Fort Worth man killed in fight ‘was trying to defend himself,’ sister says
Four years ago, Jimmy Alexander Rodriguez was accused of putting a knife to Jesse Aleman Renderos’ neck during a verbal confrontation at a Hurst apartment.
Renderos managed to knock the knife out of Rodriguez’s hand, and proceeded to beat him up because of that threat and allegations that Rodriguez had physically abused his girlfriend who was Renderos’ niece, a family member said Friday.
Three months after the knife incident, Renderos was sitting in a parked car at a Hurst apartment complex when Rodriguez sneaked up behind him and placed a handgun to Renderos’ head and fired, according to Renderos’ sister. But it was an empty handgun, Claudia Aleman Aleman Renderos said on Friday.
“He told my brother, ’How does that feel, you s.o.b’,” Claudia Renderos said in a telephone interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Rodriguez was not arrested or charged in connection with any of those allegations, according to court records.
The family feud ended on July 25 at a Hurst apartment.
During a struggle between the two, Rodriguez is accused of shooting Jesse Renderos in the stomach, killing the 34-year-old Fort Worth man, police say.
Rodriguez fled the scene and barricaded himself along with three children in his Hurst apartment, authorities said. He eventually allowed the children to leave his apartment and surrendered to authorities.
Rodriguez was charged with murder on Thursday, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
The 23-year-old was in the Tarrant County Jail on Friday in lieu of $150,000 bond.
Rodriguez and Renderos’ niece were in a relationship for years, having two young daughters, family members said.
They lived in a Hurst apartment near Rodriguez’s stepmother.
Through the years, Claudia Renderos said she saw bruises on her niece.
“My brother told him to stop hitting her,” Claudia Renderos said. “That’s what started that fight years ago. Jimmy never forgot about that beating.”
On the night of July 25, Jesse Renderos drove his mother to visit Rodriguez’s stepmother at the Hurst apartment complex, a visit made on a regular basis each month.
Several people were inside of Rodriguez’s stepmother’s apartment, but Jesse Renderos told his mother he was going to visit a friend who lived nearby because the Renderos family had once lived in the complex.
“A short time later, Jesse came back to the apartment and told Mom they had to leave,” Claudia Renderos said. “She told him just a minute. He left but came back again and said, ‘Please, let’s go’.”
Jesse Renderos was standing in the apartment doorway when Rodriguez appeared and put the Fort Worth man in a bear hug, the sister said.
“The two fell to the floor,” Claudia Renderos said, as Renderos’ mother yelled that Rodriguez had a gun. “There was a struggle. Jimmy fired twice, but he missed my brother. He finally got a third shot off and it hit my brother.”
Hurst police responded to the shooting call about 9 p.m. on July 25 in the 600 block of Bellaire Drive in Hurst at the Whispering Run Apartments.
Rodriguez reportedly fled the apartment and ran to his Hurst apartment where his two daughters and a 10-year-old step-son were inside.
Rodriguez barricaded himself in the apartment for some time before he released the children and later surrendered, authorities said.
“My brother was just trying to defend himself,” Claudia Renderos said.
Because of COVID-19, the funeral for Jesse Aleman Renderos was Saturday in Colleyville at the home of a family friend of the Renderos family.
Jim’s Funeral Home in Hurst is assisting in the funeral service. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hurst also has assisted the family.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 2:44 PM.
