Suspect in 2020 murder arrested after key witness comes forward, Arlington PD says
A suspect has been arrested for allegedly killing a man during a robbery attempt after posing as a woman online to lure him to a location in 2020, the Arlington Police Department announced.
On Friday, May 16, Mekel Gaston, 29, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in connection with the murder of Eugene Johnson, APD said. He faces one count of capital murder and is being held in the Tarrant County jail.
A "date" turns deadly
APD said at about 5 a.m. on April 28, 2020, officers responded to an apartment complex after seeing a man lying unresponsive in the parking lot. When they arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Eugene Johnson, had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said that through the investigation, detectives learned that Johnson went to the apartment complex thinking he was going to be meeting a woman he had chatted with via text. However, police said, an armed man approached him, pointed a gun at him, and demanded money.
Detectives believe that led to a physical struggle, resulting in the suspect shooting Johnson, police said.
Detectives later learned that there were multiple armed robberies reported at the complex that had similar details, leading to a possible connection to a string of crimes.
Key witness comes forward
In 2025, APD said a key witness, who had not previously spoken to detectives, was located.
In a news release, the department said the witness "provided them with critical information linking Mr. Gaston to the previous armed robberies and to the shooting."
APD said video footage of another crime that was "known to involve Mr. Gaston" showed physical similarities between him and the suspect wanted in Johnson's murder.
Based on the evidence, officials said they were able to file charges.
"Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our detectives, a dangerous and violent criminal is off our streets," Arlington Chief of Police Al Jones said in a news release. "This was a situation where good police work was done during the initial investigation, but detectives needed that last bit of additional evidence to file charges. I'm extremely proud of them for continuing to pursue leads until they got the information they needed."
Gaston faces additional charges
Gaston was located in Arlington and was taken into custody without incident for the murder of Johnson, APD said. Gaston also had an outstanding, unrelated warrant for assault causing bodily injury.
