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The man who fatally shot a suspect beating an Arizona state trooper said Tuesday that he doesn’t consider himself a hero and he’s grappling with taking someone’s life.
Thomas Yoxall, of Arizona, gave his account of the dramatic Jan. 12 encounter between the now-dead suspect and the state trooper. Yoxall had not been previously identified.
The 43-year-old cried and his legs shook while he recounted killing Leonard Pennelas-Escobar, who was beating Trooper Edward Andersson “in a savage way” after having shot him.
DPS officials say Pennelas-Escobar had been in a single-car wreck that killed his girlfriend on Interstate 10 outside of Phoenix when Andersson arrived. Andersson was putting out flares after coming across the crash when Pennelas-Escobar ambushed him, shooting him in the shoulder and chest before beating him.
Yoxall said he has no military or police training, but is a responsible gun owner. He pulled over when he saw the two men.
Yoxall said Pennelas-Escobar ignored his commands to get off the trooper and that he did what he had to do.
“I firmly believe that that morning I was put there… by God,” Yoxall said. “It’s difficult to think about that day still.
Mr. Yoxall, you are a good man. I cannot imagine what you must be going through right now. It is good to know that such men as you are with us all. Thank you.
A responsible citizen reacting as we all should if faced with such a brutal situation.
He did good, may he be relieved of any personal guilt for his correct action.
I’m going to watch the responses to this, then I’ll give you my take on it. May hurt some feelings.
I bet it will be a long time before he gets a speeding ticket.
I hope he doesn’t regret coming forward. I also hope he didn’t just put a big bullseye on his back.
Good man. Nobody in that situation wants the label
Of “hero”. They just hope that there are other good people ready to jump in if they’re in jeopardy themselves. God bless you sir. The deceased deserved his fate.
God knew exactly where he wanted this guy to be. And Lowell, that sounded like a threat!
Just console yourself with how you would feel if the trooper died and you did nothing. We have men and women like you all over America, modest, responsible citizens like you.
You are my hero!
It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.
Mr. Yoxall, you made a difficult but accurate decision, how troubling would it be today if you had made a different dicision??
You now have the full support of American Patriots everywhere.
I read about this incident and it turns out the guy he killed that was trying to kill the trooper was an illegal. He and the woman killed in the car accident had criminal drug records.
Mr. Yoxall is a hero, especially to all who know and love the trooper who so desperately needed his help. It wasn’t by coincidence this man was there to save the trooper. God was working through him.
Mr. Yoxall, you have our prayers that your heart will be quieted. You did the right thing. You were the Good Samaritan.
I do not question that God Led him where he needed to be at that time. It was a divine appointment to Save Officer Anderson. It was the right action for the right reason.
I pray you listen to the Holy Spirit, your comforter and strength, during this healing process.
Anonymous,
That story evolved for a couple days. Last version I heard was the woman in the car and the shooter were not connected. Infact I heard a theory that he shot her as she was driving past. The original call was a guy shooting at cars.
Lowel, alright buddy, lay it on us. Tell us about the book deal and the movie.
Mr. Yoxall, when you left your house in the morning, you were not looking for trouble.
There was not a long line of other people who could have done the shooting. You were it!
Thank you for doing what you did and saving this police officer from an untimely death.
Thanks to you, the good guys won another battle in the ongoing war.
You are a GREAT AMERICAN !!!!!
Mr Yoxall, you saved the life of a man who has sworn to save lives for a living. Making the right decision isn’t always the easiest decision to make, but if the time ever comes, I only hope that I can do as you have done.
All we can do is pray for this hero’s peace of mind.
God Bless him, and thank God he was armed.
God give this man the strength to get through his pain and see the good he did in saving the life of the officer.
New developments. This is unsubstantiated.
“Very interesting. The CCW holder who saved the Arizona trooper’s life is a former felon. He was convicted of felony theft in 2000. Normally that conviction would forever bar the convicted person from ever owning a firearm for the rest of his life. This guy petitioned a judge to get his felony reduced to a misdemeanor so he could carry a gun again. Fortunately for everyone involved, the judge granted that petition.
I’m generally against the idea of prohibiting someone from ever owning a firearm solely because of a felony conviction. Lots of people who commit felonies are not violent and pose no danger to society.
Certainly there are violent felons who should not be carrying guns, but to bar someone from ever being able to protect himself (or, in this case, a state trooper) just because he made a bad decision in his past is just poor public policy. It keeps good men like this guy from doing good things like saving a cop’s life.
One other item to note…
Look at this guy. How many of you gun owners would embrace a man like this and introduce him to the world of defensive shooting? Or would you just write him off because of the tattoos and ear gauges? Maybe you should rethink your assumptions.
Truly valiant folks might have a felony record in their past. They might not look like you. We shooters need to be less judgemental and more open to accepting folks who may lead lifestyles very different from ours.
There are powerful lessons here.
That quote, I think is from “Unforgiven” is one I’ve remembered. But then I like Clint Eastwood.
Good points Bad_Brad, true all.
God bless to the man in his recovery
from the incident.
Bad_Brad, I’m with you all around. I believe that if you are a non-violent felon, do your time, a probationary period, and eventual restoration of most if not all rights should be a reasonable punishment.
Judging from the statement from this guy – I feel for him.
It’s tough to know how killing someone will affect you. Or whether you will even be able to do it. My marine co-worker said that only 10% of the population are “natural born killers” and all the rest have to be trained to fire on another human being. A significant portion just freeze up when confronted with the situation.
I’d like to think that I’d be able to do what this guy did if the situation ever comes up, we all hope that to be the case for all of us who carry.