Wrong Way Shoot 'Em Up!

Georgia man was shot and killed by the owner. Rodgrio Diaz turning into the shooter's driveway. The owner rushed up towards him and shot him. The shooter was released on bond. Tensions could ensue!

Shooting in the defense of property or a mistaken identity?

This is what suspected shooter 69-year old Phillip Sailors did to 22-year old Rodrigo Abad Diaz who pulled up into his driveway. The man was apparently on a failed GPS system made a turn into the driveway of Sailors and the man killed him after a brief confrontation.

What amazes me is that the Sailors didn't wait a second to shoot Rodrgio! Even though Rodrgio apologized and pulled away from the property.

The man thought he was being burglarized. Instead of calling the police, Sailors rushed for the firearm. NBC Latino reports that the shooting suspect release on bond could trigger racial tensions.

Since Rodrgio was driving around with his girlfriend and two friends when he pulled into a driveway, thinking they had arrived at another friend’s house, it was considered a mistaken identity! But instead he pulled into the driveway of Phillip Sailors, who thought his home was being robbed, his lawyer says.

Sailors then shot Diaz, according to the police report, citing what Sailors told officers at the scene. Diaz later died while in the intensive care unit.

“Basically, what happened is they were looking for one of my brother’s girlfriend’s friends,” says his brother David E. Diaz-Valencia, 23. “The guy came outside and my brother’s girlfriend said he was screaming, ‘Get off my property!’ and he shot into the air. My brother was backing out fast because he was scared and he rolled down the window to say he was sorry and he was not doing anything wrong. Then the guy shot him in his head.”

Phillip Sailors was arrested in a tragic shooting.

When officers arrived, Angie Rebolledo, Diaz’s girlfriend, had blood on her jeans, both arms and both hands as she was attempting to get a response from him and screamed frantically that her boyfriend had been shot, according to police.

Police arrested Sailors, of Lilburn, Georgia, who was booked into the Gwinnett County jail Sunday afternoon and charged with murder, according to the police report.

“At this point we have established probable cause to charge Mr. Sailors and when the investigation is complete, we will turn over the case file to the Gwinnett County District Attorneys Officer for processing,” Lilburn police Chief Bruce Hedley told NBC Latino. “To preserve the integrity of the case, I will not be releasing further information concerning this incident.”

Sailors’ lawyer says his client is a Vietnam veteran with no prior criminal history and thought he and his wife were about to be victims of a home invasion. “You have to understand this is a 69-year-old man who is a military veteran who has been honorably discharged,” Michael Puglise says. “He dedicated his life to community service, specifically the Christian Lay Ministry in Latin America.”

The bond decision was signed off on by Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, who defended the bond and said he did not put any consideration into whether Sailors’ release could inflame tensions after Diaz’s death.

“The purpose of a bond is to prevent a defendant from committing another offense or to prevent him from fleeing,” he says. “This is a 69-year-old man with no prior criminal record and I don’t think he’s a flight risk.

We confiscated his firearms, he’s supposed to turn in any firearms, and I don’t think there’s a likelihood that he’s going to commit another crime so I don’t want to commit jail space housing him.”

Diaz-Valencia says the funeral mass will be at 8 p.m on Thursday.

“We appreciate all of the support,” he said, adding that he and his family were on their way to pick up his brother’s ashes.

Diaz’s family thanked the public for its support on the website for their company J & D Cargo Express, where it posted the funeral memorial prayer card for Thursday’s mass.

“We give thanks to God for every single day, minute and second that we spent together,” the prayer card reads in part. “Today we give him to God with the profound hope of being reunited one day in a better world, free of pain.”

“This has been so hard on the community,” brother Diaz-Valencia says. “But we appreciate all of the support. I know everyone is talking about gun control — I’m not against guns — but people have to know how to use them.”

The family takes some comfort in the fact that while Diaz is gone, he may still save the life of others.

All of his organs were donated before he was cremated.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences Rodrigo Abad Diaz.