Erick Aguirre: Texas man walks out of date to fatally shoot fake parking attendant over $40 scam
HOUSTON, TEXAS: A Texas man blew off his dinner date and shot a man posing as a parking attendant, and swindled him out of $40. On April 11, Erick Aguirre, 29, was charged with the murder of 46-year-old Elliot Nix. Aguirre's bail was set at $200,000 at a court hearing Thursday, April 27. Brent Mayr, his attorney, has not yet commented on the incident.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Aguirre and his date had parked their vehicles near a downtown Houston restaurant when Nix approached them and told them that parking their cars would cost $20 each. After Aguirre paid the amount, he learned from an employee of the restaurant that Nix didn't work for the parking lot and that they were being scammed by him, police said.
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What did Erick Aguirre do?
The 29-year-old apparently went back to his car, grabbed his pistol, and went after Nix, as per the account given by an employee to the authorities. The employee said both men went out of his view but just before 8 pm, he heard a gunshot and then saw Aguirre "nonchalantly walking back to his car with the gun in his hand." He, then put the firearm back in his car and walked back across the street to the restaurant, and went inside with his date.
What did Erick Aguirre's date say?
His date claimed that she was unaware of what Aguirre had done and was only told by him that "he had just scared the guy and everything was fine," according to the affidavit. She also said that started walking to their table but had left and ate at a different place as Aguirre looked uncomfortable and suggested they go someplace else.
Aguirre's date who has not been named, contacted the authorities a couple of days later after police had released photos of the couple, identified by tips to Crime Stoppers. "She wanted to do the right thing. She wanted to make sure that she came forward and told the police what she knew," Rick DeToto, the woman’s attorney told KPRC.
Erick Aguirre was arrested
Aguirre, a resident of Corpus Christi, located about 200 miles southwest of Houston, was arrested earlier this week. He remained jailed Thursday. Houston criminal defense attorney Grant Scheiner, who’s not affiliated with the case, said that Aguirre’s attorney will likely be able to make an argument that the use of deadly force was justified under state laws related to the protection of property.
However, Grant also added that circumstances related to the incident, including getting hold of a firearm when there was no imminent threat and then continuing with one’s dinner after the killing, may make things complicated for Aguirre. Texas lawmakers approved legislation allowing people to carry handguns without a license in 2021. "The problem is that guns are just so widely available and there’s a lot of misinterpretation on when you can use deadly force," Scheiner said. "You have a lot of guns and not very much knowledge," he added.