Sunnyvale Murder Suspect Arrested in Mississippi – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

It’s been a year since a gunman in a getaway car ambushed a family of five in Sunnyvale, killing a woman and wounding her adult brother and three children.

Surveillance video showed a black sedan blocking a car in the parking lot of the Riverton Trail Townhomes complex at 201 Planters Road. A man wearing a mask gets out of the passenger side of the sedan and fires several shots at the parked car.

Tyesha Merritt, 27, of Mesquite, was killed in the shooting. Her brother and three children were seriously injured, but police said they have all since recovered. Police say Merritt’s brother is the one seen running away.

Last week, Sunnyvale police said one of the suspects in the homicide had been captured in Mississippi.

Quantavius ​​Gomillia, 27, was transported by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office on June 27 and is currently in the Dallas County Jail, charged with murder.

“We don’t necessarily know why he went to Mississippi, other than he was just trying to avoid us,” Sunnyvale Police Chief Bill Vegas said Monday.

Vegas said the suspect had been communicating regularly with a detective about another issue, but then the communication stopped.

“Maybe he got suspicious or something, got a little nervous, and he ran away to Mississippi, where his dad is from,” Vegas said.

Police have not said what connection the suspect has to the victims, but believe it was a targeted attack.

“This is retaliation for an incident that occurred on May 29, shortly before the murder,” Vegas said of the suspect and the shooting.

To protect the investigation, he would not say where the incident took place or what happened, other than that it was near Sunnyvale.

“It goes without saying that murder is horrible at any time. There are obviously other ways to settle your differences and whatnot, but murder should never be one of them,” Vegas said.

The chief credits his detective as well as the partnership between Mesquite police, Carrollton police and the FBI for helping solve the case.

“He stayed vigilant on this case throughout the last year and kept pushing, pushing, pushing,” Vegas said. “It was one of those cases that never got settled. He didn’t let it go to waste.”

Vegas said he spoke to the victim’s family, who he said were “very appreciative” of the department’s efforts. He also spoke to the family of the injured children.

“I contacted the mother and grandmother of the children who were shot and who were sitting in the back seat. They are extremely happy that we caught the ‘bad guy’, as they say, and that he is in jail. I could hear the grandmother in the background screaming and crying tears of joy, etc. She was extremely happy.”

The chief said the injured children are doing much better physically.

“Please understand that all three were shot, all three were in serious condition, all three survived and all three are doing well,” Vegas said.

Police continue to search for the second suspect, who was in Gomillia’s car. It is unclear who the shooter or the driver who fled the scene was.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact North Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of one or more suspects.