Texas man on date shoots dead fake parking attendant who swindled him out of $40 – cops

A Texas man shot and killed a fake parking attendant after the man tried to swindle him $40 before returning to his date and telling her “everything was fine,” police say

Erick Aguirre, 29, was charged with the murder of Elliot Nix during the April 11 incident that took place in a parking lot near the Rodeo Goat restaurant where Aguirre was at a dinner party. He was arrested at his home in Aransas County, Texas, on April 18 and appeared in court in Harris County on Thursday.

His attorney Brent Mayr declined to comment publicly, but confirmed to DailyMail.com that his client was being held at the Harris County Jail on $200,000 bail. Aguirre faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of life.

Aguirre and his date drove separately and parked their cars near the restaurant in downtown Houston. Nix approached them and said it would cost $20 each to leave their car there, according to a probable affidavit filed in Harris County Court obtained by DailyMail.com.

When Aguirre learned from a restaurant worker that Nix didn’t work there and was a known con man, he told his diner, who was unidentified, that he’d be right back and then he went to his car and pulled out a gun and shot Nix, say documents. The victim was transported to hospital where he later died.

When Aguirre returned to the restaurant, his date told police he told her that “he just startled the man and everything was fine,” the affidavit said.

Court records show that Aguirre felt uncomfortable and shortly after left the restaurant with his date to go elsewhere, according to NBC Dallas Fort Worth.

When the woman saw herself in a Crime Stoppers video with Aguirre, she contacted the police two days after the date.

Rick DeToto, the woman’s attorney, told the court KPRC that ‘she wanted to do the right thing’.

He added: “She wanted to make sure she came forward and told the police what she knew.”

A man who works at a nearby smoke shop told police he saw Aguirre running to his car, grabbed his firearm and went after Nix, according to the news outlet.

The eyewitness said he was unable to see the exchange, but heard a gunshot around 8 p.m. and then saw the suspect “casually walk back to his car with his gun in his hand” before returning the weapon to his car.

Then he saw Aguirre go back to the restaurant.

Nix was on the road at 1am300 block from Chartres Street. He was still conscious when someone found him injured on the ground and called for help, but Nix later died in a Houston hospital, according to court documents.

That’s what Michael Hanover of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said after Thursday’s court hearing Public Houston Media that “the information in the probable cause alleges a gunshot wound to the back of (Nix).”

Hanover added, “He was left there, where he eventually died from that gunshot wound.”

Last September, Aguirre was sentenced to 10 years in probation in San Patricio County, following a 2017 charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Venina Gonzales of the San Patricio County District Clerk’s Office, the news outlet reported.

As of 2022, according to Harris County court records, Nix faced two misdemeanor charges. One was for criminal trespass and theft of less than $100 and at the time of his death.

He also had multiple previous criminal convictions dating back to 2006, including for theft and trespassing, according to court documents.

If convicted, Aguirre could face a minimum of five years and a maximum of life.