A disturbance with multiple shots fired in a west end shopping center parking lot ended in a homicide after Beaumont police found one man dead and one injured in a truck riddled with bullets just down the road in the Burger King parking lot.
Investigators say it began with a response to a trespassing call and disturbance shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot outside DMoney Daiquiris Lounge, 6632 Phelan in Beaumont. That's in the St. Charles Plaza shopping center on Phelan near Dowlen.
The suspect vehicle with numerous occupants and guns was stopped by officers leaving 6550 Phelan.
Police say they found two victims in a truck, one dead and one with non-life threatening injuries, in the Burger King parking lot just down the road on Phelan. The deceased was later identified by police as Geraldo Escamilla, 30, of Beaumont.
Beaumont police had a large crime scene to process, including the parking lot outside the lounge and the area where the truck was located. They placed a number of yellow evidence markers on the ground in the parking lot where the lounge is located and crime scene tape around most of the shopping center. There were also a number of yellow markers on the truck. Police spent hours gathering evidence, taking measurements and processing the multiple crime scenes.
Detectives interviewed witnesses and suspects and obtained Murder and Aggravated Assault warrants for Armani Rashad Wallace, a 20-year-old man from Orange and Jaren Battles, an 18-year-old man from Orange.
Wallace and Battles were transported to Jefferson County Correctional Facility.
Bond for Murder-$950,000 and bond for Aggravated Assault is $500,000.
A 16-year-old juvenile was also arrested for Evading Arrest/Detention, Prohibited Weapons and UCW X 2 and transported to Minnie Rogers Juvenile Center. However, the name of the juvenile was not released due to his age.
This is Beaumont’s third homicide of 2023.