Haltom City drive-by shooting that injured 4-year-old was over tax dispute, police say
The Feb. 16 drive-by shooting in Haltom City that left a 4-year-old girl injured was the result of a dispute over a tax form, police said in a search warrant for the phone of a suspect.
Police obtained a search warrant Tuesday for the phone of the suspect. Police previously said they believed Jesus Vela-Alferez, 46, of Fort Worth, was the gunman.
The father of the injured child and Vela-Alferez had a business relationship, police said, and investigators believe the shooting was in response to a business dispute.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Feb. 16, the Haltom City Police Department responded to the 3500 block of Eastridge Drive after receiving a call about gunfire in the area, police said in a news release.
When officers arrived, they found several vehicles and a house had been struck by bullets in a drive-by shooting. A child inside the residence was injured by the gunfire and transported to a local hospital, police said.
Police said in the search warrant that Vela-Alferez “had issues over a 1099 tax document” from when he was employed by the father of the girl who was injured. Police did not offer any other information as to what issues Vela-Alferez had or what dispute led up to the shooting.
Police said they wanted to search the phone for evidence linking Vela-Alferez.