On August 21, 2023, Ross Cruz Jr., an 18-year-old male, was shot and killed in Pleasanton, Texas. Officers responded to a call about shots fired around 2 a.m. and found him unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds in front of a home in the 100 block of North Mansfield Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators quickly learned that another fatal shooting had occurred just minutes earlier in the neighboring town of Jourdanton, about 5.6 miles away. Around 1:40 a.m., 23-year-old Jorge Erosa had been shot in the 500 block of Elm Street. Erosa was transported to a local hospital and then transferred to a facility in San Antonio, where he died from his injuries. Authorities from the Pleasanton and Jourdanton Police Departments determined the two homicides were connected and launched a joint investigation with the assistance of the Texas Rangers.
Based on surveillance footage from near the Jourdanton crime scene that showed a suspect vehicle, investigators
identified 21-year-old Samuel Xavier Ponce as a person of interest within 24 hours. Police located Ponce during a traffic stop in Pleasanton and arrested him. During a search of his vehicle, officers discovered cocaine and a firearm.
Ponce was initially charged with drug and weapons offenses, but two counts of murder were later added, and his bond was set at $2 million. Investigators said the motive appeared to be drug-related. Ballistics analysis confirmed that the firearm seized during Ponce’s arrest was the same weapon used in the murder of Jorge Erosa.
In a trial for the first homicide, Samuel Ponce was convicted for the murder of Jorge Erosa and sentenced to life in prison. He is expected to face a separate trial for the murder of Ross Cruz Jr. at a later date.
