Fort Worth man committed a second murder after cutting off GPS monitor: police
Accused by law enforcement authorities of murder, Daemon Ponce was released from jail for a third time as he awaited his case’s disposition. On this occasion, in May 2024, the reinstated bond was $70,000.
Ponce was charged in the March 2022 shooting death of John Reyes, 21, at a party in north Fort Worth.
On May 31, 2022, Ponce was arrested in the killing. He was released from custody on a $50,000 bond that was later twice held insufficient, including once because deputies alleged Ponce was in possession of two guns when they executed a warrant on a relative.
In May 2024, as Ponce’s case was pending, he was on 24-hour home confinement as a condition of his reinstated bond.
The Tarrant County Community Supervision and Corrections Department tracked Ponce’s adherence to the bond conditions. On Aug. 1, 2024, the agency was alerted when Ponce cut a GPS monitor from his ankle.
Ponce’s supervision officer spoke with the defendant’s girlfriend, according to agency records. She said she woke to the monitor beeping. Ponce was gone.
His girlfriend said that she believed he left about 11 a.m. and she had not been able to reach him. A bond violation warrant was filed that day.
The Fort Worth Police Department formally alleged last week that 103 days after he removed the monitor, Ponce committed a second murder.
On Oct. 12, 2024, a vehicle drove by MR Customs, a mechanic shop in the 1800 block of NE 33rd Street in north Fort Worth. Shots fired from the vehicle toward a group of people at the shop struck two men in their upper bodies. Jamarein Pevy, 19, died at a hospital. A 23-year-old man survived.
Suspect rearrested days after second killing
It is not clear precisely what efforts law enforcement authorities made to find Ponce and take him into custody after he cut off his GPS monitor.
The U.S. Marshals’ North Texas Fugitive Task Force was involved in the apprehension attempt, an agency spokesperson said. Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office deputies are on the task force and were also involved.
Ponce was taken into custody on the bond violation warrant on Oct. 18, 2024, six days after the shooting at the mechanic shop. He was booked on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in the killing of Pevy.
Nine days after the homicide, police arrested Jesus Benavides, 20, a co-defendant in the mechanic shop homicide. Benavides was indicted on murder and aggravated assault. The case is pending.
A reporter asked the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office about the specific efforts its fugitive warrants unit took to locate Ponce. A spokesperson referred the reporter to CSCD, the bond supervision agency, and the Fort Worth Police Department.
Sean Colston, the defense attorney appointed by the court to represent Ponce, declined to comment on the pending murder cases.
The police department has not made the arrest warrant affidavits in either homicide available for public review.
A hearing at which Ponce, who is 20, is to accept or decline a plea offer from the state is set for Sept. 5.
This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 7:32 PM.
