Marcel Simpson, 19: Bayou Body Count No. 7

​If you try to take my shit, I can shoot your ass.

This is the compact all Texans make with each other, whether they want to or not. It is both an unwritten cultural law and a general principle that can be upheld in a court of law.

The notion may soon be put to the test, however, in the wake of an attempted burglary turned bloody on Saturday.

It was still twilight outside of 2904 Baer Street, a town-home in northeast Houston, when the 39-year-old male homeowner suddenly woke up to the clamor of his newly installed burglar alarm going off. He peered out of his patio door and saw a man, later identified as Marcel Simpson, running off with his TV.
 

Perhaps the homeowner was particularly upset, as he had been burglarized recently, but he grabbed a gun and shot Simpson, police say. Simpson, 19, dropped the television and jumped a fence before collapsing, police say. The homeowner then called 911. Paramedics rushed Simpson to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Just after the shots rang out, police say that Simpson's girlfriend, Sabrina Walker, 21, showed up at the home. The cops arrested her for allegedly acting as the getaway driver and charged her with burglary of a habitation. She is being held in the Harris County jail on a $20,000 bond.

The homeowner has not been arrested, but police say the case will be forwarded to a grand jury to decide if charges are warranted.