's neighbor's master bedroom closet. The safe was pried open.

The Pasadena police report says police worked with Special Agent R. Oliver with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who had been investigating several burglary and home invasion cases involving Colombians. The ATF became involved in the investigation after a rash of home invasions in Fort Bend County that targeted Asians.

Oliver, according to the police report, said residences where shoes were outside on the porch or had Asian artifacts visible were targeted.

Horn's neighbor is Asian and has lion statues on the front stoop.

Also, in February, a 42-year-old woman sentenced for her part in a Fort Bend County home invasion told a court that Ortiz was an accomplice.

Police, however, have not been able to verify the woman's assertions.

In both cases, the homes targeted by the suspects were owned by people of Asian descent, and the suspects were Colombian.

ruth.rendon@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 92161.html