Fort Worth police make first homicide arrest of the year in New Year’s Day case
Fort Worth police have arrested a suspect accused of shooting a man who confronted him as the suspect burglarized a vehicle on New Year’s Day, officials said Friday.
Officials identified the suspect as 33-year-old Kenyan Deon Buchanan, according to a police statement.
Buchanan faces a capital murder charge for allegedly shooting 71-year-old Roger Smith outside a Fort Worth bingo hall on Crowley Road early Jan. 1, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
A witness told police that Smith was shot as he confronted a suspect who was in the act of burglarizing Smith’s truck, police said.
Other witnesses later told police they saw Buchanan going through Smith’s pockets after shooting him, and that Buchanan and a passenger fled the scene in a white SUV, according to the affidavit.
The vehicle was identified through security footage as a white 2020 Mazda, police said.
The Mazda was seen entering and leaving the parking lot of the bingo hall and traveling north toward Saginaw after the homicide, according to the affidavit.
Police stopped the Mazda on Alta Mesa Boulevard on Friday morning for a traffic violation, at which point Buchanan was identified as the driver, according to the affidavit.
The passenger was also identified, and told police she witnessed Buchanan shoot Smith and return to the vehicle with a wallet and cell phone matching a description from Smith’s family, police said.
Buchanan took the passenger and Smith’s property to Buchanan’s parents’ house in Saginaw after the shooting, according to the affidavit.
The passenger told police she and Buchanan found out the man died from the news media, and Buchanan said he felt bad, according to the affidavit.
Buchanan was booked Friday afternoon into the Tarrant County Jail, where he is being held on $500,000 bond.
This story was originally published January 3, 2025 at 6:13 PM.
