CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Nueces County Medical Examiner has identified 48-year-old Lawrence W. Short as the man killed in the Buckingham Estates neighborhood of Brandon Drive on July 28.
A homeowner was arrested Monday night after shooting and killing a man he said was trying to break into his home on Sunday.
The arrest warrant for Douglas Watters was carried out at 8:55 p.m. in the 3600 block of La Paz Drive, and he is being held on $500,000 bond.
The 56-year-old was arrested on a murder charge the day after he called 911 at 7:51 a.m. Sunday saying he shot an intruder who broke into his home in the 7000 block of Brandon Drive.
When police arrived, they said they found a 48-year-old man dead inside the home.
Watters directed officers to the back of the house, where they found boarded-up French doors. They said boards had been pried away from one side of the doors.
"If you go in there you can't miss him," Watters said, according to the report.
Police found the man's body just inside the boarded-up doors.
Officers stated that the house was difficult to walk in because it was so cluttered with appliances, as well as a motorcycle and household items. However, about 20 ft. away from the doors where Watters told police the man and woman entered the house, was a chair facing it and a plastic bottle filled with a yellow-looking liquid sitting next to the chair. Police said the path between the chair and the doors was more clear than the rest of the house.
A pump-action shotgun was found at the house and secured; a spent shotgun shell was collected, along with an unspent shell.
Along with finding the house boarded-up, police state the house seemed to not having working electricity and that it, and the yard, looked abandoned.
A man interviewed at the scene told police Watters doesn't live at the house but checks on the house several times a week, if not daily, because it is frequently broken into.
Seven homes are registered to Douglas Wayne Watters in Nueces County; six on La Paz and the Brandon Drive house.
'It took you long enough'
In the arrest affidavit, one officer states it took CCPD about 13 minutes to respond to the call, but that Watters kept insisting police took a long time to respond to the call.
"It took you long enough," Watters told officers when they arrived, according to the report.
Police state that Watters told police he had shot the man -- who along with a woman was trying to break into his home in a gated community off Yorktown Boulevard and South Staples Street -- approximately seven minutes before calling police.
However, a senior officer at the scene reported the body was pale and stiff, leading them to believe it had been there for longer.
When medics arrived, the report states they confirmed the man had been dead for at least four hours.
When asked what happened to the woman, Watters told officers he let her go, but told officers to tell her that if she came back to the house that he is not responsible for what he does to her.
This is a developing story. 3NEWS will provide updates as they become available.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- Remembering the life of Caleb Harris
- Long-awaited growth on the way to city's westside
- Family and friends honor Jared Hunt after fatal boating accident in Port A
- Operation Safe Return helped thousands prepare for new school year
- TAMU-CC nursing students hit the road and take their lessons to summer camp
- West Nile Virus-infected mosquitoes found in Corpus Christi
- Here's why there are so many birds near Moore Plaza recently
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for your daily news and exclusive extended interviews.
Do you have a news tip? Tell 3!
Email tell3@kiiitv.com so we can get in touch with you about your story should we have questions or need more information. We realize some stories are sensitive in nature. Let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.