A Fort Worth man, Jose Escamilla, is charged with murder after police say surveillance video shows him following and shooting a neighbor, Rudy Jaramillo.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A man is facing a murder charge after investigators say surveillance video captured him following his neighbor on a bicycle before shooting into the victim’s parked car.
Fort Worth police arrested 23-year-old Jose Alfonso Escamilla on Monday in connection with the death of 44-year-old Rudy Jaramillo, following a brief standoff in a neighborhood in northwest Fort Worth.
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Officers found Jaramillo dead the night of Aug. 9 in the driver’s seat of his car outside his home in the 5600 block of Talons Crest Circle.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit released Tuesday, surveillance video from nearby homes and Jaramillo’s spouse showed someone wearing dark clothing riding a bicycle behind Jaramillo’s car around 8:44 p.m. Investigators say the bicyclist then rode up to Jaramillo’s parked car, fired several shots and rode away.
Another video obtained by police showed the bicyclist returning to a Talons Crest home shortly after four gunshots were heard, the affidavit says. Police identified Escamilla as the only male resident at that home through police records and vehicle registration information.
When officers served a search warrant Monday, they brought Escamilla, his mother and his younger sister in for questioning. Escamilla’s mother told detectives he typically wears black clothing and owns several bicycles and firearms, according to the affidavit.
She also described ongoing tension with neighbors. She said Escamilla had called police a week or two earlier because he believed a neighbor was moving hidden surveillance cameras out of the bushes in front of his house. Escamilla also claimed that his neighbors suspected him or his family members of keying their vehicles, the affidavit states.
While police were questioning Escamilla, he told detectives he was unemployed, had not left the house in three days and had not recently ridden a bicycle. He also acknowledged owning an AR-15 rifle and a .357 revolver, according to the affidavit.
Detectives noted they did not find shell casings at the shooting scene, which they said is consistent with a revolver. When asked why surveillance video appeared to show him riding a bicycle near the time of the shooting, Escamilla invoked his Fifth Amendment right and ended the interview, the affidavit states.
Police also noted Escamilla was wearing black shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt during the interview, clothing investigators said matched the person seen in the surveillance footage.
Escamilla is being held in the Tarrant County Jail on a $250,000 bond.