KATY, Texas — Four members of a Texas family are facing murder charges in what investigators have deemed a case of mistaken identity.
Eddie Clark III, 29, was shot Monday night in the Katy, Texas, subdivision of Westminster Landing, just around the corner from his home, KTRK reported.
Four members of the Argueta family, including 19-year-old Joe Argueta; his parents, 39-year-old Florinda Argueta and 45-year-old Luis Argueta; and his 29-year-old uncle, Margarito Alcantar, are all charged with murder in the slaying, the Katy Times reported.
According to a news release issued by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to reports of a shooting in the subdivision at around 11:30 p.m. and found a dark gray Dodge Challenger abandoned on the front yard of a home.
Investigators have determined that Clark, who crashed the car and was found about a block away, suffered a fatal gunshot wound, KTRK reported.
A neighbor’s home security video captured some of the initial confrontation, including Clark speeding away from the camera’s view in the Challenger while being chased on foot by two people. The video then captured the sound of the vehicle crashing into the tree, the TV station reported.
According to court records, Joe Argueta admitted to having a gun and firing multiple shots at the Challenger.
Florinda Argueta told deputies at the scene that she had filed multiple reports with the sheriff’s office regarding a person or persons damaging their home and vehicles and indicated that she suspected a teenage Hispanic male friend of her son’s former girlfriend was responsible for the damage, the Katy Times reported.
A black Dodge Charger was the suspected vehicle listed in those reports, however.
The Argueta told investigators that Joe Argueta spotted the suspected vehicle driving in the neighborhood just before 11:30 p.m., so the family blocked in Clark’s gray Challenger with their own vehicles, the newspaper reported.
Luis Arguetas and Alcantar then approached the cornered vehicle to confront the driver while armed with a pistol and baseball bat, respectively, the Katy Times reported.
Clark died at an area hospital shortly after the shooting, KTRK reported.
Cox Media Group
