Guy Charged With Taking Break From a Date to Kill a Man

A woman told Houston police that she went on a date with a guy, only to find out later that he committed murder when he left for a short time, according to a criminal complaint. Erick Aguirre, 29, is accused of fatally shooting a man who was posing as a parking attendant near the restaurant the couple visited on April 11. It was a scam, an employee told Aguirre shortly after he'd handed the man $40 as a parking fee for his vehicle and that of his date, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Surveillance video from just before 8pm local time shows Aguirre running from the restaurant and grabbing something from his vehicle before a witness reported seeing him chasing the man with a gun, according to the complaint.

The witness lost sight of the men but heard a gunshot before seeing Aguirre "nonchalantly walking back to his car," putting the pistol inside, and returning to the restaurant, the complaint reads. Aguirre's date contacted police two days later after officers shared surveillance images of the couple in a plea for tips, per KTRK. The woman said she'd been standing near the restaurant as Aguirre took off and that she didn't hear or see anything unusual. When her date returned, he told her he'd "just scared the guy and everything was fine," according to the complaint. In reality, he'd left 46-year-old Elliot Nix lying in a roadway with a gunshot wound to the torso, the complaint reads, per the Star-Telegram.

Nix was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 8:43pm as the date carried on, though in a different location. The woman told police Aguirre grew uncomfortable after returning to the Rodeo Goat burger joint and suggested they eat elsewhere, per KTRK. Aguirre, who was on probation for aggravated assault at the time of the shooting, was arrested in Aransas County on April 15 on a charge of murder. He was extradited to Harris County on Tuesday and had bond set at $200,000 during a Thursday court appearance. No charges were filed against his date. "She wanted to do the right thing," the woman's attorney tells KPRC. "She wanted to make sure that she came forward and told the police what she knew." (More murder stories.)