[upbeat instrumental music playing]
[narrator] A neighbor you can call your best friend
is a dream come true.
I'm Raul. These are my parents.
Alex and Raul became friends right away.
Every guy needs a man cave.
I gotta setup something like this in my place.
They spent a lot of time together.
Everybody got along fine in the beginning.
[narrator] But when bonds are broken...
That's when it all went bad.
-Move your car, goon! -You want it?
[narrator] ...the backstabbing begins.
[both grunting]
Soo it just became a very intense, hostile...
-What's your problem? -...environment.
You are street trash!
-Hey! You want it? -Come on, let's go.
-[siren wails] -[dramatic music playing]
Where's he at?
But what can you do? You're living next to each other.
[gunshots]
-[dramatic music playing] -[woman 1] See you.
-[woman 2 speaking indistinctly] -[man 1] I know what you did.
-[gunshot] -[woman 3] Stay out of my neighbor--
-[man 2] Stay away from my wife! -Get on the ground now!
[woman wailing]
[gunshots]
[pleasant music playing]
[narrator] Perris, an old railway town in the California desert,
is seeing a great revival.
[Sgt. Jason] It's just an older area
that's linked to the railroad track back in the days,
and many places that are growing with the new residential neighborhoods.
[narrator] People are just beginning to settle
into this newly completed subdivision.
[dramatic music]
[pleasant music playing]
Hey! Next time you're gonna lift something heavy,
let me know.
[narrator] The Carbajal family is one of the first
to claim their home on this street.
When my parents first moved out there,
there was really nothing there.
[narrator] Maria and Francesco Carbajal
came to Perris to escape the stress of big city living.
Very nice people.
You know, very giving.
Loved to have people over. Love to host.
-[woman 1 laughs] -[Raul] Yo! Why didn't you guys give 'em a hand?
-They wouldn't let us help. -Ah!
[woman 2] You know how they are.
[guitar music playing]
[narrator] Their daughters Patricia and Leticia visit often.
But their adult son, Raul, lives with them,
and works as a butcher in town.
Raul was a really good person.
Um, everybody loved him.
He was always laughing and trying to make people laugh.
Don't you have to get to work?
No! Let me get the rest of this stuff out for you guys first.
[Patricia] He had a smile that was from ear to ear.
Definitely very charismatic, you know.
Full of energy. And just love.
Raul looked intimidating but once you just started talking to him,
he came out, he would be one of, like, the coolest people ever.
Raul was helpful. He was always helpful.
In any way that he could.
[narrator] And Raul is about to meet another Good Samaritan...
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] ...when the Aguayo family moves in next door.
[pleasant music playing]
Alex Aguayo lives with his parents
and younger brother.
He is a full-time caregiver for all three.
[Nini] His brother has Down syndrome.
Alex's parents were older.
Alex stepped up, took care of his brother.
And then, eventually, took care of his parents as well.
[Grades] They was pretty good people, and he was an awesome person
to be taking on the role that was meant for, you know, his parents.
[Leticia] I thought Alex was amazing.
You know, he was... he's a... such a good, caring person.
He appeared to be a quiet person.
Somebody might refer to him as maybe a gentle giant.
[doorknob rattling]
Oh, let me get that!
[grunts]
-There we go! -Wow.
-Uh, thank you. -No problem. I'm Raul.
These are my parents, my sisters.
Uh, I'm Alex.
Those are my parents and that handsome little villain's my younger brother.
-[Raul chuckles] Nice to meet you. -He's a little shy.
That's okay. Oh, well, hey! If you need anything else, let me know.
It was, as far as I knew, peaceful.
Everybody got along fine in the beginning.
[narrator] It looks like the two neighbors will be best of friends.
-[dramatic music playing] -But first impressions can be deceiving.
[gunshot]
[slow instrumental music playing]
-These are almost ready. -[Raul] Awesome.
My mom is a great cook.
She cooks so good.
Alex's mum had health issues.
So sometimes my mom would cook and give it to Alex's family.
