Police arrest Sunnyvale murder suspect in Mississippi, shooting was likely a ‘retaliation'

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It's been a year since a gunman in a get-away car ambushed a family of five in Sunnyvale, killing a woman and injuring her adult brother and his three kids.

Surveillance video showed a black sedan blocking a car in the parking lot of the Riverton Trail Townhomes on 201 Planters Road. A man wearing a mask runs out of the passenger side of the sedan and fires several rounds into the parked car.

Tyesha Merritt, 27, of Mesquite, was killed in the shooting. Her brother and his three children were critically injured, but police said they've all since recovered. Merritt's brother, police said, is the one seen running away.

Last week, Sunnyvale Police said one of the suspects tied to the homicide was captured in Mississippi.

Quantavius Gomillia, 27, was transported by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office on June 27 and is currently in the Dallas County Jail charged with murder.

"We don't know necessarily why he went to Mississippi other than he was just trying to avoid us," said Sunnyvale Police Chief Bill Vegas on Monday.

Vegas said the suspect regularly communicated with a detective regarding a separate issue, but then the communication stopped.

"Maybe he got suspicious or something, got a little nervous, and he fled to Mississippi, where his Dad is from," explained Vegas.

Police haven't said the relationship between the suspect and the victims but believe it was a targeted attack.

"This is a retaliation from an incident that occurred on May 29, just shortly before the murder," said Vegas about the suspect and the shooting.

To protect the investigation, he wouldn't say where the incident took place or what happened other than it was near Sunnyvale.

"It's goes without saying, murder is horrible anytime it's committed. There's obviously other avenues in which to address your differences and whatnot, murder should never be one of those," said Vegas.

The chief credits his detective along with the partnership of Mesquite Police, Carrollton Police and the FBI in helping crack this case.

"He just stayed vigilant on the case for the last year and just kept pushing, pushing, pushing," said Vegas. “This was one of the cases that just never went to bed. He did not allow it to go cold.”

Vegas said he has talked to the victim's family who he said were "very appreciate" for the departments efforts. He also spoke with the family of the children who were injured.

"The children that were shot that were in the backseat, I reached out to their mother and grandmother. They are extremely ecstatic that we have caught 'the bad guy 'as they put it and he is in jail. I could hear the grandma in the background screaming and joyful tears and, and whatnot. She was extremely happy.”

The chief said the kids injured are doing much better physically.

"Understand that all three of them were shot, all three of them were in serious condition, all three of them have survived, and all three of them are thriving," said Vegas.

Police continued to look for the second suspect, who was in the car with Gomillia. It's unclear who was the shooter or the getaway driver.

Anyone with any information about this incident should contact North Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of a suspect(s).