A man left his date in a burger joint to murder a parking scammer over $40 before returning to continue the dinner, police allege

• Police allege a Houston man left his dinner date to murder someone over $40 and calmly returned.
• Erick Aguirre, 29, appeared in court Thursday on murder charges in the April 11 death of Elliot Nix.

Police allege a Texas man briefly left his dinner date to murder someone he believed had scammed him of $40 in a restaurant parking lot

It is alleged that Erick Aguirre, 29, was dining with a woman at a burger joint in Houston when he learned that he had been s ripped-off over the parking charge, court records said, according to the Associated Press.

He is accused of returning to the parking lot to fatally shoot 46-year-old Elliot Nix, who had been posing as a parking attendant.

Aguirre then returned for dinner at Houston's Rodeo Goat restaurant and told his date that "everything was fine" and that he had just scared the scammer.

The couple then walked to a table but eventually left to eat elsewhere after Aguirre looked uncomfortable, according to court records, per AP.

Aguirre was arrested after his date contacted police two days after the incident after they released photos of the couple, who had been identified through Crime Stoppers tips.

The woman who he was on a date with was "shocked to see a photo of herself on the news and to hear that she was a person of interest," her attorney Rick DeToto told the Washington Post.

DeToto told The Washington Post that the woman, who has not been publicly identified, is not a suspect and won't be charged with a crime.

The couple had parked their cars near the restaurant when Nix approached them and told them it would cost them $20 each, according to the affidavit seen by AP.

Upon entering the restaurant, Nix was informed by an employee that Aguirre was not a parking attendant and had scammed him.

At that point, Aguirre is accused of leaving the restaurant and retrieving a gun from his car, and chasing after Nix.

A witness said he heard a gunshot and then saw Aguirre "nonchalantly walking back to his car with the gun in his hand" and then putting the firearm back in his vehicle, the affidavit said.

Nix was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Aguirre was arrested earlier this week and appeared in court on Thursday on murder charges over the April 11 shooting, per AP. He would face life imprisonment if he is convicted.

The shooting is the latest story of a nonviolent or seemingly trivial situation escalating into gun violence in the US.