-Tell them if they need anything, just to knock. -Cool!
Hey, Alex! Mom made these for you guys.
Oh, that's so nice of them.
You know? That's what neighbors do.
That's what neighbors are supposed to do.
-Uh, beef's fresh. Got it from work. -Wow.
Uh, what are you doing later today?
I don't really got anything that's going on.
-You should come over. Yeah. -Really?
-After dinner, come. -Yeah, that'd be great.
-Beautiful. -Thanks!
-I'll see you soon, then. -Okay. Tell your friends thank you!
Of course, you're welcome!
Alex and Raul became friends right away.
I think, you know, they were about the same age.
They spent a lot of time together.
[slow instrumental music playing]
-Welcome, brother. -Wow!
I gotta set up something like this in my place.
Raul would be in our little garage.
His little setup. His little man cave.
Every guy needs a man cave.
Can never bring the ladies back here and... you know.
Then it wouldn't be a man cave.
[Raul] Ha!
So you datin' anyone?
I'm dating everybody.
Raul was, could say, like, was attractive to girls. You know what I mean?
Nice. Lucky you.
I don't remember Alex having a lot of friends.
I don't think he had too much time or opportunity to get out.
He didn't really have a big circle.
'Cause he didn't allow too many people around him
because of his family and his obligations.
Oh, come on, man. I'll hook you up with someone.
We'll do a double date.
-Really? -Yeah.
Oh, bro, I'd really appreciate that.
It'd be nice to get out of the house.
On the weekends sometimes, when we were hanging out...
[upbeat music playing]
...other neighbors would come by
and sometimes other acquaintances would stop by
and be hanging out.
[Raul] Hey, Alex.
This is Cassandra.
And this is Jennie.
I do think Alex was a little socially awkward.
Hi. [clears throat]
Alex never dated or anything like that.
He was kind of timid, first meeting a girl.
Want a snack?
You can bring girls to him but, I mean,
you gotta do your part. We can't make the girl like you or whatever.
Hey, you...
You remember Monica. Great.
Hey, Monica. Where you been?
But Raul was always the one getting the girls.
Never too far away, Raul.
You're just not looking hard enough.
[Monica] He was quite the character.
He had the ability to get you to like him.
He, um, definitely loved and loved hard.
What are you doing this weekend?
I think Alex kind of wanted to, like, be like him.
But that was nothing that money can buy.
Or at least none of those traits.
[narrator] The two neighbors spend more time together.
Alex follows his new friend's example.
Ta-da!
[narrator] And maybe even out-does him.
Man, you got a lot of sick stuff here!
[Leticia] Alex's setup was better than Raul's.
He turned his garage into, like, a little game room/play room, I guess.
Hey, is that a new laptop?
Yeah, it was on sale.
Alex was very humble.
He didn't show off what he had.
As far as garage setup,
it wasn't nothing extravagant.
Alex, he just took better care of what he had.
Ooh! Watch this.
[grunts] Uh...
Here, here, here, here.
You gotta press this one first.
-Here you go. -[narrator] A lifelong friendship
between these two is forming.
[car honking]
-I gotta go! -But that train is soon derailed.
We're not gonna hang?
I got plans. But I'll catch you later, though, yeah?
[intense music playing]
[narrator] Raul has a new girlfriend.
-Hey, babe. -Did I keep you waiting?
Don't make a habit out of it.
[narrator] Which means less time to spend with his neighbor.
[intense music playing]
I feel like he kind of was envious of Raul.
It started pushing them apart.
[narrator] The friends' estrangement quickly manifests as conflict.
[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]
Raul would have music playing loudly.
[Alex] Hey, Raul!
Could you keep it down?
And it would just bother the whole neighborhood.
Not just Alex and his family.
-[vacuum whirring] -Hey!
What?
The music. Turn it down.
What? It's like. 7:00.
Come on, man, you know my dad's sleeping, please.
Yeah, sure. Whatever.
-[upbeat instrumental rock music continues] -[vacuum whirring]
And there was just more problems that started escalating.
