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Background: The We Buy Gold store location in Fort Pierce, Fla., where Lanessa Rodriguez was found dead (Google Maps). Inset (left): Landen Ballard (St. Lucie County Sheriff). Inset (right): Lanessa Rodriguez (Facebook).
A tragic incident unfolded in Florida when a young man reportedly engaged in casual conversation with a store manager before fatally shooting her. The suspect, 20-year-old Landen Ballard, is currently detained at the St. Lucie County Jail facing charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering.
The chilling event occurred at a We Buy Gold store in Fort Pierce, where the victim, 35-year-old Lanessa Rodriguez, was the manager. According to an arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime, Ballard, accompanied by two unidentified individuals, visited the store. After what seemed like a benign exchange, Ballard allegedly drew a firearm and shot Rodriguez multiple times, fleeing the scene with a female accomplice.
As they departed, the woman who drove Ballard reportedly informed authorities that he boasted about the act, callously questioning, “Is it bad that I have no remorse?” This lack of empathy has only intensified the gravity of the charges against him.
The police were alerted to the crime scene following a distress call at 7:12 p.m. on April 28. Concern arose when a colleague, unable to reach Rodriguez, decided to check on her at the Fort Pierce location. Upon arrival, the colleague discovered Rodriguez in a dire state, lying behind her desk in a pool of blood.
Law enforcement officials who arrived on the scene documented the presence of multiple bullet casings and bullet holes peppered across the store’s walls. Sadly, Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the site of the shooting, marking a somber end to an ordinary day turned tragic.
At 11 p.m. the same night, a woman who said she was one of the people who was with Ballard at the store made contact with police in Vero Beach, Florida. After she was brought to the Fort Pierce Police Department, she told investigators that Ballard contacted her that day because he wanted to sell a gold pendant. She said Ballard spoke to a woman whom she believed was Rodriguez on the phone, adding that Rodriguez had previously offered Ballard work.
According to the warrant, the woman who drove stayed in the car while Ballard and the other unnamed man went inside the store. She told police that when Ballard and the other man came out and got back in the car, Ballard said he shot Rodriguez twice then “finished his clip.” During their ride, Ballard allegedly asked, “Is it bad that I have no remorse?”
The woman told police that Ballard allegedly discarded the gun and magazine out the passenger side window while they drove. Police later recovered the 9mm handgun on the side of the road. She said Ballard allegedly planned to return to the store so he could rob it, and told the woman to “comply or she would be killed and left in the woods if she refused.”
The three reportedly went back to the store, but upon seeing police activity there, they returned to Vero Beach, Florida. After the woman dropped Ballard and the other man off, she went straight to the police.
The alleged shooting was captured on surveillance cameras inside the store. According to the warrant, Ballard came into the store and sat across from Rodriguez. The two “begin to engage in casual conversation,” as if they had previously known each other. Ballard was seen “fiddling with his phone” and “bounc[ing] his leg.” Police said he then produced a black firearm that was out of Rodriguez’s view. As Ballard started to wield the gun, his conversation with Rodriguez continued.
After the two spoke for between two and five minutes, Ballard allegedly raised the gun and fired one shot at Rodriguez, hitting her in the shoulder. She stood up, and Ballard allegedly fired three more shots that hit Rodriguez in the chest. She fell to the floor as Ballard emptied his magazine. After Ballard and the other man left, Rodriguez was seen trying to reach for a phone to call for help in her final moments.
The woman called Ballard while she was at the police station for a second interview. During the call, police said he once again said he had no remorse for the shooting. He also told the women that he was at his parents’ house and was planning to leave for New York.
Ballard was arrested at his parents’ house and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He is being held without bond at the St. Lucie County Jail. His next court date was not available.
According to reporting by local news outlet TCPalm, Rodriguez, a transgender woman and fixture on the drag queen circuit, was remembered by her friends as an “incredible person with a huge heart” with a family who loved her. Police identified Rodriguez using her birth name, Lazaro Rodriguez Vega.