Deputy Jorge Figueroa Charged with Shooting Man Having Affair with His Wife

HOUSTON

A Harris County sheriff's deputy was charged with shooting the man having an affair with his wife.

Deputy Jorge Figueroa, 39, is charged with shooting civilian jailer James Perez in the back. They both worked at the Harris County Jail in downtown Houston.

Officials said Perez was having an affair with Figueroa's wife and showed up at Figueroa's house in Needville on Saturday night.

Figueroa got into an argument with his wife and then into a physical fight with Perez before shooting him in the back as Perez walked out with Figueroa's wife, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.

"I don't know if she was just escorting him out to his vehicle or if she actually intended to leave the premises with him, but she was going out the door with him," said Chief Deputy Craig Brady with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said they do not know why Perez showed up at his mistress's home, knowing the husband was also in the house.

"It defies all reason to me as to why. I can't imagine what he was thinking going there at that time of night for that purpose, knowing that the husband was there," said Brady.

Investigators said Figueroa has known for a while that his wife was having an affair with Perez.

Figueroa and Perez are on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Perez was released from the hospital and is expected to be OK.

Figueroa does not have any disciplinary actions in his personnel file. He has worked for the department for seven years.

He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. If he's convicted, he faces punishment ranging from probation to life in prison.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com