[narrator] Things take a terrible turn
when something goes missing from Alex's man cave.
Alex! What's wrong?
Ma, have you seen my laptop? It was in here!
I know it was in here! Someone stole it!
They was disturbed that something was missing in his garage.
Next thing I know,
he's raving all about, you know,
how somebody stole his stuff.
Alex thought, once the laptop was stolen,
that Raul was the one who did it.
[narrator] Alex decides to confront his neighbor.
Hey, Raul.
-Raul! -What?
-I got your mom's stuff. -Thanks.
Hey.
How do you afford all this, like, nice stuff?
[chuckles] Just gotta know where to look and who to talk to.
[suspenseful music playing]
Did you get a new laptop?
Why?
I haven't seen mine.
So... I have a laptop.
Why would I grab yours?
Wait, are you saying I took your laptop?
I didn't.
You did.
I didn't take your laptop.
Fine.
-Screw this. -Wait. Hey!
[dramatic music playing]
Whatever.
Listen, man. I know you took it.
You walk around like some gangster who owns the hood.
That doesn't give you the right to take what you want.
What the hell are you talking about?
"Oh, look at me. I'm Mr. Tough Guy."
Are you a thief?
Or you act like one to impress the chicks?
I can get what I want.
They're arguing back and forth. It's getting heated.
I don't need to steal from you, punk!
I guess that little heated argument
did get into kind of like a little fistfight.
Get outta here, man!
[siren wailing]
They got into a nice, little tussle.
[dramatic music playing]
[both grunting]
Raul, he jumped on Alex
and he had him in a chokehold and everything.
Alex didn't know what was going on because of the adrenaline.
Raul started getting the better of him.
[both grunting]
Alex, he had a key in his hand.
[Raul] What the-- [groans]
So Alex stabbed Raul in the back with the key.
What the hell, man?
[dramatic music playing]
[Michael] Once Alex stabbed him,
he kind of had, like a, "What did I just do?" reaction.
Raul saw blood coming... coming from his back.
He knew that he was hurt.
-Don't let him run! -What happened?
-He stabbed me! Call 911! -Okay! Okay!
[groans]
-[siren wailing] -[narrator] Raul's mother calls for an ambulance
and police show up as well.
Obviously, if somebody gets stabbed,
the cops are gonna go, so that doesn't mean you're a snitch.
The cops got there because
you had to call the ambulance and there was a crime committed.
[camera shutter clicking]
[narrator] Photos reveal the gruesome extent of Raul's wounds.
Those wounds were pretty deep.
What the hell did he do that for?
[narrator] Alex is taken into custody.
Officer, please, wait.
What are we supposed to do? He, he familia!
We need him!
Would you like to press charges?
Na. No way.
Raul, um, did not desire prosecution on that incident.
We know it was a physical altercation.
Are you sure?
Don't take him away, please!
Yeah, I'm sure.
He told the officers,
"You know, you can do what you want
but we don't snitch, we don't rat.
I'm not doing anything like that."
[narrator] Despite Raul's compassion in not pressing charges against Alex,
this is where their feud really begins.
You snitched on me, man!
"You're a snitch because the cops came."
"You're a little bitch because you called 911."
What?
I think that really got up underneath his skin.
You're a snitch!
[dramatic music playing]
Don't you ever... [yelling] ever call me that again!
You can't really call nobody a snitch.
Those are strong words.
Those are really strong words
and Alex knows that those are strong words.
You got that? Huh?
Don't you ever call me that again!
Get back inside, fat boy!
Alex spit at Raul
and Raul spit back at him.
Go find something to do with yourself, loser.
Raul finally had enough and just yelled at him to go back to his house
and leave him alone, to stop bothering them.
[Michael] And then, Raul's like,
"[bleep] you. Go get a girlfriend."
[narrator] Any hope of salvaging the friendship is gone.
These two hotheads are preparing for war.
Oh, yeah, friendship was real dead. Oh, man.
Alex didn't even want him talking to him anymore.
