Suspect arrested in murder of Houston Navy veteran admitted victim was “easy prey,” report says

HOUSTON, Texas (KWTX) - Houston Police Department officers arrested a suspect on Sept. 3 for his involvement in the murder of a 90-year-old Navy veteran, officials announced.

Kyliel Denzel Arceneaux, 21, is currently charged with capital murder, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.

The initial crime took place on Aug. 31 at approximately 12:45 p.m. at an assisted living apartment complex off Westbrae Parkway, a press release states.

“The defendant struck the complainant several times with his firearm before shooting him fatally and then continued to strike him after that, before robbing him, taking the keys to his car – and once inside the car, the defendant then drove the vehicle over the complainant’s body,” Assistant District Attorney Chandler Raine told KHOU, the CBS affiliate in Houston.

Police officers responded to an assault in progress with a weapon call at the aforementioned address and found the victim, later identified as Nelson Beckett, lying in the parking lot with gunshot wounds, the press release claims.

The Houston Fire Department paramedics transported Beckett to a hospital where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to his lung and trauma suffered after being run over by the vehicle, KHOU reported.

According to police, a preliminary investigation concluded Beckett was near his vehicle when he was approached by an unknown man who assaulted him, stole Beckett’s belongings and ran Beckett over with his own vehicle.

The vehicle was found at an apartment complex in the 12500 block of Dunlap St., police said. . According to KHOU, surveillance footage showed Arceneaux attempting to remove traces of his fingerprints from the stolen vehicle, as well as throwing away the bloodied shirt he wore during the assault.

Police said investigators were able to identify Arceneaux as the suspect, and on Sept. 3, Arceneaux was booked into the Harris County Jail on a $7 million bond.

According to KHOU 11, Arceneaux was out on bond during the Aug. 31 crime and was awaiting trial for an evading arrest charge from 2022. It was also stated that Arceneaux’s defense attorney requested to lower the bond because “Arceneaux did not have a violent criminal history,” but the request was denied by the judge.

A prosecutor told KHOU 11 that Arceneaux confessed that he believed Beckett would be “easy prey because he was using a walker, so he didn’t think he would fight back.”

According to court documents, Arceneaux allegedly threatened two other people who had attempted to help Beckett.

The suspect is being held at the Harris County Jail.