A dispute regarding an apartment rental agreement spiraled into deadly violence at a west Houston residential community, where an Army veteran allegedly opened fire on two leasing office employees after reaching an emotional breaking point, according to details presented by prosecutors during a Harris County court hearing.
The suspect, identified as 53-year-old Derrick Jackson, is facing capital murder charges in connection with the fatal shootings. Jackson, who had lived at the apartment complex for roughly three years, made an appearance in the 232nd District Court before Judge Josh Hill, where the state outlined the violent sequence of events that led to the deaths of two staff members.
The fatal encounter occurred on a Thursday afternoon at the Park at Woodlake residential community, situated along the 9500 block of Ella Lee Lane. Surveillance cameras positioned at the property recorded a man entering the management office at approximately 5:30 p.m. and exiting the premises around twelve minutes later, documenting the brief window during which the fatal altercation occurred.
According to Harris County prosecutor Simone Colson, Jackson gave a statement to Houston Police Department homicide investigators explaining that a verbal disagreement concerning his apartment lease caused him to lose control. Jackson told detectives that he grew increasingly aggravated during the conversation, particularly when one of the leasing agents began conversing in Spanglish, incorporating both English and Spanish into the interaction.
The situation escalated further when 67-year-old leasing agent Rosa Linda Ybarra responded to Jackson's complaints during the confrontation. According to the prosecutor's summary of Jackson's statements to law enforcement, Ybarra pointed out his contractual obligations by asking him whether he had signed the lease.
Following that exchange, Jackson allegedly produced a firearm and fired directly at Ybarra inside the office, inflicting fatal wounds. The gunfire prompted the second leasing agent present in the office, 47-year-old Felix Antonio Jimenez-Macz, to turn and attempt to flee from the room in an effort to escape the armed assault.
Investigators stated that Jackson targeted Jimenez-Macz as the worker ran away, shooting him twice. According to prosecutors, Jackson later informed homicide detectives that because Jimenez-Macz did not die immediately from the gunshot injuries, he proceeded to stab the wounded worker before leaving the scene.
The bodies of both leasing agents were discovered a short time later when another complex resident entered the office area and alerted emergency responders. Medical personnel and law enforcement arrived at the Ella Lee Lane property, but both victims succumbed to their catastrophic injuries.
Following a search by Houston police, authorities tracked Jackson to an area hotel the following day, where he was taken into custody without further reported incident. Investigators recovered shell casings in his possession that forensic examiners linked to the scene of the double homicide, and Jackson subsequently confirmed to officers that he was the individual seen in the property's security camera footage.
Addressing the court regarding the catalyst for the deadly incident, Colson stated that prosecutors have not yet determined the precise underlying grievances or specific terms of the lease that initially triggered the confrontation between Jackson and the management staff.
Several members of Ybarra’s family attended the court proceeding, observing the legal presentation from the gallery benches inside the Harris County Criminal Justice Center. Following the conclusion of the hearing, the relatives declined to offer public statements regarding the loss of their loved one or the criminal proceedings.
Although prosecutors had initially considered requesting that Jackson be detained without bond pending trial, the district attorney's office ultimately asked the court to establish a formal bail amount. Judge Hill ordered that Jackson be held on a $1 million bond, referencing his apparent lack of a verifiable prior criminal record.
The bond consideration involved resolving an initial discrepancy in the state's charging paperwork, which had incorrectly claimed Jackson had a drug-related conviction dating back to 1998. Colson clarified to the court that the decades-old offense belonged to another individual sharing the same name, confirming that the prosecution would amend the official complaint to reflect the correction.
Jackson's defense counsel, Chauntelle Wood White, highlighted her client's lengthy background in the armed forces, noting to the court that he is a retired military servicemember who has resided in the Houston area since 2017.
Official federal military records indicate that Jackson served in both the regular U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserves between 1993 and 2017, dedicating 24 years to military service. During his extensive career as an infantryman and aviation operations specialist, Jackson attained the rank of sergeant first class and completed three overseas combat tours, including a deployment to Iraq in 2008 followed by back-to-back tours in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010.
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