Man rode bicycle to kill Fort Worth before SWAT standoff, affidavit reveals
Fort Worth man accused of murdering neighbor
A Fort Worth man was arrested for murder follow a SWAT standoff. Jose Escamillo is accused of riding up on a bicycle, shooting, and killing his neighbor outside of the neighbor's home.
FORT WORTH, Texas - A 23-year-old man was charged with murder after video footage captured him trailing a neighbor on a bicycle and shooting him multiple times in his parked car, leading to an hours-long SWAT standoff, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released Tuesday.
Man charged with murder in Fort Worth shooting
Jose Escamilla, 23 (Source: Tarrant County Jail)
Timeline:
Jose Alfonso Escamilla was arrested Monday and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 44-year-old Rudy Jaramillo.
Fort Worth police found Jaramillo dead on Sunday night in the driver's seat of his vehicle, which was parked in front of his home in the 5600 block of Talons Crest Circle.
According to the arrest affidavit, home surveillance footage from neighbors and Jaramillo's spouse showed a suspect wearing dark clothing riding a bicycle behind Jaramillo's car at approximately 8:44 p.m. The suspect then rode up to the parked vehicle and fired several shots into it before riding away. Another video captured the bicyclist returning to a home on Talons Crest Circle shortly after four gunshots rang out.
Fatal Northwest Fort Worth shooting leads to standoff with barricaded suspect
Fort Worth police are investigating a fatal shooting on Talons Crest Circle that left one man dead inside a vehicle and led to an active standoff with a barricaded suspect.
Police identified Escamilla as the only male resident living at the home based on police records and vehicle registration.
When police executed a search warrant on Monday, Escamilla, his mother, and his younger sister were taken in for questioning. His mother told detectives that Escamilla wears only black clothing and owns several bicycles and firearms. She also noted ongoing tension with neighbors, stating Escamilla had called the police a week or two earlier, suspecting a neighbor of moving hidden surveillance cameras in their front bushes.
During police interrogation, Escamilla claimed he was unemployed and had not left the home in three days or ridden a bicycle recently. He acknowledged owning an AR-15 rifle and a .357 revolver. Detectives noted no shell casings were recovered from the murder scene, which is consistent with the use of a revolver.
When investigators asked Escamilla why video surveillance showed him riding a bicycle around the time of the killing, Escamilla invoked his Fifth Amendment right and ended the interview.
Police noted that Escamilla was wearing black shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt during the interview, matching the apparel worn by the suspect on the surveillance video.
Escamilla is currently held in Tarrant County custody with a $250,000 bond and is facing murder charges.
Victim's widow questions motive
Dig deeper:
Photographs shared with FOX 4 showed Escamilla outside his home with an AR-15 rifle and adjusting multiple cameras on his property.
The victim's widow, Casandra Jaramillo, said although other neighbors had called police about him multiple times, neither she nor her husband had a dispute with him.
"No arguments, he just points cameras to people's yards. He does that to all the neighbors. He's had arguments with all the neighbors. There was no argument. There was nothing. We didn't even say hello, goodbye or look at the guy the other day," she said.
Casandra Jaramillo said her husband was simply parking her car in the garage when Escamilla allegedly shot and killed him.
"Absolutely no warning. There was nothing. He rode his bike up to my husband’s door and shot him," she said.
What we don't know:
Investigators are still working to figure out what prompted the suspect to shoot his neighbor.
The Source: Information in this article is from the arrest affidavit for Escamilla, an interview with the victim's widow, and previous reporting.