Fort Worth man accused in murder that occurred days after his release from jail
.jpg "Robert Rico of Fort Worth is accused of shooting to death a man on Nov. 1 just two days after being released from the Tarrant County Jail.")
A man who was ordered to undergo an examination for mental illness but was released from jail before it was done is accused in the killing of a 23-year-old man two days later, according to Tarrant County court and jail records.
Robert Santos Rico, 20, was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on Oct. 28, accused of delivery/manufacturing of methamphetamine, theft of property and evading arrest. Rico was accused of stealing a patrol officer’s vehicle when he tried to escape detention, court records show.
An order was issued Oct. 30 for MHMR of Tarrant County to collect information on Rico to see if he had a mental illness or intellectual disability, according to court records.
But before that evaluation was done, Rico was released from jail Oct. 30, according to jail records. Officials with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment Monday on his release.
Rico then became a suspect in a Nov. 1 killing in the 1300 block of East Butler St.
On that day, Diego Median Martinez, 23, died at a Fort Worth hospital after being shot, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. He was pronounced dead at 11:19 p.m. and died from a shotgun wound to his abdomen. His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office.
Rico, who was booked into jail on Thanksgiving Day, faces a charge of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
Police have released few details about Rico’s arrest, citing an ongoing investigation, but said it stems from an incident earlier in November.
A police spokesman said detectives have asked them not to release any more information about the investigation for the next several days.
Rico remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Monday in lieu of $85,000 bail.
He has a brief criminal history in Tarrant County. In 2016, Rico was sentenced to two years in prison for evading arrest in Fort Worth, according to court records. He received 180 days in jail this year for a drug possession charge.
This story was originally published November 26, 2018 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Fort Worth man accused in murder that occurred days after his release from jail."