Fort Worth-area homeowners battle, kill burglary suspect
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Sept. 22, 2008, 11:06PM
FORT WORTH — Investigators said they are unlikely to file charges stemming from a bloody weekend battle between some Fort Worth-area homeowners and an alleged armed intruder who died at the scene as deputies tried to handcuff him.

A Tarrant County sheriff's spokesman says the battle started when the intruder, Heradio Ibarra, 44, entered the rural house near Eagle Mountain Lake on Saturday night carrying an unloaded gun, hatchet and metal pipe.

Sheriff's spokesman Terry Grisham says 911 operators received a call from Jill Huddleston about 10 p.m., reporting the intruder and saying he and her husband were fighting.

"I don't understand this man," Huddleston told the 911 operator. "We don't mess with nobody. We keep to ourselves. I don't know why he picked us."

Ibarra demanded money from the couple, who gave him a coin collection and some cash, police said. Jill Huddleston told the 911 operator they had just $50 in the house. They also offered their vehicles.

Grisham says the residents stabbed and bludgeoned Ibarra with assorted items as the battle moved around the house. The couple fought the intruder for 45 minutes before they were able to call 911; it took 12 minutes before help arrived.

Ibarra died on the floor of the house, Grisham said.

Both residents were treated for cuts and bruises. Ronald Huddleston, a Fort Worth firefighter, suffered a broken arm.

Authorities were trying to understand why Ibarra, who did not have a criminal background, targeted the Huddleston's home. They believe he watched them using binoculars that were found after his death.

Ibarra's family members said he had moved to Fort Worth from Mercedes, west of Brownsville, for work. They said they did not know why he broke into the Huddleston's home but said he was having financial problems.


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