MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 40-year-old man told authorities that he shot at men he said were trying to steal his car from his house on Saturday, according to an affidavit from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
Victor Rodriquez was booked and released the same day, according to the affidavit. He was arraigned on Monday on one count of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.
Rodriguez told police that shortly after midnight on Saturday, his video surveillance system noticed a sedan casing his driveway. He said that about half an hour after midnight, his motion system detector alerted him that two men were around his Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Video footage shows one inside the driver's seat and the other crouched outside near the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Rodriquez told authorities that when he walked outside his front door to confront these men, they opened fire on him, according to the affidavit. Rodriquez' wife told authorities that when he exited the house she heard one man yelling "let's go, let's go," according to the affidavit.
Rodriquez told police he returned fire, but that he couldn't see what he was targeting, according to the affidavit. He told police that he closed his eyes while shooting because he was scared and that the suspect's vehicle was slightly behind his van. He also told police he fired at these suspects when they retreated to their sedan, according to the affidavit.
Deputies watched surveillance footage and saw five different suspects exit a four door sedan, according to the affidavit. Deputies said they watched these suspects avoid detection, moving back and forth from their vehicle to Rodriguez' Jeep.
They all left westbound on Blue Lake Lane but deputies could not determine where they traveled after that, according to the affidavit.
Rodriquez' residence as well as another house were impacted by the gunfire, according to the affidavit. Rodriquez' bedroom window was impacted as well as other possible projectiles in the cement of his house.
A round went through two bedroom walls in the second house that was impacted, according to the affidavit, and these rounds ended up in the master bedroom. One round went through the garage door, according to the affidavit.
Rodriguez' Jeep had programmable key fogs laying on the front seat and a busted rear left window that was impacted by gunfire, according to the affidavit.
A Chevron Expre had six rounds located on the top of the hood, indicating gunfire from behind the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Deputies noticed impact from gunshots on the front windshield of this car, according to the affidavit.
A Toyota RAV 4 had 2 places of impact from gunshots on the front windshield and a busted rear right window, according to the affidavit.
Deputies were able to find 28 shell casings of 9mm from the incident and found a projectile round that was in a bedroom wall of the second residence.