Suspects in case of burned body in alley among 4 people arrested in Fort Worth killings
Fort Worth police homicide detectives on Tuesday arrested suspects in three separate killings in the city, including the case of a man whose burned body was found last month in an alley.
Jesus Hernandez, 22, and George Vasquez, 18, were booked on suspicion of capital murder in connection with the slaying of Za Htoo, who was found dead on Oct. 10 in the 1100 block of West Felix Street. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the cause of the 23-year-old man’s death.
Htoo’s body was next to a fence, lying face-down, and wore shorts and a shirt, according to a woman who said she called authorities after a relative discovered Htoo’s body.
Htoo was one of two men whose burned bodies were discovered within about 90 minutes. About three miles separate the killing scenes. Snay Gay, 26, died along railroad tracks in Echo Lake Park in south Fort Worth, police have said. He was stabbed in his chest, abdomen and neck and was found on fire.
Police have not said whether they believe the same assailant or assailants killed Htoo and Gay, and they have not announced an arrest in Gay’s death.
Also Tuesday, police arrested Areuna Jennings, 18, on suspicion of murder in an August killing.
Detectives connected Jennings to the homicide of Jacari Simmons, 14. A World Languages Institute student, Simmons and his brother were in their living room on Aug. 20 when an assailant drove by and fired into their house in the 3200 block of New York Avenue, police said. Both were shot, and Jacari Simmons died the next day at a hospital.
In the final case in which detectives made an arrest Tuesday, Darwin Green was booked on suspicion of capital murder in connection with the killing of Joshua Leyva, who was shot in an attempted robbery.
Green, 27, was an accomplice in the case, police alleged. Leyva, 32, was shot on Nov. 1 and died on Friday. He was fired upon in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 2200 block of East Berry Street.
The other suspect in the case, Travon Davis, 18, has not been arrested. Police have said he is wanted in connection with a series of robberies.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 6:28 PM.
