Lubbock Police on Friday afternoon arrested father and son – Abel Rosales, Jr., 22, and Abel Rosales, Sr., 49, for murder.
Rosales, Jr. was officially booked into the Lubbock Co. Detention Center at 3:30 p.m. The arrest was roughly two hours before that. Police said Rosales, Sr. was arrested shortly after, but he was not yet listed in the jail roster as of the time of this report.
The two men were accused of shooting and killing Gabriel Rodriguez, 36, on Wednesday evening at the corner of North Detroit Street and Baylor Avenue.
In a statement right after the shooting, police said, “Preliminary information gathered by officers indicates the two victims had gotten into a fight with a male suspect just prior to the shooting.”
Family members of the victim said there was an argument about a stolen lawn mower and that’s what led up to the shooting.
Lubbock Police issued the following statement after the arrest:
Lubbock Police Department investigators have arrested two suspects for the September 12th murder of 36-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez. Friday afternoon, LPD Persons Crimes detectives, LPD SWAT members and TAG investigators arrested 22-year-old Abel Rosales Jr. and 49-year-old Abel Rosales Sr. on arrest warrants for murder.
On Wednesday, September 12th, LPD officers responded to reports of shots fired at a home in the 2800 block of Baylor Street. Two brothers, 36-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez and 34-year-old Elias Rodriguez, were located with injuries at the home.
Gabriel was taken to UMC with serious injuries related to a gunshot wound and was later pronounced deceased. His brother Elias, had been struck on the head with a metal object. Elias was taken to UMC and later released.
Through the initial investigation, detectives discovered there had been an ongoing dispute between the two brothers and the two suspects. In just 24-hours, on Thursday evening, detectives were able to secure arrest warrants for murder for both Rosales Jr. and Rosales Sr. Detectives located the suspect vehicle in the 2000 block of 15th Street on Thursday night.
On Friday, at approximately at 1 p.m., Rosales Jr. was located and taken into custody at a Stripes near North University and North Loop 289. Rosales Sr. was taken into custody a short time later at a home in the 3000 block of Cornell Street.
Both will be booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center for murder. This case remains under investigation.
Related Story: Police release name of victim in North Lubbock shooting