FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — A person of interest was arrested as Fort Pierce police continue to untangle the deadly shooting at a Fort Pierce gold shop.
The Fort Pierce Police Department announced on Thursday that 22-year-old Tylen Ryan of Vero Beach was arrested on May 5 by the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Indian River County. Ryan is charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the April 29 homicide at Cash Out Gold & Silver, located at 4603 S. U.S. Highway 1. He is currently being held at the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Jail, and police say additional charges are pending as the investigation remains active.
Police say Tylen Ryan, 22, of Vero Beach, has been arrested as a person of interest in the fatal April 29 shooting of a Cash Out Gold & Silver store manager in Fort Pierce. (IRC Jail)
The shooting happened on the night of April 29, on South U.S. 1, near the Cash Out Gold & Silver shop and a Mercedes-Benz dealership. Officers said they were called to the area around 7:15 p.m. and found an adult victim suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
FILE – One person is dead after a Tuesday night shooting along South U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce. (WPEC)
Police later identified the victim as 35-year-old Lazaro Rodriguez Vega, the store’s manager. Investigators believe the shooting took place sometime between 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and confirmed that surveillance video from inside the business captured the killing. Authorities have said a second person was inside the store at the time but was not injured.
Earlier in the investigation, detectives arrested 20-year-old Landen Julian Ballard, charging him with first-degree premeditated murder, tampering with evidence, and violation of probation. Police said Ballard and the victim did not know each other.
FILE – The suspect was identified as Landen Julian Ballard, 20. He is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. (SLC Jail)
Court documents paint a chilling picture of what led up to the shooting. Investigators say Ballard spent several minutes casually chatting with Vega before opening fire. Surveillance footage allegedly shows him firing multiple shots, including after the victim attempted to get away. A witness later told detectives that Ballard bragged about the shooting afterward, even asking if it was bad that he felt “no remorse.”
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That same witness helped investigators piece together Ballard’s movements after the shooting, including the recovery of a handgun believed to have been used in the killing near I-95. Ballard was eventually taken into custody at his mother’s home with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, according to FPPD.
Authorities have not detailed Ryan’s exact role in the case, but they confirmed he is considered a person of interest tied to the homicide and that detectives continue to follow up on multiple leads. Police stress that the case is still unfolding and that further arrests or charges are possible.
Anyone with information related to the shooting is encouraged to contact the Fort Pierce Police Department at 772-462-6800 or submit an anonymous tip through Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at www.tcwatch.org.