Suspect confesses to killing 19-year-old friend in Arlington, turns himself in
A murder suspect who shot and killed a teenager and drove off with the victim’s car earlier this month confessed and turned himself in, Arlington police said Monday.
The suspect, 24-year-old Jahlen Owen, went to the Ott Cribbs Public Safety Center on Sunday to speak with detectives about the murder case, police said in a news release.
During an interview with the detectives, Owen confessed to the shooting and provided multiple corroborating details, police said Detectives then obtained an arrest warrant and took him into custody.
Witnesses say shooter drove off in victim’s car
Officers responded to an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Castle Gardens Drive about 11 p.m. on June 2 to investigate reports of shots fired. The officers found 19-year-old Desmond McKay lying unresponsive in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
McKay was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told officers that McKay and another person arrived at the apartment complex in a 2016 Chrysler 200. McKay got out, and the other person reportedly tried to drive away in his car, police said.
McKay ran back toward the car and tried to prevent the driver from leaving, witnesses told police. During the struggle, multiple shots were fired.
Witnesses reported that the shooter left the scene in McKay’s car immediately following the shooting.
The Chrysler 200 that belonged to McKay was found the next day, on June 3, at a location in Dallas, which detectives later learned was across the street from Owen’s home, police said.
After speaking with several witnesses and others who knew McKay, detectives learned that the night of the shooting, McKay told multiple people he was hanging out with a friend from welding school. After further investigation, detectives identified that friend as Owen, police said.
Detectives determined McKay and Owen went to the apartments on Castle Gardens Drive in McKay’s car to pick up another friend who lived there. The shooting occurred before they made it to the friend’s apartment, police said.
Owen has been transferred to the Tarrant County Jail. He faces a capital murder charge with bond set at $1 million, according to jail records.
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 3:42 PM.