An 18-year-old Fort Worth murder suspect who authorities say vanished after a deadly house party shooting is now in custody hundreds of miles away at a Mississippi community college. Police say Jaden Grays was arrested Monday on a capital murder warrant tied to a south Fort Worth gathering that left at least one 19-year-old dead last summer. Officials report Grays will remain jailed in Mississippi while Texas moves to bring him back.
Arrest at Jones College
The Jones County Sheriff’s Department, working with Jones College campus police, tracked Grays down after a tip and a hit from a license plate reader, according to WDAM. Deputies took him into custody on campus without any reported problems and booked him into the Jones County Adult Detention Center while extradition paperwork is processed. Jones College officials said there is no known threat to students or staff, the outlet reported.
What investigators say about the Fort Worth shooting
The homicides unfolded on July 21, 2025, at an advertised house party in the 7100 block of Avington Way in south Fort Worth, where officers arrived to find two people shot after an argument allegedly spun into gunfire, according to The Dallas Morning News. The Tarrant County medical examiner identified one of the victims as 19-year-old Emiliano Serna, who was discovered lying in the grass outside the home. Fort Worth police told FOX4 that detectives were still working to determine whether there was a single shooter and urged witnesses from the crowded party to step forward.
Victims and family accounts
Relatives identified the second victim as 18-year-old Logan Cantrell and said he was getting into his car when he was apparently struck by gunfire, according to local coverage compiled by Yahoo. The Tarrant County medical examiner listed Cantrell’s cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest, the report noted. Family members and neighbors told reporters the killings have left their corner of Fort Worth grieving and grasping for answers.
How the arrest ties to the Fort Worth case
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Grays was booked on suspicion in the shooting death of Emiliano Serna and is facing a capital murder charge, in coverage updated Feb. 4, 2026. The paper connected Monday’s Mississippi arrest to the south Fort Worth investigation and said authorities plan to transport Grays back to Texas for formal processing. Officials in Fort Worth have not yet made charging documents public, according to the Star-Telegram.
Legal note
Under Texas law, capital murder is defined as an offense that, under specified circumstances, is a capital felony. Punishments can include life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if prosecutors pursue it, per state statute. The full language and related sentencing provisions are detailed in Texas Penal Code Sec. 19.03.
What’s next
Fort Worth homicide detectives are still working the July double homicide and have asked anyone with video or information from the party to contact investigators, according to local reporting. The arrest in Mississippi is being treated as a major break in a case that has lingered since last summer, and authorities say tips can also be submitted anonymously to Tarrant County Crime Stoppers.
