{"id":684714,"date":"2026-03-27T04:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T04:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/684714\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T04:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T04:21:16","slug":"jury-convicts-houston-man-of-possessing-machine-gun-in-katy-mcdonalds-shooting-that-killed-grandfather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/684714\/","title":{"rendered":"Jury convicts Houston man of possessing machine gun in Katy McDonald\u2019s shooting that killed grandfather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>KATY, Texas<\/strong> \u2013 A federal jury has convicted a Houston man in connection with the fatal shooting of a grandfather who was killed inside a Katy McDonald\u2019s during a fight that erupted into gunfire last year, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Tyler John Jordan, 27, was found guilty of possession of a machine gun following a three-day trial. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Prosecutors said the case stems from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/17\/2-hospitalized-after-fight-between-group-of-people-at-fast-food-restaurant-erupts-in-gunfire-in-w-harris-county\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/17\/2-hospitalized-after-fight-between-group-of-people-at-fast-food-restaurant-erupts-in-gunfire-in-w-harris-county\/\">March 16, 2025 shooting at the McDonald\u2019s on North Fry Road near West Little York<\/a>, when two groups confronted each other and a fight broke out in the crowded restaurant.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">During the altercation, federal prosecutors said multiple rounds were fired into the lobby from a Glock pistol equipped with a machine gun conversion device, commonly known as a \u201cswitch.\u201d One of the bullets struck and killed Jorge Arbaiza, 61, who authorities have described as an innocent bystander.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Arbaiza\u2019s family previously said he was at the restaurant to pick up Happy Meals for his grandchildren. His wife, Teresa Arbaiza, said she was waiting in the parking lot with two of their grandchildren when she saw people running out of the restaurant, but not her husband.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cHe answered and said he was dying,\u201d she recalled at the time.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cSenseless. Multiple shots were fired while the business was full of customers, including several children,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/topic\/HCSO\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/topic\/HCSO\/\">Harris County Sheriff<\/a> Ed Gonzalez said on X at the time of the incident. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">In a Thursday press release, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office said investigators found a video on Jordan\u2019s phone showing him holding the weapon about five hours before it was used in the shooting. Jurors also heard testimony that Jordan attempted to lie during the investigation and had previously admitted to possessing the firearm and knowing it was a machine gun. The defense argued he did not know the gun had a switch and that his confession was false, but the jury rejected those claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Harris County Sheriff\u2019s Office filed state charges against others connected to the incident, including the alleged shooter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/21\/man-charged-with-killing-grandfather-buying-happy-meals-at-west-harris-county-mcdonalds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/21\/man-charged-with-killing-grandfather-buying-happy-meals-at-west-harris-county-mcdonalds\/\">Antoine Leandre Ridge<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/24\/2nd-suspect-charged-in-shooting-that-killed-grandfather-who-was-buying-happy-meals-at-west-harris-county-mcdonalds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/24\/2nd-suspect-charged-in-shooting-that-killed-grandfather-who-was-buying-happy-meals-at-west-harris-county-mcdonalds\/\">Paul Whitley<\/a>, court records show. <\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Ridge was charged with murder and in custody. Whitley was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and made bond, court records show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett has set sentencing for Jordan on June 25. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine, and he will remain in custody pending sentencing.<\/p>\n<p>Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kiwhtN\">More Stories Like This In Our Email Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KATY, Texas \u2013 A federal jury has convicted a Houston man in connection with the fatal shooting of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":684715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4219,287452,6386,8323,20882,4345,23388,3677,358,3187],"class_list":["post-684714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-crime","tag-federal-cases","tag-harris-county","tag-harris-county-sheriffs-office","tag-hcso","tag-houston","tag-katy","tag-shootings","tag-texas","tag-tx"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116299227800967972","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}