A violent killing at a family-run restaurant in Gentry, Arkansas ended the life of 45-year-old Fidel Mercado Reyes on the morning of November 10, 2021. Reyes was working in the La Huerta kitchen when a new employee, who had started the day before, shot him in the back of the head. Co-workers were left shocked by the sudden attack.

The shooter was identified as 21-year-old Martin E. Tavarez-Torres, the restaurant owner’s nephew. He fled in a dark gray pickup truck but was arrested later that day at a relative’s home in Fayetteville. Family members told investigators they believe the motive was tied to a large slot-machine win Reyes reportedly had the previous night, variously estimated between $20,000 and $200,000, and said Tavarez-Torres had been with Reyes and helped him obtain a passport and make plans to cash the ticket. Reyes was the father of twin boys.

Does anyone have information about Reyes’s activities the night before or about Tavarez-Torres’s movements leading up to the shooting?