Arlington man accused of killing his girlfriend inside her apartment with assault rifle in November fatal shooting incident, arrested last week
Arlington, Texas – The 29-year-old Tanavian Smith is charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing his 24-year-old girlfriend identified as Jayde Louis inside her apartment last November, Arlington Police Department confirmed.
According to the police, Smith is accused for shooting to death his girlfriend with assault rifle on November 29, 2021.
Officers were dispatched at the scene following a 911 call after one of the neighbors reported that the entrance door of the victim’s apartment was wide open for some time.
Victim’s family were devastated with Louis’ death as they described her as an ambitious person who was just about to start a new phase in her life after recently finishing college.
Johnathan Bell says his sister, Jayde Louis, had only been dating Smith for about six months. She described plans to break up with him and start fresh just days before she was found shot to death.
“When I first met him, he was actually a good guy. He treated her good,” Bell said. “He bought her stuff. He was like a good guy.”
According to Bell, Louis was not happy lately with her boyfriend and allegedly told her she was about to end the relationship with him.
The investigation showed that the victim called a friend two days prior to the incident saying that she had argument with Smith. That day Smith allegedly choked and threatened Louis, saying “Don’t play with me. This won’t end well.”
“I knew it was him because she had talked to me Thanksgiving Day about him, like threatening her and saying little stuff,” Bell said.
Police obtained Smith’s phone records and were able to determine that the day before his girlfriend was found dead, he was in the area where she lived. A neighbor later confirmed seeing Smith that day going in and out of Louis’ apartment carrying an AR-15-style rifle and loading bags into Louis’ car.
The day when Louis was found dead by the police, her car was found dumped in Lancaster. Smith’s cell phone records from that day show that he asked someone he needed a rental car.
The suspect has been on the run up until last week when he was finally arrested in the Houston area.
Arlington police confirmed that Smith is well-known offender since he has a criminal history dating back to 2012. Some of his charges include drug charges and forgery.