Gun recovered in arrest links man to Lake Highlands slaying, Dallas police say

A man is behind bars in the fatal shooting of a man in Lake Highlands last year.

Jarrod Darrion Pledger, 25, faces a murder charge in the slaying of Miguel Angel Villela Cruz, 32. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

The evening of Nov. 19, officers were called to a shooting in the 9600 block of Wickersham Road and found Villela with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

A witness told police they heard a gunshot and saw a man in a green shirt running from Villela’s car, an arrest-warrant affidavit says.

Officers found a fired cartridge and bullet in Villela’s car, according to the affidavit.

In April, the bullet was matched to a handgun recovered after Pledger was arrested in December by Garland police on an unrelated charge, according to the arrest-warrant affidavit.

Detectives used police records to determine Pledger was living at an apartment complex on Wickersham Road at the time of the shooting, about 150 feet from where Villela was found. Pledger’s cellphone data showed he was in the area at the time of the shooting, the affidavit says.

A witness who lived at the apartment with Pledger told detectives Pledger wasn’t home at the time of shooting and didn’t return for several hours that night. He said Pledger frequently mentioned that he carried a gun, according to the affidavit.

Pledger is being held in the Dallas County jail, with bail set at $250,000.