Second suspect in Christmas Day murder turns himself in

Published 2:29 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The second suspect in a Christmas Day murder of an elderly woman turned himself in at the Dallas County Jail Wednesday afternoon.

Chief Deputy Randy Pugh with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department said 18-year-old Jalin Booker turned himself in on capital murder charges between 1-2 p.m.

Jailin’s cousin, 18-year-old Tyrone Booker, was arrested Saturday after an interview was conducted by investigators at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department.

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According to Captain Mike Granthum, Jalin had prior contact with the department about how he could turn himself in but had not been heard from since last week until Wednesday.

Jalin and Tyrone were both charged with capital murder and are facing no bond for allegedly shooting and killing 73-year-old Juanita Tripp.

According to the sheriff’s department, Witnesses positively identified the cousins in a photo lineup as the alleged shooters that fired shots toward Tripp’s house on Christmas Day while she had family over to celebrate the holiday.

Tripp was struck by a bullet that went through a glass door and struck her in the thigh. She was transported to the hospital but died from the injury. Granthum said her grandchildren were outside playing, and she was calling for them to come inside when the shots were fired.

Tyrone Booker was arraigned in Circuit Judge Collins Pettway’s courtroom Tuesday afternoon. He was denied bond because he is a flight risk and for his own protection, according to Granthum.

Granthum said investigators collected bullet fragments from the scene as well as video that could be beneficial to the case. Investigators are also trying to determine why shots were fired at Tripp’s house.