A Texas father has been convicted of capital murder due to his 14-year-old son's shooting.
On Friday, a jury in Dallas found Richard Acosta, 34, guilty of capital murder in connection with a shooting that took place in 2021 and resulted in the deaths of three people.
Acosta's 14-year-old son, Abel Elias Acosta, shot three people and injured one the day after Christmas in 2021, which stunned the community.
Texas father found guilty of capital murder
According to ABC News, the son of Richard Acosta, Abel Elias Acosta, was charged as a culprit in a shocking shooting incident that left three teenagers dead and a 15-year-old cook injured.
Despite the horrific events, the Texas father testified that he had no knowledge of the shooting or that his son was involved. The Texas father said he went to the store alone to buy medicine for his wife.
He only became aware of the situation when Abel told him to drive away from the scene because someone was shooting.
Since the incident, Abel has been on the run and is considered armed and dangerous by the authorities. Despite a nationwide search, he has yet to be apprehended.
Richard Acosta surrendered to the police a few days after the incident and was later indicted for his role in the shooting.
He claimed that his son disappeared on the same night of the shooting and that he had no information about his whereabouts.
The police charged his 14-year-old son, Abel, with capital murder and issued a warning to the public to be cautious as he is considered dangerous.
An arrest affidavit released by the authorities showed that surveillance footage placed Richard in the driver's seat of a pickup truck near the scene of the shooting, with the suspect standing in plain view at the front door and shooting those inside.
14-year-old's shooting incident
The events leading up to the shooting were caught on surveillance video, which showed the shooter approaching the store in a crouch and armed with a handgun.
As reported by Associated Press, the shooter burst into the store and fired over 20 rounds from a .40-caliber pistol before making a quick escape in a pickup truck driven by the Texas father.
According to Richard's lawyer, the son was distressed and ran back to the truck, where his father drove them both home.
The surveillance footage also showed that the pickup driver had made a stop at the store before the shooting, where he appeared to purchase medicine.
The shooting was believed to be a targeted attack to retaliate against one or more individuals in the store.
The Garland Police Department had made it clear that they would not rest until Abel Acosta, the suspect in the shooting, was captured.
In a statement, they acknowledged that they were only halfway to justice and that their search would persist until the suspect was found. The shooting was a tragic event that impacted the community, and the authorities were determined to bring the perpetrator to justice.
Furthermore, according to Texas law, a person can be charged as an accomplice to a crime even if they did not physically commit it themselves.
Texas law defines an accomplice as a person who aids, promotes, encourages, or instigates the commission of a crime, either before or during its commission.
This means that if a person assists another individual in planning or carrying out a crime, they can be charged with the same crime as the person who committed it, even if they did not physically participate in the act.