[narrator] Alex is becoming increasingly wary of Raul.
He just let it be known to Raul that
"I know you took things from me.
I know it was you that stole this."
To let Raul know that he's watching him.
[narrator] And Raul doesn't trust Alex, either.
You can't live in your home knowing that somebody already came in to your garage
and just stabbed you.
[narrator] But they still have to live side-by-side.
We think that, you know, it was a challenge for both of them
to reside next to each other, for sure.
[Monica] You can't force Raul's family to move, right?
And Raul's family can't force Alex's family to move.
Alex wanted to go about his normal, daily life.
Take care of his parents and brother.
[doorbell rings]
I'll get it.
[narrator] Their boys may not get along
but the parents make an effort to stay neighborly.
I made some churros.
Oh, thank you.
My mom would still send them food,
give them leftovers.
[Alex] Who is it?
I better go.
[Leticia] My parents are good people
and I don't think they should take it out
on his family or his parents.
Raul and Alex had already had their issues.
It's not the families' fault.
[narrator] But the sons just can't let it go.
In fact, Alex fears retaliation from Raul.
[Michael] I feel Alex started thinking that
Raul's plotting to maybe do something to him
or, uh, I mean, I don't know.
He was just paranoid. Pretty much paranoia.
[narrator] Raul feels like he can't escape Alex's watchful eyes.
Raul would say he felt like he was constantly being watched.
[pensive music playing]
He said, "I don't know how he knows.
But every time I'm here or outside, there he is."
Do you have a problem, man? Huh?
[Patricia] Those were his words.
"It's like this mother [bleep]'s stalking me."
Do you need something?
I think that was more so of Raul's paranoia, thinking that
Alex was watching his every move.
What do you want from me, man? Huh?
Alex did keep an eye on things but... he did not stalk Raul.
[narrator] Even Raul's girlfriend, Monica,
feels like she's caught in the middle.
-So... -Mm-hmm?
Are you gonna come inside?
With your parents home?
-I can control myself. -Well, you better.
-What the hell? -What?
Dude! What are you doing, man?
Why are you such a pervert?
It's really weird that, like, every time Raul's outside,
Alex was outside.
-Come on out here, man. -Raul.
Raul was verbal assaulting,
um, yelling and screaming towards Alex.
Come on out here. Let me put your freaking eyes out.
Raul! Baby, come on.
Alex? What's wrong? What's the matter?
It's okay, Mom. Go back to bed and check on my brother.
Let's go inside.
Such a freakin' weirdo!
[Patricia] And we would tell him, "No, don't do it! Don't do it.
Don't let him crawl under your skin that way."
I can't do this anymore.
Take it easy.
How long do I have to live like this?
As long as you have to. Do you understand?
And we'd say, "As long as he's your neighbor, and you live there,
that's how long you're gonna have to put up with it."
Hey! You creep!
What do I have to do? Beat the crap out of you?
-Leave me alone! -Raul!
I can't do this anymore!
-[narrator] As Raul's rage grows... -What does he want?
so does Alex's instinct to protect himself...
-Just go back to bed. -...and his family.
Don't worry, I got this.
He'd say, "Man, I can't leave my house,
I can't turn my back.
I gotta keep an eye on this dude."
Mom, please lower your voice.
-Go back inside and go check on him, please. -Okay.
[Nina] And Alex would tell us that
he was becoming more... vigilant.
He felt he was protecting his family.
[intense music playing]
[narrator] As far as Raul is concerned,
Alex's hyper-vigilance crosses the line.
Is that a freakin' camera?
-Yes. -[Michael] Alex put cameras up at his house.
Used the cameras for surveillance
to make sure he kind of knew where Raul was at
at all times around the property.
-That's it. -Hey, Raul, take it easy.
There was like five or six cameras.
And there was one angle that would've covered
-Raul's residence. -Hey!
You freakin' perv, what's wrong with you?
So, obviously, he was watching him.
Obviously, he was spying on him.
Why?
Are you gonna come out here?
