In a clear case of lawful self-defense, a Weatherford, Texas homeowner protected his family and his life with a legally owned handgun, stopping a violent home invasion that could have ended in murder. The intruder, 25-year-old Haivan Michael Thurman of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was recently sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to a January 2022 burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony.
But as Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain explained, the conviction tells only half the story.
“Had our victim not had a firearm and returned fire at Mr. Thurman, we believe that we would have been prosecuting a murder,” Swain said. “This case is a perfect example of why our Second Amendment rights are so important.”
The Night of the Attack
Around 2 a.m. on January 29, 2022, the peace of a neighborhood near Wright Elementary School in Weatherford was shattered by rapid gunfire. Neighbors’ doorbell cameras captured over 20 shots fired by Thurman, first outside the home, then inside as he forced his way in.
The homeowner, who was inside with his girlfriend, her mother, and two young children, responded by returning fire six times with a 9mm handgun.
Both the homeowner and Thurman were shot in the chest, but both survived. They were taken by EMS to the same Fort Worth hospital where they were treated in emergency room beds next to each other.
The Verdict: 45 Years
Thurman admitted guilt in court, acknowledging he used a deadly weapon during the home invasion. A Parker County jury imposed a 45-year sentence and because of the deadly weapon finding, he must serve at least half of that time before becoming eligible for parole.
It’s a case that underscores what a properly applied Stand Your Ground law can mean when prosecutors defend liberty instead of politics. But not all Texans are so lucky.
The Danger of the Courtroom After the Attack
While self-defense was vindicated in Parker County, other Texas jurisdictions are far less friendly to gun owners. Take the case of a young attorney in Austin, who found herself under criminal prosecution after presenting—but not firing—a legally-owned firearm to scare off a violent fugitive attacker who followed her to her apartment.
Despite the attacker fleeing and no shots ever being fired, Soros-backed District Attorney Jose Garza charged her with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Thankfully, Texas Gun Rights Foundation stepped in, and the charges were dropped.
But the legal system still punished her. She’s still fighting to recover her $10,000 bond, paid just to defend herself in a case that should have never been brought.
Then there’s Army veteran Justin Avery Clarabut, now appealing a wrongful conviction for what TXGRF attorney CJ Grisham described as a clear case of self-defense. Clarabut was chased to his own home after a road rage altercation and fired in defense when threatened. Instead of thanks, he got prison time—and his case now sits before the Ninth District Court of Appeals.
When Self-Defense Becomes Financial Ruin
Even when criminal charges are avoided, the legal system still punishes gun owners. Kyle Carruth, cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury in 2022 after shooting a trespasser during a confrontation on his property, was forced into civil court. Though he acted lawfully, the lawsuits drained him financially—over $500,000 in legal fees—and cost him his business.
To prevent similar injustices, Texas Gun Rights pushed for Kyle’s Law (HB 170/SB 173) in the 2025 legislature. The bill would have provided civil immunity and reimbursement of legal costs for gun owners exonerated in court. But despite public support, the bill died before the session ended, leaving the next generation of self-defenders vulnerable.
“Gun Owners Must Remain Vigilant”
Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights, warned that these cases are more than isolated injustices. “It’s not enough to survive the attack—you also have to survive the prosecution,” McNutt said. “Gun owners must remain vigilant—not just of criminals, but of a system that’s increasingly hostile to self-defense. That’s why we fight at every level—to defend liberty in the courtroom, the legislature, and beyond.”
In Weatherford, a father was able to protect his family because the law was appropriately applied. But in too many Texas counties, gun owners have discovered that justice ends where politics begins.
That’s why the work of groups like Texas Gun Rights and the Texas Gun Rights Foundation is essential. Because the Second Amendment doesn’t just protect your life—it protects your ability to stay free after doing so.
anti-gun and anti-gun legal jurisdictions want you to die if you are a gun owner – plain and simple. They either want you to die mortally at the scene or die in prison or die financially. We in the pro-2A/gun world frequently talk of anti-gun taking rights and how they wrongly prosecute whats obviously justified defense, and things along what they do publicly in court or in their false narratives or their bias.
What we do not talk about enough and keep in mind is the real core purpose of these evil people is wanting you to die. That’s why they want the law abiding disarmed, so you will have less chance of survival. That’s why they go to extreme to prosecute justified self-defense, so they can send you to prison hoping you will die there and if not then your life is ruined by a biased bogus prosecution so your life chances die. That’s why even in cases they can not prosecute criminally they make it as costly as possible for you, so you will die financially.
anti-gun want you to die if you are a gun owner – plain and simple. I’ve been face to face with them with the very hostile anti-gun group we had here locally at one time and the utter contempt they displayed for a law abiding person with a gun was just evil, I’ve spoken with one of their now-reformed (now pro 2A) people that worked at national level with these groups and she told us its a common voiced wish among them that we should all be killed which is why despite them [falsely] claiming to be all about ‘saving lives’ you never see these groups acknowledge that an ordinary civilian good guy with a gun saved lives when it happens. They care not about saving lives, sure their minions at the lower levels might sometimes say that, but behind those organizations is a dedicated wish that you should die and the anti-gun prosecutors are in lock step with them.
.40 cal Booger,
I have come to a very similar conclusion and expressed it on this site as well as a competing site.
My conclusion: a non-trivial percentage of our population wants to cause as much chaos, suffering, injury, and death as possible.
Back in the day it looked like financial profit motives–without moral restraints–often had byproducts which caused chaos, suffering, injury, and death. Well Petunia, we are WAY beyond people with no moral restraints who have a financial profit motive. It is plain to see now, if you are willing to open your eyes, that a significant number of people just plain want to hurt and/or kill “others”. Plan accordingly.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?