Arlington Police have made arrests in murders that took place in the city Dec. 29, 2023, and Jan. 19, 2024.
On Dec. 29, a woman was killed in a parking lot along New York Avenue during a robbery. Chief Al Jones says a man from Houston drove to the Metroplex and robbed her.
"He just followed her from our city to a couple places. I think it was just a crime of opportunity," he says.
Jones says the suspect, Fernando Taylor, 56, then drove back to Houston. Police there arrested Taylor on a charge of capital murder. He is currently being held in the Harris County Jail and will be extradited to Tarrant County. When Taylor returns, Jones says detectives will try to establish a motive.
"It was clear he intended to rob her, but we still don't know why he targeted that victim," he says.
On Jan. 19, police say a man was beaten to death by three others at an apartment complex near Pioneer Pkwy and South Center Street. In that case, Jones says they pulled up in two cars and started arguing with the victim, Frank Kwasnica, 51. He says police arrived and found Kwasnica on the ground having been beaten.
"I can tell you the victim's injuries were so severe, it took us almost two days to positively identify who he was," he says.
Jones says a witness took video during the fight. When police arrived, two cars seen in the video were gone, leading to a search for a Ford Mustang and a pick-up truck.
Jones says they found the Mustang the next day at an apartment complex four miles away. He says the Mustang belonged to Kwasnica, and investigators believe the suspects took his car. They found several items in the Mustang that belonged to a suspect, leading to their arrest.
"I want to be clear, as a community, we are not going to accept or tolerate this kind of activity in our city," Jones says.
Jones says these two cases might draw attention, but violent crime in Arlington dropped 17% last year. He urges people to get involved with their neighborhoods and says those with doorbell cameras should register them with the police department so investigators know where they can find video in an emergency.
"Crime is not just a police issue. It's a community issue," Jones says.
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