The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office announced that Jacoby Mikel Jones, a 27-year-old resident of Irving, pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The incident occurred on January 9, 2021. Jones, along with two other individuals, met 38-year-old Eduardo Pedroza of Roanoke to sell him a gun in exchange for cash. During the transaction, Jones and the other defendants drove off without handing over the gun. As Pedroza jumped onto the back of the vehicle, Jones fired at him from the passenger side window, striking and killing him. Pedroza's body was later found by a driver on Teague Road, a rural area in Tarrant County near Mansfield. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner confirmed that Pedroza died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Another suspect in the case, Ungu Ngandu of Grand Prairie, was also charged with murder. Ngandu was 18 years old at the time of the incident and his case is pending.
Jones had a prior conviction from a 2017 aggravated robbery case and was serving 10 years of deferred adjudication probation at the time of Pedroza's murder. He has been incarcerated at the Tarrant County Jail since June 2, 2021.
The investigation was conducted by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and the Irving Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Tarrant Assistant District Attorney Robert Huseman.
