Suspect in Saturday's Forrest Avenue murder claims he does not remember shooting victim

Brian Bethel | Abilene

A man arrested in one of two unrelated homicides early Saturday morning told police he does not remember the shooting.

Roy Lee Jackson, 66, was arrested after Jackson reportedly called 911 from his residence at 709 Forrest Ave. about a disturbance. Police received the call at 1:09 a.m.

When police arrived, they found Jackson with blood on his shirt and discovered the body of Delbert Pimpton, 64, inside the home. He had been shot in the head.

Jackson told police that he had to be the one that shot Pimpton because they were the only people in the residence.

However, he stated that he did not remember doing so.

Jackson later told police that he and the victim had been drinking together at Pimpton's home earlier in the evening at 718 Forrest Ave. The men later went to 709 Forrest, where Jackson lives.

In information released by Saturday, Police Chief Stan Standridge described the two men had been "longtime friends and neighbors."

"We believe that they had been drinking together, so alcohol was involved," Standridge said. "Other people were present, but at some point in the evening just the two of them went back across the street."

Police found a handgun in plain view inside the residence. Jackson told police he had a gun in the home, a Glock 9-mm.

The description he gave matched the firearm, believed to be the murder weapon.

Pimpton was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jackson is charged with first-degree murder, and was being held in the Taylor County Jail on a $125,000 bond.

In the other incident Saturday, police received a call at 12:25 a.m. about a shooting at an apartment complex in the 5100 block of Fairmont Street.



“There were four persons inside the apartment at the time of our arrival,” Standridge said. “The deceased was actually shot in the chest."

Police found a man with a gunshot wound to his upper torso. The victim, identified as Chance Bonni, 23, was transported to Hendrick Hospital, where he died.

Bonni was not a tenant at the apartment but is believed to have been visiting friends, Standridge said.

“There were at least two male suspects that are involved,” he said. “… This was not random, stranger-on-stranger violence. Instead, there’s a very clear nexus with drugs and the trafficking thereof.”

According to reports, police believe two men were in the apartment when the victim heard a knock and went to answer the door and was shot.

Standridge said a shotgun was used in the incident.

Police said the other man was not injured and said there were two people who came to the door and fled on foot immediately after the shooting.

"We have more information than we are releasing," Standridge said Saturday. "We are absolutely committed to bringing these persons into custody. I do believe we will clear this case by arrest."

Police had not released further information on the incident as of Monday afternoon.

The homicides are the third and fourth in Abilene this year.

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