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CA Driver who struck home was looking for his wife

HankT

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Goof with acar.

Anda baddd case of anger.

Looks like a goodshoot...

Anger is a very bad thing sometimes. Actually, most of the time. Bad outcomes come out of anger quite consistently.



Driver who struck home was looking for his wife

By Daniel Thigpen
Record Staff Writer
June 15, 2007 6:00 AM
ACAMPO - The man who shot and killed a driver who moments earlier intentionally rammed a car through his North Des Moines Road home late Wednesday feared for his life and may have acted in self-defense, a San Joaquin County sheriff's official said.

Detectives believe that the driver, Ravi Batuk Vora, 39, of Burbank, was in a rage and was convinced his wife was hiding inside the Acampo resident's house before smashing his car through the home at about 9 p.m., Deputy Les Garcia, a sheriff's spokesman, said Thursday.

But Vora already had been exhibiting bizarre behavior before his confrontation with the homeowner, Garcia said. Detectives believe the incident started inside Vora's car earlier in the evening, Garcia said, and unfolded like this:

Vora was traveling with his wife, whose name was not released, from the Sacramento area en route to Southern California on Wednesday evening, when, for unexplained reasons, he left the freeway and started driving through local back roads.

At one point, Vora pulled the car off the road and demanded his wife follow him into a nearby orchard, Garcia said. Vora's wife, fearing for her safety, ran away. Vora got back into the car and started looking for her.

A passing motorist later picked up Vora's wife and took her to a nearby convenience store, where she called 911, Garcia said.

As Vora searched for his wife, he saw a person arriving at a house in the 21000 block of North Des Moines Road and pulled his car up to the home, Garcia said. Vora confronted the homeowner and claimed his wife was inside.

Vora left the man's house and returned three times to argue with the homeowner, Garcia said. As Vora stood outside, banging on the door and yelling, the homeowner grabbed a gun and called 911.

Vora then returned to his car, drove away, and moments later slammed his car through the front entrance of the house, Garcia said. A dog inside the home was struck by the car and killed, Garcia said.

Inside the house, Vora got out of his car and "advanced toward" the homeowner, who fired one shot and struck Vora in the upper body, Garcia said. Vora died at the scene.

Garcia did not identify the homeowner. But according to a record of Lodi police calls, a man named David Robinson called a local business Thursday morning to inform a manager that he had shot someone who drove into his house. A man by the same name also is listed in a phone directory as residing at the North Des Moines Road address.

Outside the one-story, beige North Des Moines Road home Thursday, the property's backyard easily could be seen through a massive, gaping hole in the house. A man who was helping repair the ranch house said the homeowner was not around that afternoon and would not be commenting about the incident.

A phone call to the house also was not returned.

Garcia said detectives still are investigating the case as a homicide, and the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office will determine whether the homeowner acted in self-defense when he shot Vora. The homeowner was not arrested, Garcia said.

Garcia would not disclose the whereabouts of Vora's wife Thursday.

Phone calls to the District Attorney's Office were not returned Thursday.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070615/A_NEWS/706150316
 

Citizen

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HankT wrote:
SNIP Garcia said detectives still are investigating the case as a homicide,
Well, I hope they are investigating it as a homicide. It would bea little funny to investigate it as an accidental death or suicide.
 

ConditionThree

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Citizen wrote:
HankT wrote:
SNIP Garcia said detectives still are investigating the case as a homicide,
Well, I hope they are investigating it as a homicide. It would bea little funny to investigate it as an accidental death or suicide.

Not completely unheard of...

Everyone has heard of suicide by cop- Its not a big leap to take to make it suicide by gunowner. But they would have to prove it was Voras intent- to do that Vora would have needed some knowledge of the mans ownership of a firearm.
 

HankT

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ConditionThree wrote:
Everyone has heard of suicide by cop- Its not a big leap to take to make it suicide by gunowner. But they would have to prove it was Voras intent- to do that Vora would have needed some knowledge of the mans ownership of a firearm.

Looks like there was no prior relationship or knowledge between the deceased driver and the defender homeowner. The goof with a car just lost his sanity for a while. Shooting an unarmed man is usually a bad strategy. Not in this case...

Here are some more details:



Investigators: Domestic dispute led to crash through house, fatal shot

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Last updated: Friday, June 15, 2007 6:32 AM PDT



It started as a domestic dispute between a Burbank man and his wife as they drove south from Sacramento and began wandering around Acampo on Wednesday night.

It ended when the wife fled and the husband intentionally drove through a house — killing a rescued golden retriever in the process — and then confronted the home owner, who fired one shot killing the husband.

Ravi Batuk Vora, 39, was pronounced dead inside the house on Des Moines Road. The investigation is ongoing but the homeowner, David Robinson, 60, was not arrested, said San Joaquin County Sheriff's spokesman Les Garcia.

After speaking with investigators on the case, Garcia gave this account of the bizarre case:

Vora and his wife were traveling south from the Sacramento area Wednesday night when he began driving aimlessly through the Acampo area.

Vora's behavior had become increasingly "bizarre," Garcia said, and the man became frustrated as he drove.

"At one point he focused all his anger and frustration on his wife," Garcia said, adding that the wife may have been physically harmed, though there were no indications of major injuries.

Vora tried to get his wife to go with him into an orchard but the woman ran, fearing for her life.

She flagged down a passing motorist, who drove her to a mini-market to dial 9-1-1.

Meanwhile, Vora had no idea where his wife had gone, but he saw a vehicle and for some reason thought the driver was connected to his wife. Vora followed the male driver to his home on Des Moines Road between Acampo and Peltier roads west of Highway 99.

When the driver, Robinson, stopped in his driveway, he told Vora that the woman was not in his home. Vora left but then returned, demanding to be allowed in the home. Robinson refused to let him in, telling him he was calling 9-1-1.

Vora left and returned yet again, pounding on the door and demanding to be allowed inside the house. Robinson, who was home with his 58-year-old wife, armed himself and dialed 911 at 8:48 p.m.

Vora retreated, got into his car and rammed it headlong into the home.

The vehicle struck a dog that was in the living room, killing the animal. The dog, named Captain Jack, was staying with the Robinsons until a permanent home could be found for him, according to volunteers with NorCal Golden Retriever Rescue.

Robinson and his wife were not injured, and the vehicle plowed through the living room and out the rear wall, coming to rest in an enclosed patio.

"At some point (Vora) advances toward the homeowner and the homeowner fires one shot, striking him in the upper body," Garcia said.

Robinson and his wife voluntarily went to the Sheriff's Office to give statements, and they later returned home.

By mid-morning Thursday, people were working to clear rubble from what had been the Robinsons' living room.

Despite trees and bushes that shield much of the home from the quiet road lined with grape vines, the damage was obvious: Instead of a living room, the wrecked space looked more like an open carport with blue sky beyond.

Those working at the home declined to comment, as did neighbors who were seen bringing them an ice chest before the temperature reached triple digits.

Investigators are still tracking down details on Vora and his wife, but Garcia said there was no previous connection between them and the Robinsons.

The incident happened shortly before a boy was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver a few miles away, but the timing and vehicle damage to Vora's vehicle did not match the other case, said Officer Adrian Quintero, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.


http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2007/06/15/news/2_shooting_folo_070615.txt
 
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