Grand jury to hear evidence on two deaths in Fort Worth

A Tarrant County grand jury will decide if charges are brought in connection with the recent unrelated deaths of two Fort Worth men, officials confirmed this week.

Fort Worth homicide Sgt. Joe Loughman said arrests were not immediately made in the cases because both involved suspects who may have been defending themselves or another.

A grand jury will be presented the cases to review to determine if charges should be sought.

The first case involved a scuffle Nov. 14 at the Home Plate Sports Bar, 3137 Alta Mere Drive in west Fort Worth.

Loughman said the 50-year-old suspect was having a verbal argument with a witness when the victim, Robert Puente, 65, grabbed hold of the suspect.

“The suspect shrugged him off. The victim grabbed the suspect a second time and the suspect turned and shoved the victim backwards,” Loughman said.

Puente struck his head on a table as he fell back, knocking him unconscious, a bartender told police, according to the police report.

He was pronounced dead a short time later at a Fort Worth hospital.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office has ruled Puente’s death a homicide caused by the head trauma.

In the second case, Rudolfo Carrillo, 46, died Nov. 25, four days after police say he was stabbed by the son of Carrillo’s girlfriend in the house they all shared in the 2000 block of May Street.

According to Loughman, the son, 28, intervened as his mother was being assaulted by Carrillo.

Carrillo then began assaulting the son with a metal object and the son, in turn, stabbed Carrillo at least one time, Loughman said.

Carrillo was pronounced dead at 8:22 p.m. on Nov. 25 at John Peter Smith Hospital. A cause and manner of death were still pending by the medical examiner’s office Thursday.

This story was originally published December 4, 2014 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Grand jury to hear evidence on two deaths in Fort Worth."