Good Guy with a Gun #317: Hobbs, NM

“What are you afraid of?” anti-gunners ask. How about a neighbor who has lots of coke and beheaded his mother with a hacksaw — and is now in your house? | Original incident: September 13, 2024

These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is essentially the same as the calendar version.

Hobbs, New Mexico police thought they’d wrapped up a straightforward one: early on a Friday morning, 38-year-old Curtis Thames forced his way into an occupied house, the people inside barricaded themselves in a bedroom, and one of them fired a single round through the door. Thames died at the hospital.

Police provided this mug shot of Curtis Thames, apparently from a previous arrest.

Thames’ mother, Kristie, lived with Curtis in a nearby home. When police tried to check on her welfare and got no answer, they forced their way in — and found her dead in a bedroom.

Two weeks later, a local TV station went back to the police report and found more than the same-day coverage had: Kristie Thames had been found with her head removed, and there was a bloody hacksaw in the sink. A “large amount of cocaine” was also found in the home.

(My fact-checker notes that we don’t know for certain that Kristie was dead when Curtis broke into the neighboring home, nor that the cocaine was his rather than hers. Those do seem like pretty reasonable inferences, though.)

Thank God the neighbors were armed.

Sources

News

Intruder shot, killed by homeowner; Hobbs mother found dead (KCBD) — the only outlet to draw on the underlying police report, getting the details above about how Kristie Thames was found.

Hobbs police find dead mother during break-in investigation (Yourbasin, KMID/KPEJ; syndicated on Yahoo! News)

Hobbs intruder killed by homeowner, suspect’s mom found dead (EverythingLubbock.com, KLBK/KAMC)

2A / specialist media

Homeowner fatally shoots intruder through barricaded bedroom door, then cops make disturbing discovery (The Blaze) — carries the department’s Facebook comment thread and its photo of Thames.

Homeowner fatally shoots intruder during break-in, deceased intruder’s mother found dead in neighboring home (USA Carry)

Man shot dead after breaking into home, his mother also found dead next door (Concealed Nation)

Homeowner defends family, intruder fatality shocks community (Grits and Gear)