Suspect arrested in shooting death of 40-year-old Fort Worth man found in car
A 19-year-old faces a murder charge after allegedly killing his uncle in a targeted shooting gone wrong on Dec. 1, Fort Worth police said.
Derrick Sanders was booked into the Fort Worth City Jail on Dec. 20, according to jail records.
Officers responded to the Garden Gate Apartments at 6901 Beach St. around 3:15 p.m. Dec. 1. They found Christopher Dwight Sanders in the front passenger seat of a blue Dodge Charger with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. His cause and manner of death are pending.
Christopher Sanders was wearing orange gloves, according to police, and more orange gloves were found near the vehicle. When officers searched the apartment complex, they found a fired bullet casing near the trunk and a trail of bloody footprints that led them to clothes and a handgun. The Charger’s license plate was covered with a temporary tag.
Witnesses said they saw Christopher Sanders and the suspect leave together in a blue Dodge Charger around 2:30 p.m. Several other people were reported to be with them, according to police.
Investigators believe Derrick Sanders was riding in the back of the Charger. Surveillance video shows the Sanders’ vehicle following a Chrysler 300 that eventually headed north on Mark IV Parkway, police said.
According to Derrick Sanders’ arrest warrant affidavit, surveillance video also shows the Charger’s rear left passenger hang out the window and fire multiple shots at the Chrysler while both vehicles were in motion. The bullets can be seen hitting the roof of the blue Charger. Police said the bullets passed through the roof and struck Christopher Sanders.
Other occupants in the Charger told detectives that Christopher Sanders also fired a gun toward the Chrysler, according to the affidavit. Then they heard other gunshots and noticed that Christopher Sanders had been shot in the head.
Detectives interviewed Derrick Sanders on Dec. 5. He admitted he was in the vehicle when his uncle was shot, but answered, “I don’t remember,” to most of the questions, the affidavit states.
Police said they believe the shooting of the Chrysler was planned, due to the Charger’s license plate having been covered and the fact that its occupants were wearing orange gloves. The Charger’s occupants told investigators that Derrick Sanders was sitting on the rear left passenger side, where surveillance video shows the shots were fired from.
“The Chrysler 300 was occupied by one or more individuals,” Derrick Sanders’ arrest warrant affidavit states. “Shooting a firearm in the direction of one or more individuals is an act clearly dangerous to human life. As these gunshots are being fired the surveillance video shows hits to the roof of the blue Dodge Charger, these fired bullets passed through the roof and killed Christopher Sanders Sr.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 4:29 PM.
