TX Homeowners Bestow Darwin Awards to Armed Home Intruders

A couple running a business out of their Athens-area residence in Texas successfully took down a pair of armed home intruders Sunday, bestowing them each with Darwin Awards.

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Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said the incident happened Sunday afternoon on Hopson Drive.

“It was a home invasion and attempted robbery that went very bad,” Hillhouse said.

The sheriff described the incident Monday, saying that a man and a woman were home at the time of the incident.

The two own a home-based company and Hillhouse said the suspects showed up, initially acting as if they were potential customers looking to purchase a dog. The couple was physically restrained by the two, Hillhouse said, and suffered minor injuries during the home invasion. Following an altercation, the two men were shot and killed.

Hillhouse confirmed that the two suspects, later identified as Steven Kelley, 49, of Winona and Cecil Spain, 31, of Grand Saline, were both armed with handguns when they carried out the attempted armed robbery.

Although Hillhouse stated the residents were acting in self-defense when they shot and killed the pair of armed robbers, the incident is still under investigation by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Henderson County District Attorney’s Office, and the Texas Rangers.

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