Open Carry Texas Urges Bexar County to Drop Charges Against Coty McDonnell

Temple, TX –-(Ammoland.com)- Open Carry Texas (OCT) is dedicated to the preservation of the 2nd amendment protected right to keep and bear arms. This fundamental, constitutionally protected right is necessary for defending one’s inalienable right to life, liberty, and property.

On Monday, May 15, 2017, members of Open Carry Texas held a small armed rally at the Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio in support of Coty McDonnell who was arrested for “deadly conduct” while protecting the home of a neighbor from three would-be intruders. Coty spotted intruders slowly driving down his street with their headlights off eyeing homes along the neighborhood. They then stopped in front of his neighbor’s vacant house, exited their vehicle (while leaving it running) and ran towards the vacant home. Coty intercepted the intruders who then ran back to their vehicle and drove down the road a few houses. Coty then held them at gunpoint until officers arrived on the scene. When police arrived, Coty was arrested for “deadly conduct” and the three intruders were arrested for various drug charges.

Coty was doing nothing more than a police officer would have done given the exact same set of circumstances. We believe there is a double standard being used in Bexar County. Coty should be commended for his heroic efforts to protect his neighborhood and for the discipline he showed in not firing a single shot at the suspects. Had Coty been wearing a badge, he would have been praised for his actions instead of being treated worse than the actual criminals.

Today, a Bexar County judge reset Coty’s pre-trial hearing for June 5. While we appreciate that the County is not choosing to try him at this time, we call upon the prosecutors to do the right thing and drop all charges against Coty. Continuing to prosecute Coty on these charges sets a bad precedent about how Texas law related to the protection of persons and property and the free exercise of one’s inalienable rights are to be treated in Bexar County. We encourage prosecutors to recognize that had law enforcement been in Coty’s shoes on October 23rd when the incident occurred they would have done the exact same thing given the circumstances. The city’s only argument in support of charges against Coty is that they “don’t have anything that showed [the intruders] would have gone onto that property” and that they “didn’t see that.” However, they neglected to interview other witnesses on scene prior to arresting Coty. Requiring law enforcement to actually witness a crime in order to confirm or deny it occurred is a dangerous policy that only encourages lawlessness.

OCT is an organization dedicated to the safe and legal carry of firearms in the State of Texas in accordance with the United States and Texas Constitutions and applicable laws.

About Open Carry Texas

Our purpose is to 1) educate all Texans about their right to carry in a safe manner; 2) to condition Texans to feel safe around law-abiding citizens that choose to carry them; 3) encourage our elected officials to pass constitutional carry legislation for all firearms; and 4) foster a cooperative relationship with local law enforcement in the furtherance of these goals with an eye towards preventing negative encounters.

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