Man arrested, faces murder charge in 2021 Fort Worth shooting that killed 18-year-old
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An 18-year-old man has been arrested and faces a capital murder charge in the Nov. 1, 2021, shooting death of Joshua Balcazar in Fort Worth, according to police records.
Police arrested Jose Nevarez on Tuesday evening, according to jail records.
The Star-Telegram has requested a copy of the arrest warrant.
Balcazar, also 18, left a party after midnight Nov. 1 in the 3400 block of Wilbarger Avenue, driving in a black Dodge Charger. When Balcazar dropped off a friend in the 1700 block of Kachina Lodge Road, in north Fort Worth, he was shot, according to police.
He was found about 1:15 a.m. in his car and taken in critical condition to a hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds.
Information gathered from witnesses and surveillance footage suggested a black four-door sedan was driving near Balcazar’s car when he was shot. Police asked in December 2021 for anybody who was in the area around the time of the shooting or who was at the party to share information about what happened there as they continued looking for his killer.
Police did not immediately release more information on how they identified Nevarez as their suspect.
On Halloween night, Sarah Magana texted her son Josh as the hours passed and the teenager had not come home, she told the Star-Telegram in an interview last year. Her son didn’t go out often and was supposed to work at UPS in the morning.
Magana learned later that Josh told his friends he needed to be home around 1 a.m. or his mom would be mad. At 3 a.m., the doorbell rang. Magana and her husband opened it cautiously and saw three teenagers they did not recognize. The boys asked if Josh lived at the house. She said no at first, unsure what they wanted. Then one of the boys blurted out, “Josh is dead.”
For weeks, each time there was a knock at the door, Josh’s 2-year-old sister thought it might be her brother, finally coming home to run up and tickle her like he used to. “When she heard someone at the door for a while, she would think it was him,” Magana said. “She would say, ‘Josh? Josh?’”
“It’s a lot to be grieving and have other kids, too, and knowing they depend on you,” Magana said.
Star-Telegram staff writer Kaley Johnson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 2:35 PM.