Dirk Brian Fortune, a 22-year-old white man from Katy, Texas, was killed in a shooting on May 12, 2026. Fortune had been born in Katy on March 4, 2004, to Jeffrey and Michelle Fortune. Those who knew him remembered a young man who loved his family and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and spending time outdoors. His death, however, became the center of a homicide investigation after deputies discovered that the place where his body was found was apparently not where the shooting had occurred.
Shortly before 5 p.m. that Tuesday, deputies responded to the 500 block of Everington Drive in the Katy area after a 911 call reported a shooting victim. Inside the garage of the residence, authorities found Fortune unresponsive in the front passenger seat of a vehicle. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators quickly developed evidence indicating that Fortune had been shot at another location and then transported to the Everington Drive house after he had been wounded.
The vehicle involved was identified in court records as a Chevrolet Impala belonging to Luis Enrique Robledo. Investigators alleged that Robledo and Matthew Farfan, both 23 at the time, arrived at Farfan's residence with Fortune in the passenger seat. According to subsequent reporting based on charging documents, members of Fortune's family said they had seen Robledo pick Fortune up in the Impala earlier that day. They also reportedly told investigators that Farfan had been trying to get Robledo to bring Fortune to Farfan's home. The publicly reported court information did not establish why the encounter ultimately turned deadly.
When deputies arrived at the Everington Drive residence, the person who had called 911 and her son were inside the house. Investigators initially learned that another man associated with the incident had left before deputies arrived. Detectives interviewed witnesses and began comparing the statements they received with the physical evidence. Authorities said inconsistencies emerged between one man's account and what investigators were finding, prompting detectives to obtain a search warrant for the property. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the resulting search uncovered incriminating evidence. Another man involved in the investigation reportedly declined to give detectives a statement.
The evidence described in charging documents went beyond the discovery of Fortune's body. Witnesses, including Farfan's mother, allegedly saw Farfan and Robledo with blood on their clothing after the shooting. Witnesses also reported seeing a rifle and a handgun being carried into the house. Investigators recovered spent cartridge cases at a separate location believed to be connected to the shooting and compared them with casings recovered from Robledo's Impala. Court records reported that those casings were linked to the same firearm evidence associated with Farfan's rifle. Early reports indicated that the rifle itself had not yet been recovered.
Investigators also alleged that Farfan took or possessed a photograph of Fortune after the shooting and sent the image to his father, who then forwarded it to Farfan's mother. That allegation, together with the blood reportedly seen on the suspects' clothing, the firearms brought into the residence, the ballistic evidence, and the inconsistencies investigators said they encountered during interviews, became part of the evidence cited as the case moved from an unexplained shooting investigation to criminal charges.
Authorities arrested Matthew Farfan and Luis Enrique Robledo and charged both men with murder in connection with Fortune's death. Initial court reporting said no bond had been set for either defendant immediately after the arrests, and both were scheduled to appear in court on May 15, 2026. Authorities characterized the shooting as an isolated incident and said they did not believe there was an ongoing danger to the surrounding community. The publicly available reporting located on the case describes the arrests and murder charges but does not report a completed trial, guilty plea, or conviction for either defendant.
Fortune's family later arranged visitation and funeral services for May 29, followed by burial at Brookside Memorial Park in Houston. His death left his family mourning a young man remembered for his affection for them and his enjoyment of the outdoors, while the homicide case proceeded against the two men accused of being involved in the events that ended with Fortune being brought, fatally wounded, to the Katy-area garage.