I dare you, come on out here!
And he's like, you know, "Why does he need to see my house?"
Shove these cameras up your ass
before I come in there and shove them in there for you!
Alex told us he would see him on the cameras
and he would just be outside, just mad,
yelling and screaming towards Alex.
-Stop! -No! This is ridiculous! He can't--
You want him to call the cops?
Like, it's not worth it.
It's not worth it.
He'll call the cops. You'll have a confrontation with him.
And you're gonna end up losing.
You know what will happen if he calls the cops.
No, no, no, no! I'm not going back to prison!
-I'm not going back to prison. -Then watch out!
You're better than this.
-I can't take this anymore! -You better.
[narrator] It turns out Raul has a troubled past.
Good. Now go back to your house before you end up in jail.
[Raul on speaker] I'm not going back to prison!
[Monica] Raul had his um, demons, definitely.
He, uh, you know, struggled when he was younger.
-[dramatic music playing] -He ended up getting arrested a couple of times.
His criminal history consisted of past incidents.
Arrest with drug-related offences.
But he had been working. He had been trying to clean up his life.
[Monica] He was done with that kind of lifestyle.
He was going to change it and he never looked back.
[narrator] Now, Alex is even more worried about his neighbor.
But he may also have more leverage.
Got you.
Well, what's gonna happen next?
-[dramatic music playing] -[siren wails]
As far as, uh, law enforcement's concerned,
and the courts are concerned,
it's gonna be very hard to restrict
people's limitations and their rights
-when they're neighbors like this. -[siren wails]
Our hands are tied. There's not much we can do.
[narrator] There is tension festering
under the searing California desert sun.
And that's when, uh, it all went bad.
[narrator] More people are moving into the neighborhood
seeking peace and quiet.
What they find are battle cries.
It just wasn't the calm, quiet neighborhood that people were hoping it would be.
[narrator] And it's getting worse by the minute.
Because of Raul's criminal history,
Alex believes living next to him poses a danger to his family.
Alex, his way, it just changed.
You know? His demeanor. Everything just changed.
He started acting different.
Kind of like painting a different picture of himself.
Yo, prison bitch.
You better lock your doors at night.
Who knows what this boy is gonna do.
-[trash bag thuds] -Watch it.
He started kind of throwing that in Raul's face
and trying to, like,
throw everything that, that he learned about Raul...
He robbed my place!
Better watch out for yours.
...also in front of other neighbors,
by, like, yelling it out and trying to degrade him.
Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!
[sarcastically] "I'm scared.
I got a record.
I gotta live with Mommy because I can't get a real job."
-All right, that's it! -[in normal voice] Yeah?
Alex would be like, "You just got outta jail.
You just a piece of [bleep]. Everybody say it, too."
You think you're tough now?
I think Alex was trying to egg him on.
Trying to get a reaction out of Raul.
There's only a certain amount of disrespect that a person can take.
Run away, tough guy. Run away.
[narrator] As far as Raul's family is concerned,
it seems like Alex is hell-bent on getting rid of Raul for good.
Because Raul did have a record,
he said, "I know this [bleep] just wants me to get in trouble.
You know, he wants me to go out there and just reciprocate
everything he's throwing at me
so that I could end up in jail."
Alex was not trying to get Raul back to jail.
He knew Raul would mess up his own life
and end up back in jail eventually.
-[narrator] Nonetheless... -[dramatic music playing]
the feud between these former friends
is constantly heating up.
Alex was poking the bear.
[pensive music playing]
Hey! You're blocking me in.
Man, shut up! I can't even do groceries without you jumpin' at me?
Alex was upset about where Raul parked the car.
Raul's vehicle was parked in that, uh, little median area
between the two properties.
Raul continually parked there.
All I was saying was move your car.
Man, I said shut up!
Get back inside your house, you sad lump.
Or what?
What are you gonna do?
[imitating Alex] "You're gonna do nothing. You ain't gonna do nothing.
See, you ain't gonna never do nothing.
I'm tired of you messing with me."
