Texas Man Steps Away From Date To Allegedly Murder Parking Lot Swindler Over $40

A 29-year-old man in Texas was out on a date with a woman when he briefly stepped out and allegedly shot a person, who had scammed $40 out of him.

The accused then returned to the woman and continued on with their date for several hours.

Erick Aguirre is facing a charge of murder for the death of the victim, Elliott Nix, who was killed in Houston on April 11, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Aguirre was out on a date when he met Nix in the parking lot of a restaurant called Rodeo Goat. Nix posed as an attendant and said Aguirre and his date would each have to pay $20 for parking their car. Nix also claimed the amount would be returned to them if they provide him with a receipt from the restaurant at the end of the night.

Aguirre then paid the man $40 and went inside the restaurant with his date, only to find out that Nix had scammed them.

"There was a waiter who knew that the guy was scamming people for parking, and he advised them, 'Hey, that guy is scamming you for parking,'" Rick DeToto, the attorney for Aguirre's date, told KPRC 2.

After leaving his date inside the restaurant, Aguirre allegedly went outside and grabbed a gun from his car.

A witness later told investigators that he saw Aguirre chasing after Nix with the weapon before disappearing from his line of sight. He then heard the sound of a gunshot, the unidentified witness told the investigators.

Aguirre was then seen "nonchalantly walking back to his car" and putting the gun back in his car, the witness said, according to a criminal complaint.

The shooting suspect then returned to his date and allegedly told her "everything was fine."

The pair made their way to their table, but Aguirre started looking uncomfortable, the officials said. The suspect and the woman decided to leave Rodeo Goat and eat somewhere else. Their date then went on for several hours, the authorities said.

"She knows that he was upset, and he went after the person that allegedly scammed them, but they went to have dinner and at some point, the defendant said he was uncomfortable with the restaurant and they left," DeToto told the outlet.

Nix, meanwhile, was spotted on the ground by a driver passing by. The man was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his torso and was later pronounced dead.

Within 24 hours, Aguirre and his date were identified using Crime Stoppers tips.

The woman then voluntarily contacted the police on April 13 and provided photos from their date, which showed Aguirre's outfit matching the clothes worn by the suspect in the surveillance footage that investigators retrieved.

"She wanted to do the right thing. She wanted to make sure that she came forward and told the police what she knew," DeToto added.

Aguirre was arrested and charged with murder, according to AP News. He still remained in jail as of Thursday.