Texas family kill innocent neighbour while hunting for teen vandal, police say
Eddie Clark III, 29, is dead after being chased down by four people on Monday evening
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A Texas family of four have been charged with murder after they chased down an innocent neighbour while hunting a teenager accused of vandalising their home multiple times.
Eddie Clark III, 29, was shot on Monday night just around the corner from his home in Katy, Texas – which is a western suburb of Houston.
The shooting took place after Joe Argueta, 19, along with his mother, Florinda Argueta; father, Luis Argueta; and uncle, Margarito Alcantar came up with a plan to “take care of” a teenager who they suspected was vandalising their home and vehicles, according to a police report reviewed by KTRK.
The group of four allegedly waited for a dark-coloured Dodge Challenger to enter the neighbourhood and finally found their chance on Monday to approach the suspected vandal.
Authorities said members of the Argueta family attempted to block a dark grey Dodge Challenger on the neighbourhood road with their own vehicles. Two males then approached the vehicle, one of whom was armed with a baseball bat and the other with a gun.
When the Challenger attempted to flee, the man with the pistol fired multiple shots at the vehicle until it crashed. One of the shots killed the driver, who was identified later as Mr Clark and not the teenage vandal the family was apparently targeting.
Joe Argueta reportedly told authorities on the scene that he was the one who fired the gun at the man.
Both the 19-year-old and his mother, Florinda, have been arrested and charged with murder for the crime. Florinda was in court on Wednesday evening with bond set at $20,000 while her son’s bond was set at $50,000.
The pair were expected to appear again in court on Thursday.
The father and uncle have also been charged over the incident but fled the scene before officers arrived and remain on the run, police said. Arrest warrants have been issued.
“This is an example of taking the law into your own hands,” a hearing officer told Joe Argueta in court on Wednesday morning, KTRK reported. “Not going through the proper authorities to resolve any other harm or destruction that was being done to your own residence or your own home. It still doesn’t justify taking the law into your own hands and mistaking the person.”
Investigators have called the murder a case of mistaken identity.
The victim, Mr Clark, was not known by the Argueta family and had no connection to the vandalism dispute, authorities said.