Inset: Eric Enriquez (McLennan County Jail). Background: The suburban street where Enriquez allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife”s boyfriend in Hewitt, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man was indicted this week for shooting his ex-wife’s boyfriend multiple times, authorities in the Lone Star State announced.
Eric Renee Enriquez, 50, stands accused of one count of murder for the death of 54-year-old George A. Turrubiartez, according to the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.
The underlying incident occurred on the night of Feb. 5, just outside of a residence on Saddle Horn Drive in Hewitt – a small suburb of Waco located roughly 100 miles northeast of Austin.
That night, police were dispatched to investigate a report of at least 10 rounds being fired around 9 p.m., according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Waco-based CBS and Telemundo affiliate KWTX.
Responding officers found Turrubiartez dead in the driveway, according to the charging document. The slain man had several gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen – and one in the head.
After the grim discovery, police called on the inhabitants to come out of the house, whereupon Enriquez walked out onto the porch with his hands up, according to the affidavit. In quick succession, the defendant allegedly told police he was defending his home.
“Eric stated the [victim] had threatened him and that he had a right to defend himself,” the affidavit reads.
Warrants, however, suggested a different turn of events.
In one warrant obtained by the TV station, a woman identified the victim as her live-in boyfriend and the defendant as her ex-husband. That woman allegedly told detectives that Turrubiartez read a text message between her and Enriquez, got upset, and left her residence. The woman said she was tracking her boyfriend’s location and realized he seemed to be heading toward Enriquez’s house.
The defendant, for his part, told detectives he started receiving calls and text messages from Turrubiartez about his plans to show up there that night, according to the affidavit.
Using a surveillance camera, Enriquez said he saw the boyfriend pull up outside his house. So, the homeowner went outside to meet the man in the 2021 Chrysler 300.
The defendant believed “it [was] clear George [Turrubiartez] arrived at the residence to start an altercation,” according to the warrant.
After that, the victim said “motherf–,” according to Enriquez, the warrant alleges. Then, the defendant fired his weapon, police said.
Enriquez said he did not know exactly how many shots he fired, according to the warrant. Then, after the incident, the defendant said he went back into his house, unloaded his gun, and set it down on the couch. In the affidavit, police described the gun as an “assault rifle.”
The arrest warrant details a terse interaction over culpability when police later told Enriquez he was going to be charged with murder.
The defendant allegedly responded that Turrubiartez “shouldn’t have been there” on the night in question and said “he would do it again.”
A defense attorney cited by the TV station said he is gathering discovery for his client and looks forward to “building his defense.”
Enriquez is being detained in the McLennan County Jail on $750,000 bond.
