‘It’s a relief,’ says father of slain Arlington store clerk after suspect’s arrest
Walter Hightower got the call he had been hoping for on Thursday morning, four days after the call no parent ever wants to receive.
A suspect was arrested, he was told, in the killing of his 31-year-old son, Jordan Hightower, who was shot multiple times early Sunday morning during a robbery at the south Arlington E-Z Mart where he worked as a clerk. Jordan’s stepfather-in-law, a retired Wichita Falls police officer, delivered the good news, having learned through his law enforcement contacts that Arlington detectives cracked the case overnight. The man was apparently picked up sometime around 6 a.m.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones took to social media a little before 1 p.m. to announce the arrest of Dorian Woodard, 18, saying it was “based upon citizen tips.” E-Z Mart had put out a $5,000 reward for information in the case and Oak Farms Dairy offered $10,000.
Jail records showed Woodard, who lives in Arlington, was booked into jail a little after 11 a.m. on a charge of capital murder. There was no bond set.
Walter was informed of his son’s death around 9 on Sunday morning as he waited to check out at the grocery store, when the same retired cop called to tell him Jordan had been shot dead hours earlier. He walked out of the store, numb with shock. He left his cart filled with food in line.
To learn on Thursday morning that Jordan’s suspected killer has been arrested was “a relief” to Walter, and reminded the devout Christian “of God’s perfect timing.” But he knows he has a long ways to go in his grieving.
“I’m still not feeling hatred, or even angry,” Walter said over the phone on Thursday morning. “Just looking for what God wants me to do with all of this.”
Jordan, a Mansfield native, leaves behind his father Walter and his stepmother, Danna Hightower, who became a part of his life when he was 15. His birth mother, Kerri Stidham, continued to have a relationship with him over the years, according to Walter, who had full custody.
Jordan is additionally survived by his wife, Kristin Reynolds; older brother, Zach Hightower; half-brother Weston Stidham; and step-sisters Michelle Cain Weed and Marti Cain-Weimar. He also has several nieces and nephews: Addison Hightower, Beckett Hightower and Charlotte Hightower; Braiden Weed, Landry Weed and Jackson Weed; and Dakota Weimar and Jaeci Weimar.
Zach welcomed his newest child, a baby girl, on Tuesday.
Investigation and arrest
Walter and Danna told the Star-Telegram during a telephone interview on Wednesday they know only what has been released to the public about the deadly robbery. They know the suspect, dressed in a red jacket and cap, didn’t give Jordan a chance to comply with demands before shooting him dead. They know security videos showed the man calmly rummaging through tobacco products to take with him.
An arrest warrant affidavit for Woodard, provided by police, indicates a person came forward with his name and stated Woodard had taken down his Instagram account after the homicide. Another person allegedly saw him show off the handgun before the shooting, according to the affidavit.
These two individuals, per the affidavit, spoke with detectives at the police station. The detectives learned Woodard had contacted one of them after the robbery and told him to look at a news article with a picture of him.
Police also received an anonymous tip from a person who heard through a third party that Woodard was telling people he shot the clerk and stole tobacco and snacks, the affidavit states. This person indicated Woodard’s father lived close to the EZ-Mart and detectives were able to determine the home was located 0.8 miles east.
Jones, the police chief, said in a news release on Thursday afternoon, “We owe a great deal of thanks to tipsters who provided crucial information in the case.”
Jordan’s family members, Walter and Danna said, have been getting by this week with the help of the supportive messages that have poured in over social media from Sunday through Thursday. Many of the messages, from friends of Jordan’s, contain stories of his kindness and his effortless sense of humor never heard before. Jordan had an ability, Danna said, to light up his face with a smile, and stop any arguments.
Walter described his son a “good-hearted kid with a lot of compassion” for the people in his life.
“Just the overwhelming outpouring of all of those friends and families and strangers just reassures me of what an impact he did have on those around him, and that he was loved,” Walter said. “A great young man.”
The couple emphasized it’s only their faith in God and their belief their son is in heaven that has helped them the most this week. They don’t feel consumed with feelings of anger or hatred, or a desire for revenge, they said.
They would like to see the person who killed their son brought to justice in the court of law and hopefully, one day, feel remorse.
“I mean, as a mom, yeah I’m angry,” Danna said. “But I’m saddened for this individual, that their life is run by evil. Because what he did was evil.”
Walter’s trying to figure out how to move forward, while mourning the son he lost.
“My immediate thought when I found this out Sunday morning was, ‘God, what do you want me to do with this?’” he said. “‘How do you want me to proceed with this?’”
‘The pain of losing Jordan’
The stories of Jordan that come to Walter’s mind are the times he couldn’t stop laughing, often when delighting in moments of harmless schadenfreude.
Once, Walter remembers, he and his son were playing H-O-R-S-E at the basketball hoop in their driveway. The ball went into the street and gained speed as it bounced away, and Walter went running after it. He wound up tripping over himself, “making a spectacle” in front of a car that had stopped, he said. He looked back to see Jordan rolling in the grass with a big smile on his face.
Another time, when Jordan was in a prank war with his brother and father, he decided to hide behind a corner to scare Walter as he carried a plate of chips. He jumped out and startled him, causing chips to fly everywhere.
“I sat there and laughed about it, cause he got me,” Walter said.
Jordan, he said, grew up in Mansfield with a love of life and a passion for sports. He loved Dirk Nowitzki, and even met him one time at the airport. He was a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan but, like most fans over the past 20 years, had grown frustrated about their shortcomings.
After graduating from Mansfield High School, Water said, Jordan got an associate’s degree from Tarrant County College. He worked in service industry jobs over the past decade, often as a waiter in fancy restaurants.
He struggled with depression and feelings of self-doubt as he got older, along with the lingering effects of coming from a broken home, Walter acknowledged. But, in recent years, he had gotten into a steady relationship with the woman he would marry and found some peace going to church with his parents.
Walter said he felt a slight fatherly concern about a month ago, when Jordan began his 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. job at the East Bardin Road E-Z Mart. He was mainly happy, though, about the work opportunity for his son.
He never imagined something like an armed robbery could happen.
Walter and Danna said the tributes and offers of assistance that continue to come in mean everything. Two GoFundMe pages have also been set up, including one Jordan’s brother started to raise money for a reward related to the investigation, and another Reynolds’ sister created to help pay for funeral expenses.
Walter told the Star-Telegram on Thursday morning he was preparing to meet with the funeral home staff to finalize arrangements for the funeral, set for this weekend.
As Walter faces a new test of his Christianity, he feels what God wants him to do is to come out of all this a man of deeper faith.
It’s a better feeling than anger, he said.
“The overriding feeling is that pain of losing Jordan,” Walter said. “But at the same time a peace and a comfort that we’re getting from our faith, and using this opportunity to demonstrate that.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 1:19 PM.
