When a person who was out on a date in Houston came upon he had been duped out of $40 by somebody pretending to be a parking attendant, he ran out of the restaurant, fatally shot the scammer after which “nonchalantly” returned, the authorities stated.
The man, Erick Aguirre, 29, was arrested on Tuesday in Aransas County, north of Corpus Christi, Texas, and charged with homicide within the dying of Elliot Nix, 46, on April 11. He was extradited to Harris County, the place he was arraigned on Thursday and jailed on a $200,000 bond, in accordance with court docket information.
Brent Mayr, a lawyer for Mr. Aguirre, declined to touch upon Friday.
According to a charging doc, Mr. Aguirre was going out to eat on April 11 with Melanie Castillo, who stated in a voluntary assertion that she and Mr. Aguirre had been relationship.
They drove individually to Rodeo Goat, a hamburger restaurant east of downtown Houston. After they parked, a person approached them and stated that parking would value $20 for every car, however that their cash could be reimbursed in the event that they offered a receipt from their meal, in accordance with the court docket doc. Mr. Aguirre paid the person, and the couple went to Rodeo Goat.
But once they arrived on the restaurant, a employee there instructed the couple that the person was “a scammer” and that he didn’t work for the parking zone, the charging doc stated. Ms. Castillo stated in her assertion to the police that Mr. Aguirre then “sprinted to his car” as she waited on the road in entrance of the restaurant.
Jacob Ray, a witness who works at a smoke store down the road from Rodeo Goat, instructed the police that he noticed Mr. Aguirre run to his car and pull out a pistol, in accordance with the court docket doc. Mr. Ray instructed the police that Mr. Aguirre then ran out of his view however that he heard a gunshot, after which noticed Mr. Aguirre “nonchalantly walking back to his car with the gun in his hand,” in accordance with the charging doc. Mr. Ray instructed the police that he noticed Mr. Aguirre put the gun again in his car and return to Rodeo Goat, in accordance with court docket paperwork.
It was unclear what sort of firearm Mr. Aguirre had or whether or not he had bought it legally. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed a sweeping legislation in 2021 permitting most adults 21 or over to hold a handgun with no license.
Ms. Castillo stated that she didn’t see or hear what Mr. Aguirre was doing after he ran off. She instructed investigators that he returned a short while later and stated that he had “just scared the guy” and “everything was fine,” the charging doc stated.
Mr. Aguirre and Ms. Castillo then went contained in the restaurant and had been virtually at their desk when she stated that he regarded uncomfortable and recommended that they go some place else to eat, in accordance with the charging doc.
The Houston Police Department stated in a press release that its officers responded to experiences of a taking pictures within the space that evening, and that they later discovered Mr. Nix unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the appropriate aspect of his higher again. Mr. Nix was taken to a hospital the place he was pronounced lifeless, the police stated.
Ms. Castillo was interviewed by the police two days after the taking pictures and a day after the police launched surveillance images of her and Mr. Aguirre that recognized them as individuals of curiosity wished for questioning within the taking pictures. She was launched with no costs being filed towards her.
Rick DeToto, a lawyer for Ms. Castillo, stated that she was “shocked to see a photo of herself on the news and to hear that she was a person of interest.”
“She was devastated to learn of the death,” Mr. DeToto stated. “She was simply having dinner with the defendant and was unaware of the shooting.”
Mr. Aguirre’s subsequent court docket look is scheduled for June 27.
Source: www.nytimes.com