Adam Goins was a 34-year-old White/Caucasian man whose death in Fort Worth, Texas, unfolded during an early-morning confrontation on May 23, 2025. Shortly after 2 a.m., Goins was in the backyard of a residence in the 11200 block of Golden Triangle Circle when an argument broke out. According to the subsequent police investigation and an arrest warrant affidavit, Goins had gone to the home to borrow a charger for his tablet.
While he was there, Joseph Jones arrived with the mother of Goins’ children and another man. Investigators said Goins became upset because he believed the woman had previously been romantically involved with Jones.
The disagreement escalated in the backyard. Police said Goins began striking objects with a golf club, and a witness reported that he swung the club at Jones during the confrontation. Other people at the residence intervened and managed to calm the situation. Goins was reportedly preparing to leave when Jones walked out of the backyard. Instead of allowing the confrontation to end, investigators alleged that Jones went to a vehicle and obtained what the arrest affidavit described as a high-powered pellet rifle belonging to the other man who had arrived with him.
Witnesses told investigators that Jones returned to the backyard, aimed the rifle at Goins and fired. The first shot missed. The other man reportedly told Jones not to shoot, but Jones allegedly fired a second time, striking Goins in the chest. When a witness questioned Jones about why he had shot Goins, Jones allegedly responded that Goins should not have swung the golf club at him. Jones then left the scene on foot before police arrived.
Fort Worth police officers responding to the shooting found Goins suffering from the chest wound in the residential backyard. Paramedics arrived, but he could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene. Records from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Goins as the victim, and the Fort Worth Police Department’s Criminal Homicide Unit took over the investigation. Initial reports on the day of the killing stated that the suspected shooter had fled and that no arrest had yet been announced.
The investigation soon focused on Joseph Jones. Authorities arrested Jones on May 29, 2025, on a parole violation. According to the arrest affidavit, homicide detectives later questioned him about Goins’ death. Jones initially denied being involved in the shooting. Investigators said he subsequently acknowledged firing at Goins twice, but then recanted that statement. Witness accounts gathered by detectives, including descriptions of the argument, the retrieval of the rifle and the two shots, were incorporated into the case against him.
Jones was ultimately booked into the Tarrant County Jail and accused of killing Goins. He was charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and his bond was reported at $200,000. The publicly available reporting located for the case documents Jones’ arrest and those criminal charges but does not establish that he was convicted of Goins’ killing or identify a completed trial or sentencing proceeding. The charges therefore remained allegations unless and until proven in court.
