Jesus Rodriguez

Jesus Rodriguez was a 19-year-old Hispanic man who was with his friend, Manuel Guzman, also 19, on the evening of July 18, 2023. The two were socializing and smoking marijuana at a residence in the 2800 block of Lulu Street in Fort Worth, Texas.

According to witness interviews conducted by police, Guzman was looking for someone to buy his surplus supply of marijuana. He found a prospective buyer in 18-year-old Labertrand Bell, who arrived at the Lulu Street house in a silver SUV with at least two other people. Bell went into the house to look at the marijuana, then went back outside, telling the others he needed to get money from the vehicle.

When Bell came back inside, he tried to rob Guzman of the marijuana. A gunfight broke out between Bell and Guzman. In the exchange of gunfire, both Jesus Rodriguez and Manuel Guzman were fatally shot.

Fort Worth Police Department detectives investigated the double homicide, and based on witness interviews, they identified Bell as the suspect. On August 13, 2023, authorities arrested Bell and charged him with capital murder of multiple persons. At the time of his arrest, police noted that Bell was also a suspect in a separate homicide that took place in Forest Hill, Texas, on August 7. Labertrand Bell later pleaded guilty to the murders of Rodriguez and Guzman and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison.