El Paso police arrest restaurant manager in shooting of 2 brothers at restaurant

El Paso police have charged a 38-year-old man with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a shooting at a Northeast restaurant Saturday.

Police say Joe Herrera allegedly shot two men at the Casita Linda Restaurant at about 3:44 p.m.

According to police, 36-year-old Daniel Castro and his brother, 37-year-old Jesus Castro, went to the restaurant to pick up a take-out order of food.

Daniel Castro was a former employee of the restaurant and entered the kitchen area while his brother waited in the lobby.

Herrera, a manager at the restaurant, and Daniel Castro became engaged in a verbal argument and Daniel Castro was told to leave and pay for the take-out order of food, according to police.

Daniel Castro allegedly refused to pay and a scuffle occurred in the lobby.

Herrera followed Daniel Castro and Jesus Castro into the parking lot where the confrontation continued and Herrera shot both brothers, according to police.

Herrera claims self-defense in the shooting, according to the affidavit. The Texas Penal Code Chapter 9 self-defense section states self-defense is not justified in response to verbal provocation alone. Court documents obtained by ABC-7 do not say if either of the Castro brothers were armed or that they threatened Herrera’s life.

“We are very blessed and very grateful that he is safe,” restaurant owner and the defendant’s mother Yolanda Herrera said. “He kept everybody else safe, too.” She wouldn’t go into much details about what happened because her son’s lawyer told her not to talk about the case.

The brothers were transported to University Medical Center where they were both listed in critical but stable condition.

Herrera was booked into the El Paso County Jail on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and his bond was set at $5,000 for each count. Jail records show Herrera has bonded out.