ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF News) – Arlington police arrested one of the suspects in the murder of a mother who was selling her jewelry to buy Christmas gits for her little girl.
Mario Hernan Lopez Gamez was arrested in the Houston area and charged with capital murder in the death of April Vancleave.
Vancleave was selling her jewelry on the app “5Miles” and had agreed to meet the suspects December 15, 2016, the day she was murdered.
According to an affidavit, she was selling a 14k gold diamond ring for $7,000 and two 14k gold chains.
She was supposed to meet the buyer near Target on South Cooper Street but they never showed. Investigators said two men captured on surveillance video followed Vancleave and her husband back to their apartment.
The affidavit states that Gamez and another man, allegedly robbed, shot and killed Vancleave in the parking lot. They also stole her jewelry and purse.
After police released Target’s surveillance video to the public, a woman called them to report that the larger of the two men looked like a man who robbed her in Mansfield last November.
She said that she had met the man after he responded to a listing she posted on a similar app called OfferUp.
Investigators used cell phone records to tie Gamez to the crimes.
April Vancleave’s brother, Mark Vancleave, told WFAA TV that news of the arrest is bitter sweet.
“These guys left an old couple with a little girl to raise that cries herself to sleep every night,” he said.
Vancleave said not knowing who killed his sister was torture. “We’ve been at odds over this. You know, now there’s a little relief for my family,” he said.
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