A man in Texas shot and killed his uncle because they had a fight over who owned two pet roosters. He was charged with capital murder.
Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Jerry Muñoz set Aaron Cervantes’ bond at $2 million on Friday. He is being held on suspicion of killing Fernando Madrid, 54, in a fight early Thursday morning in the Rio Grande Valley, according to a report from ValleyCentral.
According to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, family members at Madrid’s rural Mission home on Doffing Road told deputies that Cervantes went to his uncle’s house with another cousin to get back two birds he said he owned.
Madrid approached Cervantes when he started to take the birds, which led to a fight. Officials say Cervantes then pulled out a gun and shot his family members in their own home.
By the time the police arrived at 4 a.m. Thursday, they found Madrid shot and dead in a bathroom. EMS confirmed his death.
Officials wouldn’t say if the fight had anything to do with cockfighting, which Express News says is a big problem in rural Texas where people make birds fight for fun and money.
When someone is found guilty of capital murder in Lone Star State, the prosecutor can ask for the death sentence or life in prison without the chance of parole. He was being held in the Hidalgo County Jail.