Dallas police Sgt. Larry Lewis, of the department's homicide unit, has spent the better part of today trying to figure out just how Carter Albrecht ended up shot to death early Monday morning. "And it's a mystery why this took place," he tells Unfair Park, citing numerous interviews with friends and witnesses who say Albrecht's behavior this morning was "very uncharacteristic of him."
Albrecht was shot in the head by a homeowner in East Dallas who believed Albrecht was trying to break into his home at 4:07 a.m., after the Sorta singer-keyboardist-guitarist left his girlfriend's place following an altercation.
According to Lewis, Albrecht and his girlfriend had been drinking till early this morning at Vickery Park on Henderson Avenue. After they got back to her place on Santa Clara Drive, they had some kind of a physical altercation, which, Lewis tells Unfair Park, left the girlfriend's face "swollen." Lewis says Albrecht left his girlfriend's house and went next door.
"And within a matter of minutes, he was kicking the door in," says the officer. "It wasn't a gentle knock by any means -- he was trying to force his way in." Lewis says that the people living in the house begged Albrecht to leave and even dialed 911. A man living in the house then picked up a handgun and fired once toward the door, not with the intention of striking Albrecht but of scaring him off.
"If he would have been an inch or two shorter, [the bullet] wouldn't even have struck him," Lewis says. "According to the homeowner, he was trying to shoot over his head, but [Albrecht] was tall, around 6-foot-5."
Lewis says the case will likely be referred to the grand jury. He also mentions that the department is grappling with precisely how to handle the case, as it now falls under the so-called "shoot-first law" that allows Texans to "use deadly force for means of self-defense, without retreat, in their home, vehicle or workplace." Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 378 into law in March, and it took effect only two days ago.
"We're trying to familiarize ourselves with the law, and we'll try to gather as many facts as possible," Lewis says. "We'll also await a toxicology report, and go to the grand jury and present a hearing and tell them everything we know. They may even want to hear testimony from a few people. But we'll let them decide." --Robert Wilonsky