Move it! You're in the way.
Lay off me, man.
Or what? You think you're tough?
You think you can do whatever you want, huh?
-Punk! Snitch! -[dramatic music playing]
What's it like on the inside? Huh?
I mean, a person can only take so much, um, you know, bullying
or just trying to instigate something
until-- I mean, everybody has a point.
-Punk! -Screw off, man.
That's essentially enough to make somebody go crazy.
-You want it? -Are you nuts?
Get those inside... now.
Yeah. Do what you're told.
What is wrong with you?
Can't you leave us alone?
Ooh. Take it easy.
Listen to your sister if you know what's good for you.
You know, what am I gonna do, huh?
"Babe, I don't know what to do. He's doing this." And I'd be just be like,
"Let it go. Just don't bother with him."
Listen to me!
Hey! You keep away from me!
"If you react, you're gonna let him win.
You cannot let this guy win."
-Just stay away from me! -Raul! Calm down!
Not until he's out of my sight!
Raul could do something but they were gonna come with some severe consequences.
[intense music playing]
[narrator] However, Alex still feels he and his family are in danger.
Alex. Everything okay?
Yes, Mom. Everything's fine.
-How's Dad? -He's sleeping.
-Ma, if anything happens to me... -What?
He actually broke down and said, you know,
he don't know how far this is gonna go.
Alex looked at it that he wasn't gonna be the one to survive.
Never mind.
[Grades] Alex still kept his mind on his family.
He said the situation was just getting more out of control.
And Alex wanted to protect himself and his family.
[narrator] It turns out he's willing to go to great lengths to do so.
[dramatic music playing]
Alex purchased weapons from somebody off of the street.
That handgun was not registered to Alex.
It was a handgun that was reported stolen out of Texas...
-[gun cocking] -back in 2011.
And then the second gun
was a ArmaLite AR-15.
[Grades] And Alex was not gonna give up his life.
He gonna defend it.
[dramatic music playing]
-[gunshot] -[siren wails]
[siren wails]
I don't understand
how it went from being friends
to having that much anger towards somebody.
[narrator] The Carbajal and Aguayo families
find themselves victims of circumstance
between their sons' growing feud.
-[intense music playing] -So it just became a very intense,
hostile, um, environment.
But what can you do? You're living next to each other.
[narrator] Both families are afraid of what will happen next.
Alex was so angry that he had to buy a weapon.
You know? That's just not his style.
When you carry a weapon, you're not being a happy person.
You know? You lookin' to get into somethin'.
[narrator] Raul is increasingly losing his cool
and doesn't know when he'll reach his breaking point.
You almost wanna, like, compare it to, like, somebody being trapped in the corner.
That was his home. Where else are you gonna go?
[narrator] It all comes down to a head on the eve of Cinco de Mayo.
[Leticia] May 4, 2018.
I woke up and I had a very bad pain in my stomach.
And I kept telling my husband.
I just had a really bad feeling that day.
[intense music playing]
Oh, my God.
Hey, hey! Take it easy!
-What, you think I did this on purpose? -Cono.
Falta respeto, watch your tone.
You need to relax.
Mom was very concerned about her son's well-being, you know.
And I think that at that point, she probably even feared
-for his safety. -Right.
And I need to get to work. You behave.
Well, now I gotta take this off.
[narrator] Tension also fills the Aguayo house next door.
And Alex is like, "My whole life is changing right now
from good to bad."
Crap!
[clangs]
Sometimes, he'd get nervous. And then also, you'd see him get mad.
-Crap! -Crap.
I know he was worried about his brother.
Alex, watch your language in front of your brother.
What's wrong with you today?
I've got stuff to do.
Raul told my parents he was gonna wash his car.
It was May. It was hot.
So he just went and kind of put shorts on
and opened up the garage door.
[narrator] What happens next is caught on the Aguayos' security cameras.
[vacuum whirring]
[sinister instrumental music playing]
Alex is going back and forth.
And he's looking in the direction of Raul's residence.
Hey. What you doing?
