Utility worker shot while installing fiber-optic cable in Texas neighborhood
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Montgomery County deputies say a Magnolia homeowner opened fire on a utility crew member who was laying fiber-optic cable in the neighborhood on June 24.
Investigators allege that a dispute broke out around 1:20 p.m. between Keith Matthews, 53, and 19-year-old Briley Delacruz Rodas. The argument “escalated,” and Matthews “shot the utility worker multiple times,” the sheriff’s office said. Rodas was taken to a hospital in critical, but stable condition.
Neighbors told Houston TV station KPRC that fiber work had been under way for several weeks.
Matthews was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; bond has been set at $200,000.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that Magnolia, where the shooting occurred, is about 40 miles northwest of Houston.
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