Tony De La O, an 18-year-old Rayburn High football player and ROTC cadet, was shot and killed after being lured to an apartment complex in southeast Houston on Jan. 20, 2025. Now, new court filings and a fresh arrest suggest the teenagers already charged in his death were part of a broader robbery ring that prosecutors say pulled off multiple armed takeovers across the city. For De La O's family and the Rayburn community, the latest twists add another painful layer to a case that has hung over them for more than a year.
Last summer, prosecutors charged Rodesha Smith and Clint Gillespie with capital murder in De La O’s killing, according to the City of Houston. The city release identifies the victim as Tony Maximus Delao and says officers found him unresponsive in a vehicle at 9642 Intervale Street, after evidence indicated the shooting took place nearby at the Del Lago apartment complex at 9800 Hollock Street. The statement also lists the Houston Police Department homicide detectives assigned to the case.
New Arrest Links the Cases
On Monday, June 1, police arrested Isiah Goodwin and charged him with engaging in organized criminal activity, according to ABC13. Prosecutors say Goodwin participated in multiple armed robberies alongside Smith and Gillespie from November 2024 through January 2025 and was present when De La O was shot. His arrest effectively links the murder investigation to a pattern of alleged takeover-style robberies that investigators are now treating as part of a coordinated operation.
What Court Documents Show
A search warrant and related court filings obtained by ABC13 state that Goodwin was interviewed by detectives about a month after the killing. The documents also say Smith messaged someone about selling a gun "within two hours" of the shooting. In another alleged incident described in the filings, police say Smith arranged to meet a seller about a phone, then pulled a gun and took the device.
"They didn't care that he was hurt. they didn't care what happened to him after. they just didn't care," De La O's fiance, Aislynn Martinez, told ABC13, describing how she views the suspects' actions.
Legal Status
Smith, who was 17 at the time, and 19-year-old Gillespie were booked and charged with capital murder in the 497th State District Court, according to the City of Houston update. Goodwin now faces a separate count of engaging in organized criminal activity following his arrest, and prosecutors have linked the alleged robberies to the same November-to-January timeframe under scrutiny in the homicide case. All three remain subject to felony prosecutions as the matters move through Harris County courts.
A Broader Pattern?
Prosecutors and local reporting indicate that authorities are increasingly turning to "engaging in organized criminal activity" charges as a way to break up theft and robbery crews across the region. The Houston Chronicle has recently highlighted other cases in which investigators pursued similar charges against coordinated theft operations, reflecting a broader law-enforcement push to classify serial property crimes as organized activity when the evidence supports it. Against that backdrop, investigators are now re-examining robberies from the months leading up to De La O's death.
Authorities say the investigation remains active, and prosecutors may seek additional charges as they continue to review evidence and witness statements. Court dates and further filings have not yet been publicly finalized.
