A 72-year-old Texas man is accused of fatally shooting a suspected burglar behind his Dallas home and going back to bed, waiting nearly two hours before calling 911, authorities said.
James Michael Meyer was charged with murder, The Dallas Morning News reported. He was being held in the Dallas County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond, the newspaper reported.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Meyer told police he was awakened around 5 a.m. by a noise outside, KTVT reported. Meyer told police he saw a man trying to break into his storage shed with a pickax, the television station reported.
Meyer told police he grabbed his gun, went outside and warned the man to stop and not come closer. When the man took some steps toward him, Meyer said he fired his gun and the man dropped his pickax and ran toward a park, the Morning News reported.
Meyer said he fired an additional shot "into the night" in the direction of the park, the newspaper reported.
According to the arrest affidavit, Meyer went back to sleep. He woke up around 7 a.m. and said he thought he saw "a black bag" in the park. After investigating, Meyer said he found the man's body, KTVT reported. Meyer's wife called an attorney, and then he called 911, the television station reported.
Police responded at 7:04 a.m. and found the body of the man, face-down in a park behind Meyer's home, the Morning News reported. Detectives arrested Meyer after their preliminary investigation, KTVT reported.