Texas man shoots his own uncle dead in fight over two pet roosters: cops
A Texas man was charged with capital murder after he allegedly shot his uncle dead in a spat over who owned two pet roosters, according to reports.
Aaron Cervantes, 21 was held on a $2 million bond Friday by Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Jerry Muñoz for allegedly killing Fernando Madrid, 54, in an early morning disagreement in the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday, according to local outlet ValleyCentral.
Family members at Madrid’s rural Mission home located on Doffing Road told deputies Cervantes allegedly showed up to his uncle’s house with another relative to reclaim two fowl he said he owned, according to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.
But when Cervantes started to take the birds Madrid confronted him sparking a fight which culminated in Cervantes taking out a handgun and shooting his kin inside his home, officials said.
When the officers showed up around 4:00 a.m. Thursday they found Madrid in a bathroom with a gunshot wound and EMS confirmed he was dead.
A second man was released by authorities who found he didn’t have a role in the shooting.
Madrid’s stepdaughter, Lynette Garzaa, started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the cost of Madrid’s funeral, according to a post on her Facebook account.
“My stepdad Fernando Madrid was murdered at his own home,” Garzaa wrote. “We are asking everyone for help to help us give Fernando Madrid a proper funeral anything will be greatly appreciated.”
The service for Madrid is scheduled for Monday, according to the fundraising page, which had collected $295 of a $10,000 goal as of Sunday afternoon.
Officials didn’t say whether the fight was linked to cockfighting – a rampant problem in rural Texas where people make birds fight for sport and betting, according to Express News.
Prosecutors in Lone Star State can seek the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole when a person is convicted on capital murder.
Cervantes was being held in Hidalgo County Jail.
It was not immediately clear who his lawyer was.
