Suspect accused of killing man in Arlington because of gang conflict, warrant says
A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting at a north Arlington apartment complex in late December 2020 that he carried out because the victim allegedly stole drugs and money from his street gang, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Associates of the gang were following the victim throughout the day of the incident, a witness told police, per the warrant.
Raymond Alexander Echols was arrested on April 20 on the charge of murder, police said in a statement this week. He’s accused of shooting 26-year-old Preston Blake Leungsak Mrugalski, also known as Blake, as he sat in a parked car, killing him, as well as shooting another passenger. That man, who was shot 12 times, survived but suffered serious injuries.
The shooting was reported around 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 22 in the 1500 block of Summer Bay Circle, in the parking lot of the Blakely Apartments. Witnesses reported seeing three men in masks running away from the scene, police said.
The warrant, however, only describes Echols as the shooter, though it notes witnesses could see other men fleeing as well. The warrant is redacted in places.
Officers responded to the apartments on the afternoon of Dec. 22 and found the two gunshot victims, one of whom had crawled out of the car, police said. Mrugalski was taken to Medical City Arlington, where he died hours later, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was shot four times.
The other victim — who suffered a broken femur, broken toes and broken heel bone — was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital to undergo surgery, the warrant states. Officer P. Williams, the police official who prepared the warrant, wrote that he went to the hospital to interview this man.
The man, whose name was redacted, told him Mrugalski and his girlfriend were arguing before the shooting and he went outside to sit in the driver’s seat of his car. A few minutes later, the man said, Mrugalski sat down in the passenger’s seat.
He then saw a “big black dude” approach the car from the right and begin firing, the warrant states. He threw himself in front of Mrugalski, trying to shield him with his body.
He told police the shooting was a result of Mrugalski stealing money and marijuana from a drug house belonging to the “GDE” gang, and that Mrugalski believed he was being followed throughout the day.
On Dec. 23, police received a tip from Crime Stoppers that the shooter was Echols, and the tipster provided the suspect’s phone number, the warrant states. The department received warrants for his phone records, which allowed detectives to see that on the day of the crime Echols was near the apartments. About 20 minutes after the shooting, records showed, he was out of the area.
Police had a breakthrough on April 14 when an associate of Echols contacted Williams and told him Mrugalski had stolen money and drugs from the 22-year-old. Echols and associates from the “GD,” or Gangster Disciples, street gang began following Mrugalski early in the day, the witness said.
Echols shot Mrugalski as soon as he was outside of the presence of children, the witness told Williams.
The arrest warrant was signed on April 20.
Echols wasn’t in jail on Friday, according to jail records.
