Man charged after string of shootings that targeted stranded drivers, Texas cops say
A man has been charged with murder after a string of shootings at drivers stranded along roads in a rural Texas county, including one incident that was deadly, authorities say.
Troy Lee Wilson, 36, was charged with murder after shootings that targeted stranded drivers killed a man and injured another, the Odessa American reported. According to an arrest affidavit, Wilson was arrested about noon Friday after police officers pursued him for about four miles with their sirens and lights turned on, KOSA reported.
Wilson was in Midland County jail on charges of evading arrest and murder, records show.
However, the sheriff’s office has not released his name, citing the “integrity of the investigation,” according to a news release.
The suspected serial shooter fired at four drivers along the roadside this week, police said in a Facebook news release. Three of the shootings happened on Tuesday from the early morning hours to the afternoon. No one was injured in the morning shootings.
A man was shot in the stomach in the third shooting on Tuesday while he was parked along a road, police said. The man drove himself to a convenience store and was taken to the hospital. He was later released.
The fourth shooting was deadly. About 10:40 p.m. Thursday, a man in a broken-down car was approached by someone pretending to offer help, Sgt. Gary Duesler told ABC News. But the suspect shot him instead, and the man died at the scene, police said.
The man who died was identified Monday as Juan Rosalez, according to the sheriff’s office.
The descriptions of the shooter varied, but each shooting involved a white pickup truck, KOSA reported. The shooter in each incident used a handgun, but the caliber differed, police said.
Odessa, the county seat of Ector County, was the site of a mass shooting Aug. 31 that killed five people and injured 21, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The latest shootings prompted city officials to reassure residents Friday morning that there wasn’t an active shooter.
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Man charged after string of shootings that targeted stranded drivers, Texas cops say."