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Man interrupted dinner date to kill parking lot scammer over $40, police say
theblaze.com ^ | April 29, 2023 | MICHELE BLOOD

Posted on 04/29/2023 6:35:08 PM PDT by lowbridge

Erick Aguirre, 29, was arrested north of Corpus Christi, Texas Tuesday, the New York Times reported. He is charged in connection with the April 11 death of 46-year-old Elliot Nix in Houston. He was jailed on a $200,000 bond after an arraignment Thursday.

Aguirre and his date, Melanie Castillo, arrived in separate cars for a date at a restaurant called the Rodeo Goat on the night of the shooting, according to the Times.

Once they parked, a man approached them to pay a $20 parking fee each car. Aguirre paid, and the couple went on to the restaurant. When they got to the Rodeo Goat, a worker told them the seeming parking attendant was actually a "scammer."

Castillo, who voluntarily gave a statement to police two days after the shooting, reportedly said Aguirre "sprinted" back to the cars while she waited outside the restaurant.

A witness from a nearby smoke shop told police he saw Aguirre pull a pistol from his car. Next, he heard a gunshot, saw Aguirre return to the car with the gun, then saw Aguirre go back to Rodeo Goat, according to the Times' review of court documents.

Castillo, the woman on the date, said Aguirre told her he "just scared the guy." The pair went inside the restaurant, only to leave shortly after when Aguirre suggested going someplace else.

"She was devastated to learn of the death," Castillo's attorney, Rock DeToto, told the Times. He added that Castillo was "shocked to see a photo of herself on the news and to hear that she was a person of interest."

"The penal code in Texas, and in 49 other states, and in most civilized countries, doesn’t give you any legal basis to shoot and kill someone who ripped you off," legal analyst Brian Wice told KPRC.

(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; brianwice; corpuschristi; elliotnix; erickaguirre; houston; melaniecastillo; micheleblood; newyorktimes; rockdetoto; rodeogoat; texas
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To: Responsibility2nd

He was just turning his life around...


41 posted on 04/29/2023 7:48:27 PM PDT by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: nwrep

Other than the murder, how did the date go Melanie?


42 posted on 04/29/2023 7:52:42 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I was going to start procrastinating this year, I just haven't got around to it.)
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To: All

What if the restaurant guy was wrong and the guy parking cars was legit? Who pays 20 bucks for a 2 to maybe 5 buck service, imagine how much you would make parking cars at 20 bucks a pop, why would this scammer run a scam, he could make a fortune doing it right. And what was the scam, stealing the cars? Surely that wouldn’t last more than a day or two?

A lot of unknowns in this story, including, who will Melanie be dating now?


43 posted on 04/29/2023 7:59:21 PM PDT by Peter ODonnell (In leftspeak, "disproven false claim" means fact. "Intolerance" means revulsion. "Progress" =failure)
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To: lowbridge

Damn. I ate there a few weeks before that


44 posted on 04/29/2023 8:00:01 PM PDT by SomeCallMeTim ( The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them!)
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To: KevinB

The woman shown in the picture in the article is quite a bit chubbier than the one shown in the photo you posted.


It may have been taken before dinner.


45 posted on 04/29/2023 8:13:21 PM PDT by Salvavida
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
#14: Was the guy stealing the cars or just acting as a unauthorized parking attendant?"

We don't use that word "unauthorized" any more. That stigmatizes the person. The preferred designation is "undocumented" parking attendant.   /sarc

In any case, the point is moot. The parking attendant is now an unliving parking attendant.

46 posted on 04/29/2023 8:21:00 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: Peter ODonnell
And what was the scam, stealing the cars?

The scam is probably walking up to people parking in a free public parking spot and then telling them they need to pay to park there. Then he takes the money and walks off and spends it at the smoke shop.

The guy probably stole thousands and thousands of dollars over the years before his career as parking tycoon was brought to an end.

47 posted on 04/29/2023 8:22:52 PM PDT by FoxInSocks ("Hope is not a course of action." — M. O'Neal, USMC)
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To: absalom01

With no video, the defendant has a possible way out using 9.42. He says they guy tried to escape or threatened him. To convict, you need “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Section 9.42 does not apply.


48 posted on 04/29/2023 8:29:27 PM PDT by pierrem15 ("Massacrez-les, car le seigneur connait les siens" )
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To: nikos1121

I would like to date her. She is good.


49 posted on 04/29/2023 8:34:50 PM PDT by moviefan8 (Cowboying is an art without an audience.)
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To: nwrep
Wow, he looks like a criminal.

That's possible. He did murder a guy in cold blood over $40 bucks.

50 posted on 04/29/2023 8:35:27 PM PDT by TigersEye (Woke is a cancer of the mind and humanity)
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To: A strike

“Seriously ? You’d be for hanging for horse theft?”
100%! When crime resulted in forfeiting your life life was 100% safer for the law-abiding than it is currently. Currently, the Law Abiding are victims and Criminals are given a pass. Rinse, lather, repeat. with no consequence.
The result of oh-so-understanding and empathetic policies toward criminals is a serious downward spiral in society. Streets are unsafe to walk. Committing crimes should have harsh results.
Unfortunately, human stupidity often results in a Pendulum Effect. Where the result of human stupidity results in extremes. This result is inevitable. Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.


51 posted on 04/29/2023 8:35:51 PM PDT by ocrp1982
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
You have to feel real sorry for Melanie. Just imagine your date says “I’ll be right back” and, next thing you know, you see yourself on the news and learn you are a person of interest in a killing. She sure didn’t deserve that.

ESPECIALLY if he 'got lucky' after dinner!

52 posted on 04/29/2023 8:47:00 PM PDT by null and void (Attention! Non-compliant Resident Alert! Attention! Non-compliant Resident Alert! Attention! Non-com)
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To: lowbridge

The scammer just identified as a parking attendant .


53 posted on 04/29/2023 8:51:31 PM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (Have you seen Joe Biden's picture on a milk carton?)
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To: lowbridge

54 posted on 04/29/2023 8:56:09 PM PDT by windsorknot
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To: pierrem15

He’ll have to base his defense on that. I don’t much like his chances, but it’s what the gangsters in Cali used to call a 13 1/2. 12 jurors, one judge, half a chance.


55 posted on 04/29/2023 8:59:18 PM PDT by absalom01 (You should do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, and you should never wish to do less.)
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To: shadowlands1960

He deserves time killing someone over 20-40 dollars.

So far it’s just me and you don’t see him as a hero


56 posted on 04/29/2023 9:07:12 PM PDT by wardaddy (Truth is treason in the Empire of lies)
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To: null and void

Very true. Ugh, that would be a nightmare for her.


57 posted on 04/29/2023 9:09:46 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone else…)
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To: wardaddy
So far it’s just me and you don’t see him as a hero.

And me.

58 posted on 04/29/2023 9:14:16 PM PDT by windsorknot
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To: nikos1121

Someone saw that mug and thought he would be a great target for a scam that would be exposed 10 or 15 minutes later.
SMH....

He doesn’t look like someone I would scam.


59 posted on 04/29/2023 9:16:09 PM PDT by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up..Stupid. Completely stupid.)
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To: shadowlands1960

It’s not just over the 40 dollars. It’s the principle of the thing. Some things you do in Texas, and you’re gonna get your lamp blowed out in return. So don’t do those things.

It has always been thus....


60 posted on 04/29/2023 9:20:25 PM PDT by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up..Stupid. Completely stupid.)
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