Luis Roces is charged with second degree murder. He’s accused of shooting and killing Austin Fitzgerald; he was a father to a young boy. Police said he was shot after an argument involving a woman.
Leading up to the shooting, police said the woman was out with Fitzgerald and a friend. Roces said he went looking for her when he realized she was in the Riverside area even, though she didn’t invite him out.
A police report said at some point, she was walking alone and Roces told her to get in the car, they went back to Roces’ house and she went straight to the bathroom, reports said she was texting Fitzgerald to pick her up because she was scared.
Roces told his version of the events leading up to the shooting to investigators.
“These men who do I not know came to my father’s house to hurt me that’s why they came,” he said.
“How do you know that’s why they came?” an investigator said.
“That’s what... they were trying to beat me up,” Roces responded.
Roces said after the two men allegedly came into his father’s home and threatened him, they tried to leave.
“They’re wasted (he said to the woman) just come back inside,” Roces said. “The guy runs at me again, I told him to stop, he didn’t, I wasn’t sure if he was going to stab me hurt me or kill me,” he said.
However, detectives said he went back to the threat and started the problem initially.
“You went out back to the problem and there’s other problems, you mentioned you gave the address, I think you knew what you were doing when you gave that address,” an investigator said. “Another comment you made earlier and by a text message you sent to (redacted.)”
It’s unclear what specific text message investigators were talking about, but Action News also found court documents that said Roces texted the woman the day before the shooting saying, “If I see you with one of those guys and they say anything threatening or aggressive to me I will handle it legally and effectively,” and another message said “If I see you up there with other men start praying for them now,” and sent his location.
At some point, Roces asked whether or not investigators agreed it was a self-defense shooting. Roces claimed they were all extremely drunk, but he was sober and that Fitzgerald and his friend were the aggressive ones, but police heard otherwise.
“According to an independent witness the both of you were both arguing in the same threatening manner like you would fight and that’s when you pulled out the gun,” the detective said.
It should be noted during the interrogation, he asked for a lawyer, but then wanted to and agreed to speak with detectives again.
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