Murder suspect accused of hitting 24-year-old Arlington man with hammer then shooting him
A suspect has been arrested and faces a murder charge in the death of a 24-year-old man who was shot and hit in the head with a hammer during a fight with a group of people, Arlington police said in a news release Thursday.
Late Friday evening, Sept. 22, Arlington police responded to the 1800 block of East Mitchell Street and Browning Drive to investigate a reported shooting.
When officers arrived, they found Jose Benjamin Mancera Juarez lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds. Mancera Juarez was taken to a hospital, where he died Sept. 23, medical personnel informed police.
Homicide detectives identified the suspect as 18-year-old Oscar Gavia and obtained a warrant for his arrest on one count of murder.
The arrest warrant affidavit says Mancera Juarez, who lived on East Mitchell Street, did not get along with neighbors due to a romantic relationship he had with a resident.
One the day of the shooting, Gavia — one of Mancera Juarez’ neighbors — arrived at the victim’s home and the two got into a fight in the front yard of the residence, according to the affidavit. Gavia then left the scene.
About five to 10 minutes later, Gavia returned in his vehicle, along with three other vehicles which were occupied by five to seven people, the affidavit says.
Gavia, Mancera Juarez, and the people from the other three vehicles got into a fight, police said. During the fight, Mancera Juarez was “possibly struck in the head with a hammer” and he was shot, according to the affidavit.
Gavia and the other people involved in the fight fled the scene in their respective vehicles.
In an interview with police, a witness said Gavia and Mancera Juarez got into a fight after Gavia threatened to kill the victim. The witness told police that when Gavia returned with the other people, he hit Mancera Juarez twice in the back of the head and in the area of his neck with a hammer and fired his gun in the direction of the victim and the witness.
The witness identified six people they recognized from the scene of the shooting, according to the affidavit.
The U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force located Gavia on Tuesday in Arlington and took him into custody without incident.
Gavia was booked into the Arlington City Jail and was transferred to the Tarrant County Jail with bond set at $100,000.
Detectives are continuing the investigation as other people were present at the time of Mancera Juarez’s slaying, police said in the release.
Mancera Juarez’s family has started a GoFundMe to raise money to send his body to Mexico, where his mother lives, according to the website.