Alex keeps coming out.
Keeps coming out of his house.
Calling him names. This is repetitive.
He's doing this for quite some time.
You steal that truck?
And Raul is just ignoring him, just washing his car
and just kind of ignoring him.
Where'd you steal it from?
And then he turns and Raul looks at him.
-And then he's just like... -Screw off, man.
...you know, whatever.
And he walks away.
You can see, like, that's happening
and he's just really trying to make him blow up.
Yeah, you're real tough, bud. Real tough.
Don't you have to eat, pig?
Your mom's cookin' up something. Just go little piggie.
Eh? [snorts]
Is that the best you can come up with?
Alex is trying to get some sort of reaction from Raul.
You know, obviously planning something.
At least I don't got a record.
Man, get the hell back inside your house
before I beat the crap out of you and everybody that gets in my way!
Alex just wouldn't let it go.
Couldn't make it on the street.
[dramatic music playing]
So you had to move in with Mommy and Daddy.
-You want it, eh? You want it? -[Alex] Come on, let's go.
He ignored him for a long time,
and then, finally, I guess Raul couldn't take it anymore.
-Go back to the gutter, you freakin' rat! -Shut your fat mouth!
Shut--
Raul pulls out that Shop-Vac hose
and he swings it at Alex.
And Alex simultaneously grabs the Shop-Vac hose
with his left hand,
pulls out a handgun
-and starts to discharge the firearm. -[gunshots]
Alex grabbed his weapon and then just shot Raul.
[gunshots]
And then the guy jumps the fence.
And he's still shooting.
[siren wailing]
You can see Raul run into the garage.
[gunshot]
And Alex goes in behind him.
[gunshots echoing]
That's where he emptied his clip.
[gunshot echoing]
Alex discharged the entire firearm.
[sinister instrumental music playing]
Alex kind of had, like, a, like a, "Oh, [bleep]!" reaction.
Like, "What did I just do?"
Hey! What's going on, man?
What the hell-- What's going on?
[Leticia] My dad heard the shots.
He was following Alex and, like,
with his hands up, like, "What did you do? What did you do?"
Alex ran back inside of his truck.
And he drove off.
But by this time, my dad hadn't seen Raul.
Hijo! Hijo!
That's when we received the 911 call.
[siren wailing]
[narrator] As paramedics and police race to the scene...
Alex races away.
I couldn't have imagined that. It wasn't something that's in him.
Alex, he's... the most kindest person on the planet.
[sinister instrumental music playing]
And now he had just took somebody's life.
He is not... thinking.
His heart is racing.
So you got all this stuff going on in your head.
Why you trying to run for your life?
After you took somebody's life.
[dramatic music playing]
[officer] Where he's at? Right here?
[narrator] Police arrive at the homes...
-[officer] What happened? -[woman] I'm a nurse.
[narrator] ...along with a neighbor who is a nurse.
They attempt CPR on Raul.
I get a call at about 11:56.
And it's my husband.
And he says, "Hon, something happened to Raul."
Hijo! Hijo!
And, in the background,
I could hear the wails of a scream.
[wailing indistinctly]
[continues indistinctly]
Like, that sound is, like, etched in your brain forever.
[speaking Spanish indistinctly]
And he's just yelling...
"Mataron a mi hijo!"
Which translates to "They killed my son."
And he's just screaming.
[wailing indistinctly]
He's just screaming, and you can hear him tell Raul...
"No me dejes! No me dejes!" "Don't leave me. Don't leave me."
"Hang on, hang on. Don't leave me."
[siren wails]
Officers, I didn't mean to kill him!
-Don't move! -Responding deputies
stopped a vehicle
just blocks away from the neighborhood and the scene.
Stay there!
And detained the suspect of the incident at that point.
-I was just defending myself! -Don't move!
I was just defending my family!
He admits to being the shooter.
He starts to make spontaneous statements
that he only acted in self-defense.
Hands up!
He was detained, transported to the station...
[grunts and sobs]
We end up arresting him for the homicide.
