Arlington tattoo shop owner arrested, charged with murder in shooting of fired employee
An Arlington business owner was arrested and faces a murder charge after an employee he fired was found dead with a gunshot wound, police said Tuesday.
At around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, Arlington police received a 911 call from the owner of a tattoo shop, Vato Loco Tattoo Studio at 916 W. Division St., asking for help with an employee who he had just fired and refused to leave the store, according to a news release from Arlington police.
When officers were on their way to the scene, police received reports of shots fired at the business.
Officers found the fired employee, a 46-year-old man identified in a police report as Anthony Turgeon, unresponsive inside the shop with a gunshot wound to the head. Turgeon was pronounced dead at the scene.
Javier Arredondo, 42, the owner of the business, remained at the scene, according to police.
Arredondo and Turgeon were involved in “a tense verbal exchange following the employee’s firing,” police said in the release.
Witnesses told police that Turgeon became upset about his termination and demanded his final paycheck from Arredondo, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
There was no one else inside the business at the time of the shooting, police said in the release. According to witnesses, Turgeon became more aggressive before Arredondo asked his other employees to leave the building and to notify police while he was involved in the argument.
Just minutes after making the 911 call, Arredondo pulled out a handgun and fired multiple times at Turgeon, police said.
Witnesses said they heard three gunshots after they exited the tattoo shop. One witness told police that as they were returning to the front door, they saw Arredondo unloading the firearm and placing it on a wood bench that was located in the front of the tattoo shop.
Investigators did not find any weapons on the deceased employee and it did not appear that Turgeon attempted to physically assault Arredondo, police said.
In an interview with police, Arredondo said that when Turgeon arrived at the tattoo shop he terminated the employee based on an incident that occurred last week. Before Turgeon arrived, Arredondo loaded his handgun and placed it on the counter next to him, according to the affidavit.
Arredondo also told police that Turgeon was upset about his termination and demanded his last paycheck, to which Arredondo agreed to pay him on Friday.
Turgeon began shaking a display case and knocked items off a counter and Arredondo said that, in fear of the employee harming him, he decided to draw his gun and shoot Turgeon three times, the affidavit states.
Arredondo told police that the employee never made any threats, never presented a weapon, and never made physical contact with him, but repeatedly said he shot him just out of fear, according to the affidavit.
Officers arrested Arredondo after consulting with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office and booked him into the Arlington City Jail on a charge of murder. He was being held Wednesday in the Tarrant County Jail with bond set at $100,000.
This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 7:47 PM.
