By Juan A. Lozano -
The Associated Press
A Texan who had gone with his date to a restaurant paid $40 to park his car and, when he discovered that he had been ripped off inside the Houston burger joint, he returned outside and allegedly shot and killed the man posing as a manager in the parking.
He then went back to dinner with his date, according to court records, telling him "everything was fine."
Erick Aguirre, 29, appeared in court on April 11 charged with the murder of Elliot Nix, 46.
He was set on $200,000 bail.
His attorney, Brent Mayr, had no comment.
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The man explained to his date after returning inside the Rodeo Goat restaurant that he had simply scared the man in the parking lot.
They then went to sit at a table, but eventually went elsewhere for dinner because Aguirre seemed uncomfortable, court documents show.
Erick Aguirre, accused of the murder of Elliot Nix on April 11, 2023.AP
His date contacted police two days later, after police released images of the couple, identified with citizen help through Crime Stoppers.
"She wanted to do the right thing, she wanted to make sure that she stepped up and told the police what she knew," the woman's attorney, Rick DeToto, told local station KPRC of NBC News in Houston.
Police say Aguirre and his date parked their cars near the restaurant in the downtown Texas city and the victim approached them saying it would cost them $20 each, according to the probable cause court document.
Aguirre handed him $40, but was later told by a restaurant employee that Nix didn't work there and that he had ripped them off, according to police.
A nearby store clerk told police he saw Aguirre run back to his car, grab a gun and go after Nix.
He added that, although he could not see them, he did hear a shot at around eight o'clock at night, and then he saw Aguirre "walking calmly back to his car with his gun drawn."
He dropped her off in the vehicle and returned to the restaurant with her date, according to the court document.
Nix was taken to a hospital, where he died.
[They record how a boy takes the wheel of a school bus when his driver suffers a medical emergency and avoids a crash]
Aguirre, the day he allegedly killed Nix.Houston Police Department
Aguirre, who lives near Corpus Christi, 200 miles southwest of Houston, was arrested this week and remained in jail Thursday.
Attorney Grant Scheiner, who is not involved in this case, explained that under state property protection laws, Aguirre could argue that the use of a weapon was justified.
He added, however, that the circumstances of the case, including the fact that there was no immediate danger and that he later went to dinner, will not help make his case.
Texas passed a law in 2021 that allows the carrying of weapons without a license.
“The problem is that they are so easy to obtain and there are so many misunderstandings about when deadly use is allowed,” Scheiner said, “there are a lot of weapons and a lot of unknowns.”
