Four members of a Texas family who were out for revenge have been charged with murder after they mistakenly killed a neighbor who they mistook for the vandal, ABC13 reports.
Joe Argueta, 19, his mother and father, 39-year-old Florinda Argueta, and 45-year-old Luis Argueta, and his uncle, 29-year-old Margarito Alcantar, have all been charged.
While the mother and son have been arrested, police believe the father and uncle are on the run.
During a moment in court on Wednesday, a hearing officer slammed Joe Argueta, telling him that the murder of Eddie Clark III, 29, who was shot on Monday night, was an example of “taking the law into your own hands.”
“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,” the hearing officer said. “It still doesn’t justify taking the law into your own hands and mistaking the person.”
A resident’s home security camera captured some of the confrontation and showed Clark’s car being chased by the Arguetas. Clark turns around and speeds down the street in his car while being chased on foot. He then crashed his car into a tree.
Joe Argueta admitted to firing several shots at Clark’s car. He also told investigators that he had been threatened by another man over an ex-girlfriend and had his home vandalized and had planned to “take care” of the problem.
Clark, who was a neighbor of the family, was driving home that night when they mistook him for the person they were looking for.
[via Raw Story]