FORT PIERCE — Fort Pierce police have arrested a second person in connection with the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old woman inside a Fort Pierce gold and silver store last month.
Tylen Ryan, 22, was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence in the ongoing investigation into the death of Lanessa Rodriguez, who was shot and killed at Cash Out Gold and Silver in Fort Pierce, police said. Ryan is being held at the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Jail.
The arrest comes about a week after police announced investigators were trying to identify an additional person who was inside the store with Rodriguez and Landen Julian Ballard, a 20-year-old Vero Beach man already charged in the case.
At the time, police said the unidentified man was not yet suspected of wrongdoing.
Ballard was previously charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and violation of probation following the April 28 shooting at the We Buy Gold and Silver store at 4603 S. U.S. Highway 1.
Officers with the Fort Pierce Police Department responded around 7:12 p.m. to a 911 call reporting a person lying on the floor covered in blood inside the business.
When officers arrived, they found Rodriguez on the floor with blood around her.
Investigators said Ballard and another man entered the business and encountered Rodriguez before Ballard allegedly shot her multiple times and fled the scene.
Police Chief David M. Smith previously said investigators do not believe Rodriguez and Ballard knew each other before the shooting. Surveillance video showed the two appeared to be having a normal conversation before the gunfire, according to police.
Authorities said investigators are still working to determine a motive in the case.
Following the shooting, investigators tracked Ballard’s movements to an area near Interstate 95, where a K-9 unit located a magazine and firearm believed to match the weapon used in the shooting, Smith said.
Ballard was later arrested at his mother’s residence in Fort Pierce.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fort Pierce Police Department at 772-462-6800 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers