A Texas man on a date who paid $40 to park, only to learn inside a Houston burger joint that he was scammed, allegedly went back and fatally shot the man posing as an attendant and then returned for dinner, local station KPRC-2 reports citing court records.
Erick Aguirre, 29, told his date “everything was fine” and that he just scared the man after returning to the Rodeo Goat restaurant from the parking lot. They then started walking to a table but left to eat someplace else after Aguirre looked uncomfortable, according to the police affidavit.
Aguirre’s date contacted police two days later after authorities released photos of the couple, who had been identified by tips to Crime Stoppers.
Prosecutors say Aguirre and his date had parked their vehicles near the downtown restaurant when a man approached them, saying it would cost $20 each to park their cars, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Aguirre paid the $40 but was later told by a restaurant employee that the man didn’t work for the parking lot and had scammed them, police said.
An employee at a nearby smoke shop later told police he saw Aguirre run back to his car, grab a pistol and go after the other man. The employee said both men went out of his view but he heard a gunshot before 8 p.m., then saw Aguirre “nonchalantly walking back to his car with the gun in his hand” before putting the gun back in his car. Aguirre then walked back to the restaurant and go inside with his date, according to the affidavit.
Aguirre appeared in court Thursday on murder charges in the April 11 death of 46-year-old Elliot Nix. His bond was set at $200,000. His attorney, Brent Mayr, declined to comment.
Watch the report below from KPRC-2 News.
