Good Guy with a Gun #190: Washington County, TX

Four miles from the middle of nowhere, at 3 AM, and still the thief picked the wrong driveway. | Original incident: May 9, 2024

These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.

Washington County is about halfway between Austin and Houston.

Burton is a city in Washington County. I know it’s a city because Wikipedia tells me it changed its status from town to city in 2010.

And in 2020, its population was 294 people. (It’s probably those last four that really popped them into “city” territory.) It has a high school, a Baptist Church, a UCC, some restaurants, and the Texas Cotton Gin Museum. Being in Texas, it’s also home to 290 Tactical, motto: Dedicated to Excellence in Firearms.

And if that sounds like the middle of nowhere, our story starts over four miles away from that middle of nowhere, on Rehburg Road in very, very rural Texas, at 3 AM.

A homeowner confronted a man who was in his driveway trying to steal his car.

The thief immediately shot him in the lower body, but he shot back, and the perpetrator fled to a pickup truck that was waiting for him. There may have been a driver in it already. Police released a surveillance photo.

Thankfully, the hit to the homeowner’s body was non-life-threatening. And by firing back, he drove the thief off. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell the thief wasn’t (or thieves weren’t) caught.

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Who would have thought that crime would come to Burton, an area which, from the looks of it, would have people leave their doors unlocked at night?

Thieves, apparently. Here’s a post from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office from March of 2025:

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in reports of motor vehicle burglaries in rural areas of the county. In each case, the perpetrator(s) targeted motor vehicles that were parked in the victims’ driveways and left unlocked. Sheriff Trey Holleway would like to remind residents not to leave valuables in their vehicles and to always secure your vehicle by keeping it locked. Sheriff Holleway encourages residents to immediately call 911 if they notice any suspicious activity so that the Sheriff’s Office can be proactive in deterring and solving crimes. Together we can build a strong network of watchful eyes to help Keep Washington County Safe.

Sources

Primary

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office posted a report to Facebook. There was nothing particularly interesting in the comments.

Local news

KAGS, KBTX 3, and Click2Houston, as well as news radio station KWHI (1280 AM, 101.7 FM) all followed the Sheriff’s report in form and details.