A Texas father has been found guilty of capital murder in connection with a fatal shooting that claimed the lives of three teenagers in 2021.
Richard Acosta, 34, was convicted by a jury in Dallas on Friday, following the shooting deaths of Xavier Gonzalez, 14, Ivan Noyala, 16, and Rafael Garcia, 17 at the hands of his teen son.
According to the prosecution, Richard Acosta was an accomplice to the murderous rime. He was accused of trying to dispose of evidence and relocate his family in the aftermath of the shooting.
Despite the fact that Acosta claimed that he was unaware of his son’s involvement in the shooting, he was charged under Texas law. This indictment allows accomplices to be charged even if they did not directly commit the crime.
The shooter, 14-year-old Abel Acosta, remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous by the authorities. Richard Acosta claimed that he had no knowledge of his son’s whereabouts.
The Garland Police Department has vowed to continue their search for Abel Acosta and bring him to justice. Richard Acosta, who surrendered to the police days after the shooting, faces life without parole since the prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.