4 family members charged with murder of Harris Co. man shot while driving home
The sheriff's office investigates a fatal shooting on Hilton Hollow.
KATY, Texas - Authorities say four family members have been charged with the murder of a man who was shot and then crashed in a northwest Harris County neighborhood as he was driving home.
Those charged include 19-year-old Joe Argueta, 45-year-old Luis Argueta, 29-year-old Margarito Alcantar and 39-year-old Florinda Argueta. The sheriff’s office says only Joe Argueta is in custody.
Deputies responded to the 17100 block of Hilton Hollow Drive in the Westminster Village Subdivision around 11:35 p.m. Monday.
When deputies arrived, they found a dark gray Dodge Challenger in the front yard of a home. Authorities say the car, which had multiple bullet strikes to the passenger side, had left the roadway and struck a tree.
The driver, identified as 29-year-old Eddie Clark, managed to exit the vehicle and walked a short distance away before he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital by Life Flight, but he was later pronounced dead.
The sheriff’s office says deputies located Florinda and her son Joe at the scene.
According to HCSO, Florinda told authorities that she had filed several reports with the sheriff’s office about someone damaging their home and vehicles. She reportedly stated they suspected a teenage Hispanic male friend of her son’s ex-girlfriend was responsible for the damage. The sheriff’s office says one of the reports listed a black Dodge Charger as a possible suspect vehicle.
Authorities say Joe spotted what he believed to be the suspect vehicle driving in the neighborhood around 11:30 p.m. According to the sheriff’s office, family members attempted to block a dark gray Dodge Challenger on the roadway with their own vehicles, and two male family members – one armed with a baseball bat and the other male with a pistol – approached the Challenger on foot.
When the Challenger attempted to flee, deputies say the male with the pistol fired multiple gunshots at the passenger side of the Challenger. Joe reportedly told authorities that he was the person armed with pistol and fired the gunshots at the vehicle until it crashed.
Joe was transported to the Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit, where he provided investigators with a statement. Florinda was interviewed at the scene and released.
The sheriff’s office says the father, Luis, and an uncle, Margarito, fled the scene before deputies arrived.
Authorities say the victim, Eddie Clark, lived in the Westminster Village Subdivision, and was on his way home when he was confronted by the Arguetas. Clark was driving a dark gray Dodge Challenger, not a black Dodge Charger. According to the sheriff’s office, Clark was not known by the Arguetas and investigators did not receive any information that Clark was involved in the ongoing dispute.
The case is being investigated by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit. If anyone has any information regarding the investigation or the location of any of the wanted subjects, they are asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 713.274.9100 or call Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS(8477).