Hearing begins for man who shot intruders outside home

Bill Gang

Friday, Dec. 4, 1998 | 11:27 a.m.

A Clark County Grand Jury heard its first day of testimony Thursday in its quest to determine whether a Las Vegas homeowner who gunned down two intruders was justified or whether the pursuit of the men outside his home was illegal retaliation.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said today the grand jury will hear additional evidence next Thursday in the Oct. 25 incident outside the home of Thomas Gaule.

The case is being presented to the grand jury as the conscience of the community rather than having prosecutors in the district attorney's office decide alone whether to file charges, Bell said.

By law, Gaule will be given a chance to testify on his own behalf and present any evidence he believes would help the grand jury reach its decision.

Grand juries, composed of people drawn from the same general pool as trial juries, has been used in similar citizen-involved shooting cases in the past as something of a barometer of community beliefs and standards.

Sometimes, grand juries have refused to hand down indictments for people who claim they shot in self defense or to protect their property, but other times formal criminal charges were the result.

One issue, Bell said early in the case, is the connection between Gaule and the dead men.

Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot said it has become clear that Gaule knew at least one of the men, although it is not clear whether he was aware at the time the homeowner was carrying a shotgun and pursuing the man that he knew his target was an acquaintance.

Koot said that despite any connection, "I think it will come out that (the dead men) were there for unlawful purposes."

The incident occurred at 400 Lakehurst Road near Alta and Buffalo Drives at about 9:30 a.m., after Gaule arrived home and found the two men in the home.

Gaule told police he was beaten and disabled with an electronic stun gun but finally broke away from his attackers and grabbed a gun from his house.

Gaule told authorities he opened fire and hit both men. Police said that one man had at least one bullet wound in the back while the other had multiple gunshot wounds.

One body was found on the driveway of the home, and the other man died at the corner of Lakehurst and Pinedale Avenue about 100 feet from Helen Marie Smith Elementary School after several more shots were fired, police said.