Joangel Elias Ortegon was 20 when he was fatally shot on the evening of February 7, 2020, at a home at 1903 Trice Avenue in Waco, Texas. Known as JoJo, he was born August 2, 1999, in Waco, graduated from University High School in 2017, and worked at Conn’s Furniture. He had a trip to Hawaii planned with his girlfriend, Lahisa Lopez.

The shooting, which happened around 9 PM, wounded three other people — 30-year-old Douglas James, 22-year-old Kevin Wash, and 19-year-old Carson Elias — who suffered gunshot injuries to various parts of their bodies. Investigators described the incident as the aftermath of a failed robbery. Multiple firearms and a large quantity of marijuana were recovered at the scene.

Police charged 22-year-old Kevin Darnell Wash with capital murder in connection with Joangel’s death. A 19-year-old, Delviyonte Dequare Sampson, was arrested in a separate January 2020 killing of Tyler McKinney. Authorities say the case fits into a broader pattern of area violence and that a suspected drug operation may have been involved. Anyone with information about the shooting or Joangel’s death is asked to come forward.