The Dallas Police Department have announced that a man has been arrested and charged in connection with the May murder of Dallas transgender woman Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon.
A 24-year-old man, Jimmy Eugene Johnson III, was brought into police custody on May 17.
Flores-Pavon, 24, was found in critical condition in her apartment building at 4 pm on May 9, and later died at an area hospital. The trauma was inflicted by strangulation.
According to Dallas-area TV station CBS 11, “Police said Flores-Pavon had met up with Johnson after connecting in an online chat room. Police said Pavon was not targeted for her ‘transgender lifestyle.’ The motive was robbery.”
Johnson was arrested by police after a traffic stop in Walker County. After searching his vehicle, law enforcement officers found stolen items which had belonged to Flores-Pavon. Dallas police are said to be interviewing Johnson.
Johnson, who is presently held at the Walker County Jail, was assigned a half-million dollar bond. A transfer to a Dallas holding facility is expected shortly.
If law enforcement believes Johnson is responsible, the charges could conceivably be upgraded to capital murder.
In Texas, capital murder is any murder which makes the perpetrator eligible for the death penalty. Life in prison without the possibility of parole may also be assigned.