Man killed neighbor who confronted him about truck, Texas cops say. Now he’s arrested

The man accused of killing his neighbor in a dispute over damage to a pickup truck has been arrested and charged with murder, according to a sheriff’s office in Texas.

An investigation into the shooting death of Christopher Aaron Jorgensen, 32, began about 11:40 p.m. Sunday, May 1, McClatchy News previously reported.

Jorgensen lived in one of three houses on a piece of land in south Liberty County, authorities say, and before he died, authorities believe he accused two men of damaging his pickup truck. Those men, who were close friends, lived in one of the other two houses.

While he was confronting one of the men, authorities say Edwin Thomas Baty, 54, ran inside the house and Jorgensen followed him.

Baty ran into his bedroom and locked the door and armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun, according to a May 2 news release from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

Jorgensen is accused of trying to break Baty’s door down but “stopped after a short while,” authorities said.

Once he stopped, authorities say Baty opened his door and found “Jorgensen still standing at the door and advancing on him.” He fired two shots at his neighbor, “but (it) was unknown if either of the shots hit Jorgensen as Jorgensen ran outside into the yard.”

Baty told an investigator he went to his front door when he saw Jorgensen “coming at him again,” according to the news release. Baty said that’s when he “fired a third shot that killed Jorgensen.”

At the time, the sheriff’s office said no charges were being filed and that the case would be referred to a grand jury.

As the investigation continued, authorities got a warrant to arrest Baty “for the offense of murder,” according to a May 5 news release from the sheriff’s office. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into the county jail. Bail was set at $100,000, jail records show.

The man with Baty is not being identified by McClatchy News because he has not been charged in connection with the shooting.

Authorities, however, say another man, 55-year-old Daniel Luken, has been arrested as part of the investigation. Luken, who authorities say had information regarding the fatal shooting, is accused of fleeing from the scene before law enforcement arrived.

Luken is a a registered sex offender and was wanted on a parole violation and eight outstanding warrants out of Houston County, according to the news release. He was arrested on May 3 and remains in jail with bail set at $400,000.

Liberty County is about 50 miles northeast of Houston.