Man who shot Fort Worth game room clerk with raised hands found guilty of capital murder
A jury in Tarrant County on Wednesday found a man guilty of capital murder in a 2021 south Fort Worth killing in which he shot to death a game room clerk during a robbery, according to the county’s district attorney’s office.
After the verdict at the trial in an auxiliary state district court, Justice Lee Gabriel sentenced Albert Gonzalez, 29, to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the statutorily prescribed punishment for capital murder when the state has waived the death penalty.
Gonzalez on March 4, 2021, pointed a gun at Mahmoud Ghanim at the 5D Smoke Shop and Game Room in the 3800 block of Altamesa Boulevard, according to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Ghanim raised his hands and tried to push the gun away. Gonzalez shot him in the torso.
Ghanim was 37 and lived in Arlington.
Gonzalez and Renay Moreno, who prosecutors allege was an accomplice, then robbed seven patrons inside the game room, according to the district attorney’s office. They searched Ghanim’s pockets for cash and took a bag of money from the game room.
Gonzalez and Moreno left and had accomplice Suzann Aleman drive them to a hotel, where the money was divided, according to the district attorney’s office.
Aleman testified at Gonzalez’s trial. Moreno did not testify.
Moreno and Aleman are under indictment on capital murder. Their cases have not been resolved.
Gonzalez did not testify. In May 2024 he rejected the district attorney’s office plea bargain offer of 60 years in prison.
Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Chase Payne and Tim Rodgers are prosecuting the case. Defense attorneys Steve Gordon and Erik Nichols were appointed to represent Gonzalez.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 2:40 PM.
