MIDLAND, Texas — A man has been charged with murder after an RV fire killed another person.
According to a Midland County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit, on Nov. 24 at about 11:30 a.m. an RV fire was called in.
Once there, officials found an unidentified man. Through the investigation, it was found that the RV belonged to someone who was possibly the person found deceased in the fire.
Learned from speaking to the family, another man the family had never seen before was with the person the day before.
On the day of the fire, the family noticed a vehicle, a 2022 Toyota Tacoma, was missing. The vehicle was a gift to the man and was still registered to them. They said at no point would the man allow anyone to use his vehicle. It was said the vehicle was last seen at the residence the day before. The vehicle was then reported stolen.
The deceased man was sent to Dallas County for an autopsy.
On Nov. 26 at about 4:15 a.m., the Tacoma was found abandoned on Cholla Road near the DK convenience store. MCSO then observed a vehicle nearby. Contact with the vehicle was made and a woman experiencing homelessness said she stayed in the area regularly.
She said on Nov. 24 that she saw the stolen vehicle and then a maroon passenger car parked at the recovery location. She said she never saw those vehicles in the area before. The vehicle was later processed where an iPhone was linked to the vehicle. The family said they didn't know this person that the iPhone was linked to.
When contacting the phone number, the connection was disconnected. A search of the phone was linked to 19-year-old Anthony Alexander Gomez of Indiana. It was learned that Gomez had pawned items at Cash America. When Cash America was contacted, they said Gomez was "a regular who was aggressive and rude." He was also never alone and was accompanied by another person.
On Nov. 29, a Medical Examiner said that the man who was killed in the RV fire had a fractured skull on his left side, where bleeding was found within. It was said the fracture was made possibly by a hammer or something similar. She also said that there was no soot in the lungs, indicating that the man was not breathing at the time of the fire. This confirmed to authorities that the death was a homicide.
A search was conducted at the place of Gomez's colleague's employment, which was shown to be about eight minutes from the DK location. Contact with him was attempted with no success. Contact was however made with the business manager, who said the subject drove a small beat-up passenger car, later identified as a black and maroon 2002 Mitsubishi.
Both vehicles were run through an investigation tool called Flock Safety that has a short- and long-range license plate reader (LPR). The following was found:
- Nov. 24:
- 6:23 p.m.: Tacoma hit LPR located at WCR 118 and SCR 1210.
- 6:45 p.m.: Mitsubishi hit LPR located at WCR 118 and SCR 1210.
- 7:00 p.m.: Tacoma hit LPR located at SCR 1223.5 and WCR 120.
- 7:08 p.m.: Mitsubishi hit LPR located at SCR 1223.5 and WCR 120.
- 7:10 p.m.: Mitsubishi hit LPR located at SCR 1220 and WCR 116.
The family was told of the Medical Examiner's information. Pictures of the property were then taken, and the contents of the RV was searched after permission from the family.
No hammer of any sort was found in the area. However, an open condom wrapper was found near the bed where the deceased was located.
The family then said they didn't know if the deceased man had any sexual relations with a girlfriend or any woman. When asked if it was possible if his sexual preference was males, the family initially said no, but then said they weren't sure.
The investigation continued, and the Flock locations were canvassed. Eventually, the Mitsubishi was located at a Mobile/RV park in Midland. Neighbors said that Gomez and his colleague lived in the RV park, but also had frequent contact with another RV park.
On Nov. 30, the Mitsubishi was retrieved thanks to a search warrant being obtained. The vehicle was taken to the Midland County Detention Center for processing. From the search, Gomez, the other man and a woman was found on documents and information from within.
After multiple attempts to call Gomez's colleague, he finally answered. He said he barely remembered anything from the night, but said Gomez came to their residence upset and highly intoxicated. Gomez told him that "they" tried to rape him, which the man didn't believe at the time due to Gomez appearing to be intoxicated.
On a separate day, Nov. 30, Gomez had called the man asking to be picked up. That same day the man had left the residence with Gomez still being there.
The colleague later arrived at Midland County Detention Center to help the investigation further. He said that Gomez lived with him but slept in an SUV that was on his property where his personal belongings would be located.
He said that Gomez had told him that the now deceased man attempted to get Gomez drunk and tried to rape him. Gomez retaliated by choking him until he was unconscious, striking him in the head afterwards.
After the interview, it was learned that Gomez was at the MCDC trying to turn himself in. Gomez said he knew the MCSO was looking for him and was told the reason they needed to speak with him.
He provided his full name, date of birth, and the area code "512" to his disconnected phone. He said he was from Indiana but had lived in Midland for about two to three months. He said he lived with his colleague but was not sure of the address.
Gomez said he wanted to speak with them but wanted his attorney present.
After being read his Miranda rights, Gomez was placed under arrest for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle warrant that was retrieved for him. He said he understood with no questions asked.
Gomez was charged with murder on Dec. 1 with a $1 million bond where he remains as of Tuesday, according to the Midland County Sheriff's Office detainee list.
We will continue to update you as we learn more.