HOUSTON COPS TOWED CAR WITH BODY IN TRUNK TO IMPOUND YARD ..... BODY NOT DISCOVERE UNTIL FIVE DAYS LATER

Docs reveal marijuana and $35k in cash were found inside home where 2 men were killed on TC Jester

KTRK

February 10, 2023

 

 

James Gerald Martin III, 37, was discovered in the trunk of his car five days after police had it towed to a HPD impound lot.

 

HOUSTON, Texas -- Newly obtained court documents reveal what was found inside a home along with a man's body in the Timbergrove Garden community two weeks ago.

Houston police were called to the 1700 block of West TC Jester on Friday, Jan. 27, about a neighbor being concerned that a Toyota Prius was running inside a garage at about 8:30 a.m.

Once officers arrived, a man, identified as 35-year-old Dana Lars Ryssdal from Oregon, was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside the home.

Ryssdal's friend, James Gerald Martin III, whose parents own the home, was reported missing along with a white Dodge Ram truck that belonged to Ryssdal, HPD said.

The truck was recovered in southeast Houston on Jan. 30, HPD said.

On Feb. 1, Martin's body was discovered in the trunk of the Prius at an HPD impound lot, five days after it was towed from the TC Jester residence for evidence processing.

Almost two weeks after the initial report, a search warrant revealed what HPD found inside the residence.

According to court documents, several moving boxes and bags of what appeared to be marijuana, packaged in airtight wrapping, were found in various places throughout the home.

Possible firearm projectiles were also found. In the kitchen, a crime scene investigator found multiple bundles of cash in the freezer totaling $35,980, records showed.

According to the warrant, Martin's mother told police that Martin and Ryssdal were commercial marijuana farmers in Oregon, where it's legal.

Martin, originally from the Houston area, moved back to Houston last year and was in the process of selling the marijuana harvesting business. Ryssdal arrived earlier in January.

Martin's family provided this statement to ABC13:

We just pray and hope that the murderer(s) are found and brought to justice. We all loved Jimmy so much. A very strong light in our lives has gone out prematurely! We want to remember his charm, his wit, his cuteness, his great love for his family and his friends. These young men did not deserve to be murdered.

As we met as a family with our ministers over his body, we prayed for his spirit to be with us. It is and will be forever. We will celebrate his life soon. We are thankful that we had him walk with us for 37 years. He is our sunshine and is a shooting star out there in the greater universe, shaking things up. God will take him in his fold of super angels.

At this time, there is no known motive or suspects in the fatal shooting, detectives said.