Luis Gutierrez, on the left, and Cristian Saucedo, on the right, appear in mugshots (Dallas County Jail)
Two teenagers in Texas have been arrested for allegedly killing a man during a used car test drive late last month, authorities say.
Khudhair Hamdan, 55, met the two men online through his son, by way of Facebook Marketplace. He was just trying to sell his sons' purple Dodge Charger. Minutes after getting into the car with those men on the night of March 21, while going down Port Richmond Way in southeast Arlington, Hamdan was shot.
Ali Qasim, the deceased man's son, spoke with Dallas-based ABC affiliate WFAA earlier this month about the sad turn of events.
"I text the people, they called me about the car and my dad has nothing to do with it," Qasim said. "I told the guys I'm at work, I have my dad at home, and he's gonna show you the car … so I sent him to those guys. That's all I can think about. I sent him to those guys and he got killed."
Hamdan was originally from Iraq. He moved his family to the United States in search of better educational opportunities.
"How he got killed … that's still in my mind," Qasim added. "I can't imagine how he lied down and how he got killed. How did he feel when they shot him? Why they killed him? For what? For a car?"
According to the Arlington Police Department, the car was ditched less than a mile away – behind one of the myriad strip malls interspersed throughout the fast-growing city that is home to both the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and the MLB's Texas Rangers. Arlington is the third-largest city in the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area known as the Metroplex to local residents.
"The guys got dropped off at the location. Normally if you were going to do a test drive you would drive up in your own car," APD Officer Jesse Minton told Dallas-based NBC affiliate KXAS. "Some residents nearby, heard the shot, saw what happened, ran to his aide as he collapsed there in the street by their home. Unfortunately. You know, we had EMS respond right away, but unfortunately, he died later at the hospital."
On Monday the APD announced in a press release that Luis Gutierrez, 18, and Cristian Saucedo, 18, had been arrested and charged with Hamdan's murder. Both defendants hail from Dallas.
"Mr. Hamdan was simply trying to help a relative sell a car – and now his family's entire world has been turned upside down," Arlington Police Chief Al Jones said in the press release. "Violent offenders like these, who are willing to kill a man for a vehicle they abandoned a few minutes later, have no place on our streets. I'd like to thank our Homicide Unit for the dedication and effort they put into this investigation. I hope these arrests provide some sense of relief to Mr. Hamdan's family and to the Arlington community."
According to an arrest warrant in the case obtained by KXAS, the victim's son told police he was contacted by a Facebook user named "Armando Gutierrez" about buying the car. Hamdan would later ask the man to contact him when he was outside. The victim's son also said he spoke with the interested buyer over the phone.
Surveillance footage showed two men arriving and inspecting the car before getting inside with the victim, police said. Additional footage allegedly showed the car being dumped and the men then being picked up by someone driving a black Dodge Challenger.
Surveillance conducted by law enforcement would eventually spot that same distinctive black Challenger – with a vent on the hood and chrome-covered wheels – outside of the Gutierrez residence, police said. A search warrant was then obtained for the car.
On April 5, Luis Gutierrez was arrested along with his brother during a traffic stop after law enforcement allegedly determined the Challenger was stolen, according to the APD. Before being pulled over, however, three guns were tossed from a window by the three occupants, police claim. The third occupant was able to successfully elude police – at least for a while.
Subsequent investigation identified Saucedo as the third occupant of the stolen car – and the second man involved in the fatal test drive, according to the APD.
Luis Gutierrez is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on a $1.11 million bond for various offenses. Saucedo is being held in the Tarrant County Jail with no bond on the capital murder charge.
Gutierrez's brother is not facing any charges.
"We can't live here without him, cause we came here together," Qasim told WFAA, remembering his father fondly. "We're gonna miss him laughing and joking with us. We're gonna miss him a lot."
