An angry white man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sent to Tulsa County Jail for shooting and killing a woman out of road rage on Aug. 19, Tulsa World reported.
The 22-year-old Julian Zavaleta was 21 on the day he allegedly killed 25-year-old Shantel Jones. The incident happened around 2:20 p.m. in the parking lot of an Auto Zone located at 5155 S. Peoria Ave. According to witnesses, Jones stepped out of her vehicle when Zavaleta drove up to her in his gray car and shot her while remaining inside his car. The bullet hit her in the abdomen.
She reportedly cut him off to go into the AutoZone parking lot.
“When both cars pulled into the AutoZone, the victim got out of her car, and the suspect from inside his car – from what I understand fired and killed the victim,” Homicide Lt. Brandon Watkins told reporters.
Watkins added, “When people have guns ready and available, they tend to do stupid stuff with them, and a young woman died.”
Emergency responders rushed Jones to the hospital, succumbing to her injuries.
Shortly after fleeing the scene, about 35 minutes later, Zavaleta called authorities and confessed to the killing. His family surrounded him outside a business and waited for officers to pick him up. Tulsa World reported that he called some of his family members and told them he “messed up and shot someone.”
Officers arrested the suspect and retrieved a gun allegedly used to kill Jones and towed his car. On Aug. 24, Zavaleta’s birthday, prosecutors charged Zavaleta with first-degree murder and discharging his weapon from a motor vehicle, a serious offense.
His bond was set at $1.5 million.
Jones’ family spoke with KJRH, and her sister, who shared the same name as her, Shantel Smith, said that Jones kept to herself. Her four sisters described her as the life of the party, stating, “Her energy was just so unmatched.”
Jones lived in Oklahoma but planned on moving to Georgia at the end of the year.
Zavaleta took the life of not only a sister but also a lover and mother. Ciara Diaz, Jones’ girlfriend, said her son still asks for her.
“He loves her…[he’s] like ‘Mommy, are you going with Shantel,'” Diaz told Fox News.
She also said she was with her before her death.
“I literally watched her walk out that door and never come back,” she remarked.
As for the kind of person Jones was to Diaz, she said she was an “angel on Earth” and a kind person who “would give you the shoes off her feet.”
“I’ve seen her give her shoes to somebody,” Diaz said.
She added, “She would constantly tell people tomorrow is not promised, so live today like it’s your last. So that day, I know she was at peace when she left. I know she was at peace. Because she knew God got her.”
