MARTINDALE, Texas — The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) has made an arrest in connection with a fatal shooting in Martindale, Texas, on Oct. 11, the CCSO said Friday.
The CCSO said on Thursday, Oct. 21, an arrest warrant was obtained for 65-year-old Terry Duane Turner for the murder of 31-year-old Adil Dghoughi. Detectives reached out to Turner's attorney, who said Turner would be turning himself in. He was taken into custody on Friday morning. Turner's bond was set at $150,000 and he bonded out of jail less than two hours later, according to online records.
On Oct. 11, sheriff's deputies responded to reports of a shooting in the 100 block of Tina’s Trail in Martindale. CCSO said the homeowner "confronted a suspicious vehicle" and shot someone inside the vehicle. CCSO said the homeowner cooperated with the investigation and was not arrested.
"If this man is not found guilty of this, it's going to set a precedent that it's OK to just shoot anyone that steps on your property," Sarah Todd, Dghoughi's girlfriend, said. "You're not even allowed to be lost in a neighborhood anymore."
Todd confirmed Dghoughi had left her house earlier in the morning hours, but could not confirm where he was going. Dghoughi had an apartment in Austin, according to Todd.
In a statement about the incident, CCSO said deputies found one man with a gunshot wound who was transported to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries. The victim, later identified as Moroccan national Adil Dghoughi, died at the hospital, according to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-Austin).
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KVUE, Turner told police he noticed an "unknown vehicle with its headlights off" parked inside the drive way next to his pickup truck after he had gotten up to use the bathroom. Turner said he ran back to his bedroom to get his handgun and ran back outside to see the vehicle with its headlights on, according to the affidavit. The affidavit stated that the vehicle "began to rapidly accelerate in reverse" and Turner chased after it. The affidavit stated that Turner struck the driver's side front door twice with the handgun, fired the handgun, then returned to his house to call 911.
During the 911 call with the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, Turner said "I just killed a guy," "tried to pull a gun on me, I shot," and "he started racing away and I ran after him ... he pointed a gun at me and I shot." No firearms were located inside of the vehicle or in possession of Dghoughi, according to the affidavit.
"How does the misunderstanding end up with somebody shooting somebody in the head? Very close range, very close to him, it was execution style," Dghoughi's brother, Othmane, said.
Earlier this week, CAIR called for more information regarding the shooting. Dghoughi's loved ones told KVUE the information they received from officials didn't add up and they wanted an independent investigation into the death. They said authorities are not answering their questions about the shooting and why the man who shot Dghoughi hadn't been taken into custody.
Dghoughi's family says the arrest of Turner is not justice fulfilled: they want to see Turner found guilty of the murder charge, and they hope lawmakers will change the rules as to when and where a person can use a gun. Todd, a gun owner herself, plans to reach out to her legislators in the coming weeks and months.
Dghoughi's family believes he was outside the house because he got lost and pulled over for directions. The family told CAIR Executive Director Faizon Syed that they had been at a barbecue in the suburbs of San Antonio the evening of Oct. 10. Early the next morning, Dghoughi left the barbecue to retrieve his car from his girlfriend's house. He ended up approximately seven minutes away from her house in Maxwell when he was shot in his car, Syed said.
A week after the shooting, Syed said the family received a copy of the incident report. However, the summary of what happened was redacted.
The CCSO said on Friday that detectives have conducted multiple interviews and executed multiple search warrants in the course of the investigation.
The investigation is still active and ongoing. Anyone with further questions or concerns is asked to contact the CCSO at 512-398-6777, extension 4513.
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