LUBBOCK, TEXAS – One accused home invader is dead, and another is seriously wounded after they were shot by the occupant after ordering him to the floor, according to authorities. The home invasion happened around 9:15 a.m. Mar. 11 at a residence in the 1500 block of 41st Street. Lubbock’s Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit is investigating the home invasion that resulted in a homicide according to Lubbock police.
The initial investigation indicates that two armed men entered the residence and ordered 32-year-old Jose Dominguez to lay on the floor. One suspect began looking through the home and found a second person. Lorene Aviles, 33, whom he struck in the head with his gun. Meanwhile, Dominguez began struggling with the other suspect over the firearm, eventually taking it away from him. Dominguez then used the firearm to shoot both suspects.
The suspects, Zack Thomas, 31, and Billy Rodgers, 37, fled the scene. They showed up at Covenant Medical Center shortly thereafter, both suffering from gunshot wounds. Rodgers was treated for serious injuries and Thomas was pronounced dead.
The home’s occupants, Dominguez and Aviles, both suffered moderate, non-life-threatening injuries. It was not immediately clear if, or how, the suspects and victims may have known each other, or if any other events preceded the home invasion. The Metro Unit investigation is ongoing.
