Arlington police held a press conference on Thursday, announcing four key arrests in two separate murder investigations.
Suspects in the killings of Tho Tieu, 56, on December 29 and Frank Kwasnica III, 52, on January 19 have been arrested, as Arlington Police Chief Al Jones announced to the press on February 1.
“I am incredibly proud of the dedication, the professionalism, and the efforts shown by the employees who worked on these cases,” Jones said.
Tieu, who ran Pho Son Nam Vietnamese Restaurant and was affectionately referred to as Mrs. Kim by patrons, was robbed in the restaurant’s parking lot, as previously covered in The Dallas Express. Police believe the suspect ran her over after she fell.
Surveillance footage helped police track down a suspect in Houston, 35-year-old Fernando Taylor, and have him arrested on January 26. A Houston resident, Taylor allegedly borrowed a friend’s vehicle, a white Dodge Durango, to drive to Dallas-Fort Worth, where he stalked Tieu for roughly an hour, following her from Cho Saigon New Market to her restaurant.
Taylor, who holds prior convictions for “jugging” and armed robbery, is currently booked in Harris County Jail on a capital murder charge and awaiting extradition to Tarrant County.
The next case updated by Chief Jones involved the violent killing of Kwasnica in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Blue Water Drive.
“He was brutally beaten,” Chief Jones said. “I can tell you, the victim’s injuries were so severe that it took us almost two days to positively identify.”
Using surveillance footage and items found in Kwansnica’s blue Ford Mustang, which was allegedly stolen at the time of his death but then dumped not far from the scene, detectives were able to identify three suspects: 29-year-old Jared Amador Vasquez, 22-year-old Brayan Amador Vasquez, and 20-year-old Norlan Gomez-Torres.
All three were arrested in Arlington by the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force on January 31 and booked on capital murder charges. The motive for the killing is still under investigation.
In neighboring Dallas, there were 2,323 robberies and 246 homicides clocked in 2023, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. Due in large part to a longstanding officer shortage, the Dallas Police Department has been struggling to get crime under control. This is especially true of the murder rate, which was 15% higher in 2023 than the year prior. The vast majority of these victims were either black or Hispanic males, and their median age was 31 years old.
DPD currently has only around 3,000 officers within its ranks despite a City report recommending around 4,000 to ensure public safety. The impact of the shortage is most clearly seen in Downtown Dallas, which regularly logs far more crime than Fort Worth’s downtown area. The latter is patrolled by a specialized police unit and private security guards.
DPD’s budget is just $654 million this fiscal year, with City officials deciding to spend far less on police than the leaders of other high-crime municipalities, such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
