PASADENA, Texas — Three teenagers are charged with capital murder after a 19-year-old was found shot to death in a Pasadena park early Thursday morning.
Jail records show Jeanette Clifton, 18, was booked into jail on Monday, days after two other teens were arrested and charged in the case.
Serenity Delgado, 17, and Cruz Martinez, 18, are also accused in the shooting death of Nathaniel Navarro at Satsuma Park. Navarro's body was found at the park on Satsuma Street near Red Bluff Boulevard around 2:30 a.m.
Court records show Martinez was out on bond on charges of DUI and unlawful possession of a firearm at the time of the shooting.
Martinez appeared in probable cause court Sunday night. A judge denied him bond on the murder charge and set a $50,000 bond for the tampering with evidence charge, records show.
All three teens are also charged with tampering with evidence - human corpse, according to court documents.
What happened?
According to court records, on Thursday, Nov. 6, Pasadena police got a call from someone who heard gunshots in the park, saw a car crash into a tree and then saw two people dragging a body to a corner at Satsuma Park. The witness told police he had a clear view of the park from his backyard and he saw the two standing next to the car and then got in the car and drove it through the parking lot. The witness said he then saw the two people get out of the car carrying what he at first thought were large car parts, court records say. The witness told investigators the pair grabbed more things from the car and walked away. He said he checked the park and found the body.
When police arrived, an officer found a black 2005 Cadillac CTS with damage to the front. According to court records, the officer found blood outside the car and in the parking lot, and also saw a spent cartridge casing near the car. The officer followed the trail of blood, which led to a man's body that was placed in an area with bushes and trees along the fence line on the south side of the park. Navarro's body had several gunshots to the upper left side, court records say.
While police were investigating, a woman, later identified as Priscilla Navarro, showed up at the entrance of the park looking for her son. She told police she'd tracked her son's phone and the GPS location showed the park. She told police her son drove a black Cadillac CTS and she described her child and his tattoos, which confirmed the body they found was her son, police said.
1:13 a.m. - Another person who lives nearby had a video of three people walking into the park and someone driving the Cadillac into the park around the time of the shooting, court documents say. The documents say there are four gunshots heard in the video and then you see the car speed through the parking lot and crash into the tree. Then, the video shows the three people running from the area, then coming back to move the car and the body, as the witness said.
1:13 a.m. - Another neighbor had a similar video that showed one of the people carrying a shovel, court documents say.
Around 2 a.m. - Police spoke to a woman who said she was at Prime Mart gas station near the park when she was approached by a young girl with blood on her face and clothes, according to court records. The girl asked for a ride and the woman told her to get in her car. She told police the girl asked her to take her Spencer Highway in La Porte but the woman didn't have enough gas to get her there, so the girl got out. According to court documents, investigators got surveillance from the gas station that showed the young girl getting into the woman's car.
11:45 p.m.- Court documents say Clifton went to the Pasadena Police Department to talk about Navarro's shooting. She told officers she was picked up by Delgado and Martinez. She said she and Delgado, Martinez's ex, were riding in Martinez's Ford truck when he parked at an apartment complex near Red Bluff and Harris roads, and they all walked to Satsuma Park to meet up with a friend, court records say. She told investigators Navarro drove up to them and while Delgado and Martinez were talking to Navarro, Martinez pulled out a gun and shot Navarro. Clifton told investigators she ran, climbed a chain link fence and fell over it into bushes and tree branches, which cut her face and legs, court records say. She said as she ran past the entrance, she saw the Cadillac crash into the tree and she kept running to the gas station. Clifton confirmed, according to court documents, that she asked a woman for a ride and as they were driving away, she told her where she wanted to go, the woman said he didn't have enough gas, so Clifton said she got out and the woman left. That's when she came across Delgado and Martinez in the Ford truck and they told her to get in and they drove her to La Porte, the documents say.
Nov. 3 - Police picked Martinez out of a photo lineup that included five others, according to court records.
Nov. 4 - Houston police arrested two people they believed were involved in Navarro's death. The two were arrested after a man called 911 saying he was with two people who were involved in the shooting. Police spoke to the man and a woman, Martinez's mother. Martinez's mother told police she had the murder weapon, court documents say. Martinez's mother then directed police to two passengers in her car -- her son and Delgado. Officers arrested them and took a bag with the gun and clothes in it, then called Pasadena police, according to court documents.
Martinez's mother and the man who called 911 told investigators that Martinez took her Smith and Wesson 40 from her bedroom the day before the shooting, snuck out of the house, went to his grandmother's house, and left in her truck. She told investigators her son returned with Delgado on Friday and returned the truck. She said her mother called her, told her about the gun being at her house, and said she wanted to talk, court records say. Martinez's grandmother told his mom that Martinez admitted to shooting someone and he'd probably killed him, according to court documents. She said Delgado and Martinez told her what happened and she decided she was going to turn him in. She said that's when she drove them downtown to the police station.
Nov. 4 - While being interviewed by police, Delgado admitted that the plan was to rob Navarro of his money, drugs and his car, according to court documents. She said they set up a deal with Navarro and had him meet them at Satsuma Park. They approached the driver's side of Navarro's car and paid for marijuana with counterfeit money, then Martinez shot Navarro several times, court records say. Delgado said she started to run away with Clifton but went back. She told police she met Martinez back at the Cadillac after Navarro ran it into the tree but it was too damaged to take, according to court documents. Delgado said they dragged Martinez through the park, forced his body through a small hole in the fence, and tried to hide it in the bushes. Delgado said they took Navarro's phone, black sweatshirt, and a gun they found in his Cadillac, court records say.
Shortly after, court documents say, they saw Clifton walking around so they picked her up and took her home.
Nov. 4 - Investigators also tried to speak with Martinez who said he didn't want to talk, according to court documents.
Nov. 4 - Investigators spoke to Clifton again at her home. She admitted to planning with Delgado and Martinez to rob and kill Navarro, court documents say. She said they talked over breakfast on Wednesday and her job was to bring the shovel to dig Navarro's grave and pick up the shell casings. Clifton said when Delgado and Martinez picked her up at her house on Wednesday, she took a shovel from her garage and put it in the truck, according to court documents.
She said they set up the drug deal by reaching out to Navarro on social media. She confirmed how the deal and the shooting went down. Clifton said once Delgado and Martinez dropped her back at home, she hid the shovel and her clothes in her garage, court records say.
Nov. 4 - For a second time, police spoke to Delgado who admitted to planning the robbery and murder. She said they had been planning to rob and kill a drug dealer for about a week or more. She repeated her story and added that after they dropped Clifton off, she and Martinez went to Mason Park and threw Navarro's phone in the bayou, his sweatshirt in a dumpster, and sold his gun.
Nov. 4 - Investigators tried to speak to Martinez again. This time, he confessed to shooting Navarro so he could rob him and confirmed the details Clifton and Delgado had already given police, court documents say.
Crime Stoppers Houston said Navarro's death was a big blow to the family.
"You know, for the family of the 19-year-old, it’s hard enough losing a loved one to this type of offense, and then when you find out one of the defendants was released on multiple bonds, it’s like getting sucker punched all over again by the system," a Crime Stoppers spokesperson said.