A man has landed himself behind bars in Houston after police say he shot and killed a man who allegedly scammed him into paying for parking while out on a date.
Police have arrested 29-year-old Erick Aguirre in connection to a shooting that occurred at about 7:55 p.m. on April 11 in the 1300 block of Chartres Street in Houston, according to a news release from Houston PD.
In response to reports of a shooting that evening, Houston police officers responded to the scene and found a man lying unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound.
Houston PD identified the victim as 46-year-old Elliot Nix.
Paramedics from the Houston Fire Department transported Nix to a nearby hospital soon after, where he was pronounced dead.
According to court records obtained by the Houston Chronicle, an unnamed woman whom Aguirre had met for a date on the night in question told investigators that both had driven separately to meet at an East Downtown restaurant.
They parked in a parking lot across from the restaurant. Aguirre was approached by Nix, who allegedly claimed to be a parking attendant and that he was owed $40.
When Aguirre went into the restaurant to meet his date, he found out that Nix was a well-known scammer.
Aguirre excused himself from his date and went back to the parking lot to confront Nix.
When the two got into an argument, witnesses claim that Aguirre shot Nix, per court records obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
Aguirre then went back to the restaurant, told his date that he had scared the man, and carried on with the evening, per the woman’s testimony.
“Further investigation and Crime Stoppers tips identified Aguirre as the suspect in this case,” the news release from Houston PD explained.
Aguirre was taken into custody by local authorities in Aransas County, located in South Texas.
He was extradited back to Houston on April 25 and is currently being held in the Harris County Jail on charges of murder, per the release. His bond has been set at $200,000.
Aguirre’s date was questioned and released.
Although the incident in Houston was not directly related to driving, it did involve a vehicle, a gun, and an enflamed temper.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, road rage confrontations involving firearms are common in the metroplex. As of early April, Dallas PD had logged 153 such incidents, while the weapon was pointed at the victim without being discharged in most cases.
Nevertheless, violent crime continues to climb and plague the streets of Dallas. A total of 3,237 violent crimes have been logged since the start of the year, including 2,237 aggravated assaults and 93 homicides, per the city’s crime analytics dashboard.
