FORT WORTH -- His new neighbors refused to leave his house, and he believed that they were trying to steal from him and could have armed themselves while he was outside saying goodbye to a friend.
That's why he shot them, defendant Douglas Kirk testified Thursday.Alphonso Beza, 45, was shot five times, and Pedro Diaz, 50, was shot twice with one of Kirk's assault rifles, investigators have testified.Kirk, 45, is charged with capital murder. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, so if convicted, he will automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.During three days of testimony, prosecutors have shown that Kirk was moving into a rental house in the 2800 block of Raton Drive on April 24, 2010, when Beza and Diaz, who lived next door, offered to help. Another friend, Orlando Benevides, was also there.Kirk admitted drinking at least five beers and a shot of vodka.Marc Krouse, Tarrant County chief deputy medical examiner, testified that Diaz's blood-alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit for driving and that Beza's was more than three times the limit."It's a wonder they could even stand," Krouse said.He also testified that they could not have survived being shot with the AR-15."The nature of these bullets is to fragment as soon as they hit anything," Krouse said. "If they even come close to an organ, they do so much damage that you're not going to survive."Prosecution witnesses have testified that Kirk had something of a lost weekend. The morning after the shootings, according to other witnesses, Kirk asked one friend what had happened the previous day.Another friend testified that Kirk said during a phone call that he might commit suicide. When the friend asked what had happened the night the double homicide took place, Kirk said he did not know.Kirk told another friend that he was being chased by police or criminals or demons and told someone else that he could not go to prison.But on Thursday, Kirk told jurors that he knew exactly what happened. About 1 a.m., when Benevides left to go home, Kirk said, he left the front door open to suggest to Diaz and Beza that it was time for them to leave, too.But after he and Benevides talked in the driveway for about 20 minutes, Kirk said, he turned around and noticed that the front door had been closed. When Kirk got back inside, he saw that a rifle that he had placed in the bedroom had been moved to a hallway near the back door.A loud argument ensued outside, and Kirk told the men that he believed they were trying to steal from him and that he would call the police if they did not leave. The men followed Kirk back inside, screaming at him, Kirk testified.He ran to his bedroom closet, where he kept a loaded AR-15.He fired four warning shots into the ceiling before aiming at the men, he said.The next day, when Isabel Diaz came looking for Beza, her fiance, and Diaz, her brother, Kirk testified, he knew they were dead in the rear hallway. But he acknowledged that he told Isabel Diaz that he did not know where the men were.Prosecutor Lisa Callaghan pointed out that after Kirk shot the men, he passed up numerous chances to turn himself in if he thought they were dead and numerous chances to get them medical assistance if he thought they were dying.Kirk said that he thought the men were right behind him as he ran for a gun. Callaghan noted that investigators say at least one of the men was shot from at least 9 feet away.Closing arguments are scheduled for today in state District Judge Everett Young's court.Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
