VIDEO: Arlington triple homicide suspect livestreamed after beating prison cellmate in 2021
The man who Arlington police say killed three people at an apartment complex in January used a cell phone while in a Texas prison to livestream himself on social media after beating up a cellmate in March of 2021, video obtained by Star-Telegram news partner WFAA-TV shows.
It is a third-degree felony to have a cell phone in a prison in Texas, which carries a punishment of two to 10 years. Although prison officials said they confiscated the cell phone, Reed did not have any time added to his sentence and he was released in December 2023.
Larry Reed, 29, was serving an 11-year sentence for a 2012 murder when he allegedly livestreamed the video. Now, less than two months after he was released, he’s facing capital murder charges because police said he shot one victim, 31-year-old Dreyon Glenn, and then just kept shooting, killing two other people at an Arlington apartment in January.
The video obtained by WFAA shows Reed standing over his cellmate, who is on the ground apparently in pain as Reed gloats. The circumstances of the beating aren’t known but WFAA reported it is clear that the video was being streamed on Facebook from a prison cell. Reed picks up the phone and his face is seen for a moment before the stream ends.
It’s unknown how Reed got the phone. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not immediately respond to a Star-Telegram request for information.
Paula Johnson, the mother of Shannen Oshay Jones, who was killed in the January Arlington shooting, told the Star-Telegram she saw the video and told police about it. Some children in the neighborhood showed it to her after the shooting.
“I was disgusted,” Johnson said. “This was on Facebook and it clearly shows his face.”
She can’t understand how Reed was allowed out of prison after that video was shared online.
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A TDCJ official told WFAA that the agency did its own investigation after the fight and found Reed had a contraband cell phone in his possession. The investigation was handed over to the Office of the Inspector General, which prepares cases for the Special Prosecution Unit within the department.
A representative from the SPU told WFAA that it never received a case involving Reed while he was in prison, meaning the case was never opened by the Office of the Inspector General or it was never completed and passed along to prosecutors. Had the case been prosecuted, Reed’s release in December may have been delayed.
The triple homicide
Reed was arrested in Mississippi on Feb. 6 after he was found hiding in an attic near Greenville, according to Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Upchurch.
Arlington police spokesperson Sgt. Courtney White said detectives received a tip from a caller that pointed them in the direction of Reed, and further investigation connected him to the Jan. 25 shooting. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the tipster told police that Reed, also known as “Crip,” shot one of the victims, Glenn, in the leg over a disagreement and then continued to shoot everyone else in that apartment. Further details of that witness’ statement were redacted from the warrant released by police.
The motive for the killings is still under investigation but detectives believe that Reed knew Glenn, White said. He was the first victim to be shot, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Arlington police officers responded to the recent triple homicide at the Chatham Green Village apartment complex in the 3500 block of Chatham Green Lane the night of Jan. 25. They first found a 29-year-old man who had been shot outside an apartment. That victim, identified as Jones by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers entered the apartment to conduct an emergency sweep and found a 29-year-old woman also dead at the scene. The medical examiner identified her as Monique Elaine Smith, and said she died from a gunshot wound to the neck.
Glenn was also found inside the apartment. He was shot multiple times, according to the medical examiner. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
In 2014, Reed pleaded guilty to the June 2012 murder of 18-year-old Obeth Hernandez in a shooting outside a house party in the 1600 block of Geraldine Lane in Arlington, according to Tarrant County court records.
Investigators learned that two young men, including an 18-year-old, got into a fight at the 2012 party. Their friends got involved, and the altercation spilled into the front yard. The 18-year-old handed his gun to Reed, who fired multiple shots, according to police records.
Hernandez was fatally shot in the chest. A 21-year-old was wounded but survived. Reed and the 18-year-old were arrested and charged with murder, police records show. Reed, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, waived his right to a jury trial and was sentenced to 11 years.
