Houston Tenant Charged With Capital Murder in Killings of Two Apartment Complex Employees Inside West Houston Leasing Office
HOUSTON, TX — A Houston man has been charged with capital murder after two apartment complex employees were found shot to death inside a West Houston leasing office, according to charging documents.
Authorities say Derrick Duane Jackson, 48, was arrested Friday at 4:50 p.m. and is accused in the killings at the Park at Woodlake apartments. Police identified the victims as Felix Antonio Jimenez Macz and Rosa Linda Ybarra, both of whom worked in the apartment management office.
Charging documents say Jackson fatally shot Ybarra and fatally shot and stabbed Jimenez Macz. Police said Jackson was a tenant at the apartment complex.
Arrest and criminal charge against Derrick Duane Jackson
Jackson faces a capital murder charge in connection with the deaths, which places the case among the most serious homicide prosecutions under Texas law. The charging documents do not describe a possible motive, and Houston police have not publicly said what led to the attack.
Authorities have also not released additional details about how investigators linked Jackson to the scene beyond the allegations in the charging paperwork. For now, the case centers on the accusation that a resident of the complex entered the leasing office and killed two workers there.
As with any criminal case, the charge is an allegation, and Jackson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The victims worked in the apartment management office
Police said both victims were employees in the apartment management office at Park at Woodlake. The killings happened inside the leasing office, a space normally used for tenant business, rent questions and day-to-day property management.
Felix Antonio Jimenez Macz was among the two people found dead at the complex, and Rosa Linda Ybarra was the other. Family members had previously identified Ybarra in coverage of the case, and charging documents now identify both victims by name.
The fact that both people worked in the management office underscores that the attack was centered in a workplace setting rather than a random public area of the property.
What investigators say happened inside Park at Woodlake
According to the charging documents, Jimenez Macz was fatally shot and stabbed, while Ybarra was fatally shot. Those records do not say exactly where inside the office each victim was found or how the confrontation began.
Houston police said the two employees were discovered shot to death in the leasing office in West Houston. The location is part of the Park at Woodlake apartment community, where Jackson also lived as a tenant.
Investigators have not released a detailed timeline for the killings. The available information places the deaths before Jackson’s arrest Friday afternoon.
Why the case is being handled as capital murder
Capital murder charges in Texas are reserved for certain homicide cases, including some involving multiple victims. In this case, the allegation that two people were killed is the central reason the charge was filed, based on the information in the charging documents.
The filing indicates prosecutors believe the facts rise above a single-count homicide case. The charge does not, by itself, explain what relationship, if any, existed between Jackson and the two employees beyond the fact that he was a tenant at the same apartment complex.
No court outcome has been announced, and no additional hearing details were included in the information released with the arrest.
Questions that remain as the investigation moves forward
Police have not said whether the killings were captured on surveillance video, whether a weapon was recovered or whether anyone else may have witnessed the attack inside the leasing office. Those details could become important as the case moves through the justice system.
For now, the public record shows a tenant arrested hours after two apartment employees were found dead at the complex where they worked. The case is likely to focus on forensic evidence, witness statements and the circumstances that brought Jackson and the victims into contact in the office.
Houston police continue to handle the homicide investigation, while the criminal charge now shifts the matter toward court proceedings.
Questions that remain as the investigation moves forward
Police have not said whether the killings were captured on surveillance video, whether a weapon was recovered or whether anyone else may have witnessed the attack inside the leasing office. Those details could become important as the case moves through the justice system.
For now, the public record shows a tenant arrested hours after two apartment employees were found dead at the complex where they worked. The case is likely to focus on forensic evidence, witness statements and the circumstances that brought Jackson and the victims into contact in the office.
Houston police continue to handle the homicide investigation, while the criminal charge now shifts the matter toward court proceedings.