[sobbing]
[narrator] As Alex is taken into custody,
the devastating news spreads to Raul's loved ones.
My mum was at work,
um, you know, when she got the phone call.
-She fainted. -[dramatic music playing]
I was just going about my day and I got a call.
I was like, "What happened?
Did something happen?" And he was like, "They got him."
[gulps] And I was like, "What do you mean?"
He's like, "They killed him."
[intense music playing]
[Leticia] And when I got there, my dad was sitting there.
And he wasn't crying. He wasn't, he was just...
You know? No emotion.
In shock, I guess.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] Alex maintains he had no choice but to fire on Raul...
contending his neighbor was armed.
I think as things escalated...
Alex did fear more for his parents.
-[gunshot] -[Grades] When that happens,
when somebody come around and it's you or them...
it's the only thing you gonna have in your mind.
To defend yourself.
[narrator] But the footage from Alex's own cameras
tells a different story.
[Sgt. Jason] We learned right away that there was video evidence
of Alex's residence that would've captured the scene.
One of his initial statements, what he said was self-defense.
Discharged the weapon at Raul.
-[gunshot] -Which, obviously, the video when we later got that,
that was not true.
[narrator] When the footage is played in court,
it seals Alex's fate.
-[gunshots] -It clearly shows he was the aggressor.
They played a lot of videos for us.
During the trial, they shared with us the, uh...
The first sheriff officer that arrived
had a cam.
-[woman speaking indistinctly] -[officer] Where's he at? Right here?
That's how we truly found out,
you know, what happened.
[gunshots]
The guy just kept... shooting.
I don't know who shoots somebody, like, 12 to 14 times.
I don't know. I don't, you know?
You don't even do that to, like, an animal.
He said he was scared for his life and stuff.
Na, that's all [bleep] you know.
-[gunshot] -Alex just wanted to get rid of Raul.
And I guess it just led to... to him having to shoot him.
-[camera shutter clicking] -[narrator] Alex Aguayo is found guilty
of the murder of Raul Carbajal.
[Sgt. Jason] Ultimately, after the jury trial,
he was convicted to, uh, serve 50 years in state prison.
And then, all of a sudden, you hear 50 years. That's sad.
It is, it is heart-breaking.
I don't feel that Alex got a fair trial.
[narrator] Yet, for Raul's family and friends,
it's not nearly enough.
Our lives will never be the same.
Our holidays are not the same.
My parents are not the same.
We lost a lot. All of us did.
Not only did we lose Raul physically,
but each one of us...
each one of us lost something.
[narrator] The new neighborhood is already marred with tragedy.
Alex's family moves away a few weeks after the murder.
As far as the victim's family and suspect's family,
I think they both lost a lot, you know.
Both sides, unfortunately, in this.
they lost a brother, a son.
So it's hard on both sides.
Everyone loses in these situations.
Might sound bad but sometimes, the best thing might just be for one of them to move.
[Leticia] Alex's family never came back.
They packed their stuff and left. Never saw them again.
My parents still live in the home that my brother was murdered in.
It was very hard at first.
The next day after the incident happened,
my mom, aunts and her sisters
and other family members had to clean up the blood.
-Thank you again. Thank you. -Of course. You're welcome, brother.
[Leticia] Alex was a good guy.
We would love to know what happened, you know?
I mean, for him to change so much. Why was he so angry?
Um... [sobbing] I just hope Raul knew that I loved him.
And I'll see him again someday.
We lost... the life, the life of the party.
His lovingness, everything.
You know, I think I feel at peace
knowing that Raul and I had such a special relationship.
And I think that gives me peace. That gives me comfort.
Next time on Fear Thy Neighbor...
Large tractors and trucks and heavy equipment
going right past his home.
Can't have this everyday-- not across my land.
My God, he got mad.
You think I'm going to let a bunch of rednecks
stand in my way? I will own you!
Fa! Fa! Fa! Almost foaming at the mouth.
Get off my property!
Sometimes you just piss off the wrong people.