A 32-year-old man in Texas was arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s father in front of the girlfriend, fatally shooting the 43-year-old victim after the two got into an argument about paying a cover charge at a night club.
Franco X. Summers was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count of murder in the slaying of Christopher Paul Fuentes, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Officers with the San Antonio Police Department responded to reports of a shooting at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday near a taco restaurant in the 18000 block of Blanco Road, San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS reported. Once there, first responders found a man — later identified as Fuentes — suffering from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by the San Antonio Express-News provided additional details about the circumstances of the shooting.
According to the report, the victim had just recently been released from prison and was at his 23-year-old daughter’s apartment, where she lived with Summers, whom she had been dating for about three years. The three were drinking at the apartment when they decided to head out and go to a bar.
When they arrived, Fuentes and his daughter reportedly did not want to pay a cover charge to get into the establishment. Their refusal allegedly caused Summers to start yelling and repeatedly stating that he had a gun — something the victim’s daughter already knew.
Fuentes and his daughter eventually got out of Summers’ car, which reportedly only further enraged him.
Summers began following the father-daughter duo around the parking lot, continuing to verbally berate them, San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT reported. Surveillance footage obtained by investigators showed Fuentes reach into the driver’s side window of Summer’s car and grab the younger man’s arm.
A brief struggle ensued but ended when Summers reached into the car to grab a gun and reportedly shot Fuentes several times. During the struggle, MySanAntonio reported that Fuentes could be seen telling his daughter to run away from the car.
“Franco [Summers] looked me in my eye and then shot my father,” the victim’s daughter told KENS. “I keep seeing my father’s face once he realized that he was shot. I’m constantly replaying images in my head at night, I can’t sleep.”
On Sunday afternoon, authorities responded to a San Antonio home for a reported family disturbance and discovered that the individual involved was Summers. He was reportedly taken into custody on a warrant for Fuentes’ murder and three additional but unrelated warrants.
The alleged shooting is far from the first time Summers has been in trouble with the law. Records show that in 2013, he was charged with murder and aggravated assault for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend’s brother. However, Summer’s reportedly claimed the shooting was in self-defense, and the charges were dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Summers is currently being held in the Bexar County Jail. A judge on Sunday set his bond at $400,000, records show.
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