Houston Mayor Defends Slayer

HOUSTON — Mayor Bob Lanier said Wednesday that a homeowner who shot a Scottish businessman to death after mistaking him for a burglar had a right to protect his property.

Lanier said he was “very, very sorry” that Andrew De Vries, 28, of Aberdeen had died after the homeowner, Jeffrey Agee, shot him last week in Agee’s back yard. But Lanier told reporters that Texas law allows people to protect their property.

“I think a person has a right to protect his home given the way things are these days,” he said. “You don’t get drunk and climb over back fences at 4 o’clock in the morning and not expect some abuse.”

Agee, 40, an Exxon Corp. geologist, told police that he thought he was shooting at a burglar. He fired three shots and hit De Vries with two of them.