Twin brothers Samuel and Solomon Gbadebo, both 20, were arrested last week on murder charges in two separate 2025 shootings, including the killing of a restaurant worker who, investigators say, robbed the brothers in 2021 and forced them to strip on camera.
Detectives said the cases unfolded two weeks apart on the city’s far north side and were linked by surveillance images, a tipster’s account and a white Nissan Altima traced to the brothers’ mother. Court papers describe the Nov. 30, 2025, shooting of 20-year-old employee Isaiah Angel Gonzales outside Flips Patio Grill as retaliation for the earlier holdup. The other case involves the Nov. 15 death of 19-year-old Devan Randles at an apartment complex across Western Center Boulevard. The brothers were taken into custody Jan. 15 in the Fort Worth–Burleson area. Prosecutors have filed murder charges; additional filings could follow as evidence is processed.
According to affidavits, the first killing in the series happened around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 15 at an apartment complex on Augusta Lane near I-35W. Cameras captured a white Altima entering the lot, and separate footage showed Randles and three others moving among vehicles. Gunshots erupted minutes later; the Altima sped away, and officers found Randles mortally wounded. Two weeks on, shortly after 2 a.m. Nov. 30, Gonzales left Flips Patio Grill with his girlfriend and got into his car. Video from the lot showed two men who had lingered nearby rush the vehicle and fire through the windshield before running off. Gonzales was taken to a hospital, where he died. A search affidavit says shoe patterns at the scene matched common Nike Air Force 1 soles. “One killing was revenge for a prior robbery,” an investigator wrote in the filing.
Detectives later obtained a video found among Gonzales’ belongings that showed two young men, nude and at gunpoint, during a 2021 robbery. Investigators said they used facial recognition to identify the victims in that clip as the Gbadebo brothers and confirmed a police report had been filed by the twins that year. A tipster also told police that Gonzales was the robber and that the Gbadebos were responsible for the restaurant shooting, according to the documents. Authorities did not say whether Gonzales was ever arrested in connection with the 2021 holdup, and they have not alleged that Randles had a role in that earlier crime. The affidavit notes a white Altima tied to the brothers’ mother appeared in surveillance from both November scenes, and clothing seen in later images resembled items worn by the suspects in the videos.
Investigators wrote that a Dec. 12 search of the twins’ apartment yielded no seized items and did not immediately produce enough evidence for murder charges. That same day, Samuel Gbadebo was arrested after a separate police pursuit in the Garden Acres area, then later bonded out on unrelated counts while homicide work continued. The case accelerated when detectives compared the 2021 video, surveillance from both 2025 scenes and statements developed from the tip, leading to arrest warrants this month. Officials said analysts are still reviewing license plate reader hits, phone records and extended video from businesses along Western Center Boulevard to finalize the timeline of movements before and after each shooting.
The locations sit within a busy commercial-and-residential corridor in far north Fort Worth, where large restaurant lots and apartment complexes ring the I-35W frontage. Flips Patio Grill said Gonzales, 20, worked at the restaurant and left near closing time the night of the attack. In November, Fort Worth police had released clips showing two figures running from the lot, and a white sedan turning onto Fossil Bluff Drive. Across the boulevard, the Augusta Lane complex had reported a series of nighttime auto break-ins in the fall. Detectives said Randles was seen with others in the lot moments before shots were fired but did not detail what sparked the gunfire.
The brothers were booked into the Tarrant County Jail on Jan. 15 on murder charges. Authorities did not immediately release bond information. Police said the investigation remains open and that they are analyzing whether any accomplices helped plan or execute either shooting. Prosecutors will review ballistic comparisons from shell casings, test any recovered clothing against residue standards and examine whether the same firearm was used in both attacks. If investigators identify additional participants, charges could range from capital murder to tampering, depending on evidence and roles, officials said. For now, the two cases are filed as separate murder counts.
Family and co-workers of Gonzales described a quiet overnight shift giving way to shock. Staff members at Flips said patrol cars flooded the lot minutes after 2 a.m. and managers gathered remaining workers inside while paramedics worked outside. At the Augusta Lane complex, residents recalled a burst of shots and a car streaking toward the exit before sirens filled the block. A neighbor said she woke to lights and saw officers stringing tape across the lot. “It felt like the whole area went still,” she said, standing near a row of mailboxes earlier this week. Police later canvassed nearby buildings for additional cameras facing the entrances and service roads.
Fort Worth police said the homicide unit is compiling a comprehensive case file that includes surveillance time stamps, witness interviews and digital records. The department expects to forward evidence to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office after lab results return, a process that could determine whether to consolidate the shootings for prosecution or proceed separately. A first appearance for the brothers is expected after indictment or information filing; no plea information was available. Defense counsel for the brothers had not been listed in online court records as of Monday.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 20, investigators had not announced additional arrests or a recovered weapon tied to either homicide. Both scenes remain central to the timeline built by detectives. The next update is likely to come after initial ballistics comparisons and expanded video pulls are complete, or sooner if a charging decision is filed by prosecutors.
Author note: Last updated January 20, 2026.