East Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Murder Years After Smith County Shooting

Joel Camacho has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in connection with a Smith County robbery that left Michael Ross II fatally injured. Ross died several years after the shooting, leading prosecutors to upgrade the case from aggravated assault to murder.

Why the Charges Changed From Assault to Murder

According to KETK, court documents revealed that deputies were originally dispatched to the Eagle Creek Mobile Home Park on Highway 271 on September 17, 2017, when a woman called law enforcement saying that her son had been shot.

READ MORE: New Evidence Solves Shocking Tyler Cold Case Murder

What Investigators Say Happened

Investigators determined that her son Michael Ross II had been set up by three men and a woman who investigators say planned to rob him. Investigators say the robbery escalated and Ross ended up being shot in the side of the head.

The three suspects Joel Camacho, Carlos Ochoa and Tarrance Reggie were all taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. All three suspects pleaded guilty to the charges in 2018, and each received a 20-year sentence for the crime.

Five years after the shooting, Ross died from his injuries, leading a Smith County grand jury to indict all three men on murder charges in 2026.

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Joel Camacho Accepts Plea Agreement

Camacho appeared in court last Thursday for a pre-trial hearing; he pleaded guilty to the new murder charge. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The other two defendants, Ochoa and Reggie, are scheduled to have pre-trial dates set for August 12 and August 27 respectively. Each of the suspects could receive up to life in prison if convicted.