BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont Police have obtained a murder warrant for 19-year-old Koy Wayne Dodd Jr., of Beaumont, for the murder of 17 year old Ta'Dran Carmon.
Carmon was a senior at Beaumont United High School. He was found dead inside his car on Chaison Avenue Tuesday evening.
His accused killer is still on the run. Police say Dodd is considered armed and dangerous.
Carmon's death has left his family shocked and heartbroken and they're leaning on each other for support.
His family describes Carmon as good kid who kept busy. They say he loved to do it all.
He was involved in a welding program in school and and also loved bull riding.
"He's going to be very missed for sure," said Beverly West, Carmon's grandmother.
Since Carmon was little, his family says he's always lived a full life.
"He did fishing, he loved hunting," West said.
But that full life was cut short.
"I had just called him at 8:03 and told him to come home. He was like 'yes ma'am I'll be there in a minute.'," said Carmon's mother Tracy Thibodeaux.
30 minutes later she noticed her son still wasn't home.
"He told me he was at a friend's house, Rara, but I didn't know where he lived," she said.
After his phone went straight to voicemail the family began to worry and search for Carmon.
"As we passed Chaison, that's where we saw all the lights," West told 12News.
Moments later a BPD detective confirmed that Carmon had been shot in his car.
"They identified him by his tattoo on his arm," said West.
The family believes he was in his car with several people, including Dodd, who police are now searching for.
"This is like somebody he shouldn't even be involved with. What the connection is, we don't know," Thibodeaux said.
On Thursday Carmon's friends and family gathered at his home to remember his life.
"I just lost one of my closest friends," said Jahlyn Pickens, a childhood friend.
His parents are now pleading for the person responsible to come forward.
"You need to turn yourself in because you are nothing but a coward and I don't know why you did that to my son," his mother said.
She told 12News that the plans to lay her only child to rest are set for March 30.
Carmon was just a few months shy of his 18th birthday in July.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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