On a Sunday evening in late August of 2022, Oscar Roney, a 47-year-old man from Fort Worth, Texas, headed to a home in the southeastern part of the city. He was going to visit a woman he had been dating for the past six or seven months. Roney, a truck driver who owned and operated his own vehicle, was known to some by the nickname "2 LiL O." That evening, however, a confrontation awaited him that would tragically end his life.
Inside the residence was the woman's estranged husband, David Arce. When Roney arrived, Arce refused to leave and confronted him at gunpoint. Arce, who was reported to be jealous and resentful over his wife's new relationship, patted Roney down, finding him unarmed. Despite being asked to "be cool," the situation quickly escalated. When Roney attempted to leave, his exit was blocked, leading to a fistfight between the two men.
The physical struggle moved from a standing confrontation to a chaotic scuffle on the floor of the living room.
In the midst of the fight, five gunshots suddenly rang out. As the fight subsided and Roney rose to one knee, no longer in contact with his assailant, Arce stood up and fired two more shots. Roney was struck in the chest and the arm.
Bleeding heavily from his wounds, Oscar Roney managed to stagger out of the house as the woman he was visiting frantically called 911. First responders arrived on the scene, and Roney was rushed to a nearby hospital. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he died on the operating table in the early hours of the following morning. This was not the first time Roney had been a victim of a violent, jealousy-fueled attack; in 2010, he and a woman he was on a first date with were ambushed and shot by the woman's former suitor. Both survived that earlier incident.
Police officers who responded to the 911 call detained David Arce at the scene. The next day, he was booked into the Tarrant County Jail and charged with murder. During the subsequent court proceedings, the jury heard testimony from detectives, the medical examiner, and family members. After considering the evidence, the jury found David Arce guilty of murder.
The jury also determined that Arce had acted under the "immediate influence of sudden passion." They handed down a sentence of 20 years in state prison. This conviction and sentence were later affirmed after an appeal, bringing a legal conclusion to the case. For Oscar Roney, a man who had previously survived a violent shooting, the events of that August night brought a tragic and final end.
