Texas Rangers arrest one of two suspects in fatal shooting of Fort Worth rapper and daughter
Texas Rangers have taken into custody one of two men wanted for the fatal shooting of Fort Worth rapper Lil Ronnie and his 5-year-old daughter at a car wash earlier this week.
The arrest of 24-year-old Adonis Robinson occurred on Thursday in Livingston, which is in Polk County northeast of Houston, Forest Hill Police Chief David Hernandez said.
Hernandez issued an alert for Robinson and 21-year-old Jakobie Russell on Wednesday. Both Fort Worth men are facing capital murder charges.
The 30-year-old rapper and his young daughter were gunned down while he was vacuuming his vehicle just before 11 a.m. Monday at Slappy's Car Wash on Forest Hill Drive, just north of I-20.
"We want to reassure the community that the Forest Hill Police Department and our law enforcement partners are continuing efforts to resolve this case and bring justice to the victims and their families," Hernandez said Thursday.
Suspects called "cowards"
On Wednesday, Hernandez referred to the two as "cowards."
"Now we've identified the two cowards who took the lives of these innocent people," Hernandez said. "We have public enemy No. 1, Adonis Robinson, who's also a registered sex offender. Public enemy No. 2, Jakobie Russell, who's on the run. They're scared. They're cowards."
Robinson was released from prison in August 2024 and has convictions for sexual assault and failing to register as a sex offender. Russell has convictions for assault, including against a pregnant person, and unlawful weapon carrying, authorities say.
Hernandez said investigators are still working to figure out a motive, but they believe this was a targeted crime.
Leaders call to end gun violence
On Tuesday, Fort Worth City Councilman Chris Nettles joined Forest Hill Mayor Stephanie Boardingham, Melinda Hamilton, founder of Mothers of Murdered Angels (MOMA); Michael Bell of the Unity in the Community Coalition of Tarrant County; and Rodney McIntosh, program director of VIP Fort Worth, in calling for a unified front in waging a war against gun violence.
"If you have any knowledge of what happened yesterday and you have not said anything, if you were aware that a takedown was going to take place prior to the hit, you are not only part of the problem, you are the problem," Nettles said. "And we need you to stand with us to prevent these actions from happening again."
5th reported Forest Hill homicide in 2025
Monday's double murder was the fourth and fifth reported homicides in Forest Hill this year. There were zero last year, Boardingham said.
Late last month, a former employee of an auto sales business in Forest Hill was charged with murder following a shooting at the company that resulted in two deaths and one injury.
Days later, a 36-year-old Forest Hill mother was killed by stray bullets in her backyard. Family members said she was by the fire pit when a stray bullet came through the fence and struck her.
"The three incidents are isolated incidents," Hernandez said. "So the community, I tell you, we are a safe community."
The three incidents that resulted in five deaths all took place within 11 days.
"I want to reaffirm to the community that we will hold criminals accountable," Hernandez said. "We're not going to allow them to come in here and think that they can get away with it."
Hernandez said Forest Hill police are in talks with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department to increase patrols in the area.
What happened?
Forest Hill police responded to Slappy's Car Wash on Forest Hill Drive just north of I-20 just before 11 a.m. on Monday. One witness told a CBS News Texas photojournalist that they heard 20 to 30 gunshots.
Police originally said the suspects in the murder of Lil Ronnie and his daughter were two Black males wearing blue jeans and gray sweaters. Forest Hill police said the suspects exited a white, four-door Kia and approached the victim's vehicle, which was stationary in a bay at the car wash. The suspects opened fire and fled the area.
Video from CBS News Texas chopper showed dozens of evidence markers on the ground and a heavy police presence around the car wash.
The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, Forest Hill police said, with the assistance of the Forest Hill Criminal Division, Fort Worth Police Department, Everman Police Department, Kennedale Police Department and Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.
If you have any information about Russell's whereabouts, contact the Forest Hill Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division at (817) 531-5250 (Option 5) or email them at policeinvestigations@foresthilltx.org.
