On Sept. 6, 2024, one of the suspects of the recent Moody Towers robbery was charged with capital murder as well as additional charges for the gun-point robbery at UH.
Kyliel Denzel Arceneaux was accused of killing and carjacking a 90-year-old veteran, Nelson Beckett, on Aug. 31, making it the same week as the robbery.
In addition to that, he now faces an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge, according to court documents.
Arceneaux is 21 and was out on a bond and was awaiting trial for an evading arrest charge from 2022.
“Attacking somebody who is a student in the dorm, literally thinks that this is a safe place where we have security, we don’t let people in,” said prosecutor Dana Nazarova to KHOU 11. “We did find that there were ties to this defendant and that he was one of the people who held him at gunpoint during that robbery.”
The security video and a tip helped determine how Arceneaux could be involved in the robbery as well, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. However, it is still not known how Arceneaux got access to Moody Towers.
The defendant had a unique bald spot on his head which helped authorities identify him after comparing images and connecting the dots, Nazarova said to KHOU 11.
Arceneaux admitted to killing the veteran as he was on a walker and an easy target, said a prosecutor. The prosecutors also mentioned the similarities between the incidents.
“Two innocent people just kind of doing what they do and they are just preying on them,” the prosecutor said to KHOU 11.
As of now, there’s no update on the second suspect.
This is a developing story and The Cougar will continue to report on it when more details come out.
